Volunteer Newsletter - May 2014

Here comes summer! 

Warmer temperatures are pushing the snow back, urging visitors and volunteers alike to come out of winter hibernation. We have some exciting projects planned for this year, including a reprise of MeadoWatch, the phenology program which was so popular in 2013. If you're looking for a new volunteer opportunity or want to continue in your former capacity, there's something here for every taste. Watch our blog (http://rainiervolunteers.blogspot.com) for announcements of short-term projects or review the listings at Volunteer.gov to see which positions we are currently hoping to fill. We'd love to see you on the Mountain in 2014!

Volunteer Brunch - Saturday, May 10, 9-11 AM

Late-breaking announcement! The Volunteer Brunch is less than a week away! This annual get-together will be held on Saturday, May 10, 9-11 AM at the Tacoma Mountaineers Clubhouse, 2302 N 30th St, Tacoma, WA 98403. Whether you are a returning volunteer or a new one, or if you simply are interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities at Mount Rainier National Park, we would be delighted to have you join us at this gathering. The event is potluck, so please bring a dish to share!

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Upcoming Events

Saturday, May 10, 9-11 AM - Volunteer Brunch
Every year, the Tacoma Mountaineers host a brunch for volunteers at their Tacoma Program Center. Join us to meet other volunteers and learn about this summer's volunteer opportunities! Returning, new, and potential volunteers are ALL welcome!

Saturday, May 17 - MRNPA Trails project
Join the Mount Rainier National Park Associates for a volunteer project at Mount Rainier National Park! This will be a trail maintenance project at a site to be determined as the date draws closer and we have a better sense of where the greatest needs are. Visit http://mrnpa.org for details, and write to John Titland at volunteer(at)mrnpa.org to sign up.

Saturday, June 7 - Longmire Campground Project
The details are still being worked out, but will include setting up the campground for the season and building picnic tables. Stay tuned for more details!

Saturday, June 7 - National Trails Day
Our partnership with the Washington Trails Association resumes in June! Watch WTA's website at http://www.wta.org for a schedule of projects (usually posted about two weeks in advance), and sign up online for the days you're interested in.

Saturday, June 14 - MRNPA Trails project
This will be a trail maintenance project at a site to be determined as the date draws closer and we have a better sense of where the greatest needs are. Visit http://mrnpa.org for details, and write to John Titland at volunteer(at)mrnpa.org to sign up.

Saturday, June 14 - Adopt-a-Highway Litter Patrol
Mount Rainier's volunteers partner with the Washington State Dept. of Transportation to make litter patrols along Hwy 706 three times a year. For more information or to sign up, contact Crow at petrina_vecchio(at)partner.nps.gov.

Saturday, June 21 - MeadoWatch and Meadow Rover Training
Details will be coming soon, but put the date on your calendar now! Basic orientation will be at Mount Rainier's Education Center, located at Park Headquarters (55210 238th Avenue East, Ashford, WA 98304). MeadoWatch training will begin the day, followed by Meadow Rover training. Volunteers are welcome to attend either one, or stay for both.

Sunday, June 22 - Advanced Meadow Rover Training
Details will be coming soon. The Advanced Training will be held at the Longmire Community Building. Basic orientation is a prerequisite.

And that's just for starters! Come on out and volunteer!

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What's Been Going On

Wanted: Campground Hosts at Longmire and Ohanapecosh

Although we have hired campground hosts for the Longmire Volunteer Campground for the first half of the summer, we are still looking for someone to fill this position from July 22 through the end of September.

Hosts coordinate the use of 31 tent sites, 2 group sites, and half a dozen Park-provided platform tents. They take reservations and assign campsites, and make sure guests are aware of campground regulations, ensuring that they comply with the rules while making sure everyone feels welcomed and supported. Duties include dealing with challenges as they come up (illegal campers, people who've lost their keys, loose dogs and so on), maintaining, cleaning and restocking a comfort station with three showers, and assigning/retrieving keys from campers, as well as keeping the campground free of camping litter.

If you are interested in being a Longmire campground host, please contact Kevin Bacher directly at 360-569-6567 for more information; drop a note to Kevin_Bacher(at)NPS.gov; or fill out an online application at http://www.volunteer.gov/results.cfm?ID=9361.

The Ohanapecosh Campground is also looking for hosts, as the ones originally hired had to change their plans. That campground will open for the season in June and close in September. For more information, contact Debbie Hannevig at 360-569-6622 or Debbie_Hannevig(at)nps.gov, or fill out an application at http://www.volunteer.gov/results.cfm?ID=7096.

Nisqually to Paradise Road Construction

A road well-traveled aptly describes the historic Nisqually to Paradise Road. It is the most common entry to popular destinations in Mount Rainier National Park. Like most roads that you travel, it requires maintenance and periodic repairs. This year, the main focus is on the seven miles from the Nisqually Entrance to Longmire. Taking advantage of the best weather, construction began in March 2014 and will continue throughout the spring and summer months. 

Road work begins around 8:00 am and continues to 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Currently no work is scheduled for Saturday or Sunday. Expect delays of up to 20 minutes at one stop. Your total construction delay should not exceed 30 minutes.

If you have a park "86" key as part of your duties, you may bypass the construction by entering via Forest Service Road 52 and the service road behind the Longmire Campground. The road is gated and must be kept closed and locked for security. Ask your supervisor for details.

MeadoWatch 2014

MeadoWatch is looking to recruit volunteers for the 2014 wildflower season! This program was a big hit in the Park last year with volunteers gathering phenologic data on the occurrence of specific species in selected areas.

This year, observers will monitor ten different wildflower species at nine locations along a system of trails which run north to south across approximately 2000 feet (600 meters) of elevation. The 5.5 mile round-trip hike consists of the east branch of the Lakes Trail to the Skyline Trail and finally to the Paradise Glacier trail. This hike can take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours depending on trail conditions, the volunteers' plant identification experience and how fast each person hikes. As a token of appreciation for collecting valuable phenological data, project volunteers may enter the park for free on the day that they will be surveying, and will also have the option to camp within the park for free. 

Sign for MeadoWatch or learn more about the project through their website, MeadoWatch.org.

If you would like to be involved in a citizen science project studying phenology on Mt. Rainier through the collection of photographs from across the entire mountain, please read the details regarding Photo Collection at http://www.meadowatch.org/photo-collection.html.

MeadoWatch staff will be holding a training session at the Tahoma Woods Education Center on June 21, 9:00 AM to approximately 11:30. Contact Anna Wilson at mwatch(at)uw.edu for more information.

JVIPA Chosen for Pacific West Region George Hartzog Award
During the summer of 2013, 24 students from Waseda University in Tokyo came to Mount Rainier to participate in a project organized by the Japan Volunteers-in-Parks Association (J-VIPA).  This year’s volunteer effort marks the final year of a 20-year partnership with J-VIPA that began in 1994.  Since that time, a total of 386 individual program participants have contributed 23,040 hours of service to the park.  The J-VIPA program is one of the largest and most enduring international volunteer partnerships in the National Park Service.  After 20 years, J-VIPA is retiring its partnership with Mount Rainier to focus on volunteer efforts closer to home, especially in the wake of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami in 2011.  This unique partnership has created enduring friendships and good will.  As a result of this volunteer group, 15 people from Mount Rainier’s staff and surrounding community flew to Japan in March 2014 for a week-long cultural exchange which was arranged between Mount Rainier National Park and the Japanese Ministry of Environment. J-VIPA was chosen to receive the Hartzog Volunteer Group Award for the Pacific West Region.

SCA Community Program Nominated for Director's Partnership Award
Mount Rainier National Park has nominated the Seattle office of the Student Conservation Association for a "Director's Partnership Award," recognizing 30 years of youth outreach through its Community Crew program, including 20 years at Mount Rainier.

Since 1984, the community program has engaged Seattle-area youth in local conservation activities. In 1994, the program began bringing crews to Mount Rainier for 15-day leadership projects, mostly building and repairing trails. Over the past two decades more than 750 young people have contributed more than 50,000 hours of service at the park.

MRNPA Twin Firs Trail Project

The MRNPA makes work look like way too much fun! You'll wish you'd been there when you watch these four short videos on our blog: http://rainiervolunteers.blogspot.com/2014/04/mrnpa-twin-firs-trail-project_8086.html

Adopt-a-Highway Volunteers Pick It Up

A record crew of litter pickers showed up at Tahoma Woods at 10 AM on April 26 to patrol the two-mile stretch of SR706 between mileposts 2 and 4, a strip which includes the Park's Tahoma Woods frontage. In partnership with the Washington State Department of Transportation, Mount Rainier's fabulous volunteers contract to make three litter pickups each year, a detail which generally lasts two to three hours on each date. Quite a few of this spring's crew were new volunteers, eager to involve themselves in a project which benefits the community as well as the Park. The team of 13 brought in a total of 10 bags of litter. Former campground host Jean Millan provided munchie packs to each participant. Future patrols will be held in June and September.

Eva Meassick Retires
A Park Volunteer since 1987, Eva Meassick has announced her retirement. Eva and her husband Joe conducted wilderness patrols on the east side as well as frontcountry patrols out of Sunrise until Joe passed away in 2002. The Meassicks also staffed Sunrise, assisting visitors in many capacities, including issuing permits, providing information and offering roadside assistance. They also made winter ski patrols from the north boundary to Chinook Pass, as well as assisting in other volunteer projects and SARs.

In 2003, Eva received the Superintendent's Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2008, she was invited to Washington, D.C. to receive the George B. Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service on behalf of Mount Rainier's volunteer program. Eva and Joe were well-known for their cheerful demeanors and exceptional stewardship of the Park as well as their ability to handle difficult situations.

Upon her retirement, Eva Meassick has a total of 12,496 hours of volunteer service on record. We would like to thank her for her amazing contribution of time and service.

MVP - Monthly Volunteer Profile
We are pleased to announce a new feature on the Park blog: the Monthly Volunteer Profile. Jean Millan, former campground host at Longmire, will be digging into the files to find people with stories to share: stories about visitor contacts, backcountry adventures or simply why an individual chose to be a volunteer. She will be interviewing people who work in a variety of positions, bringing to light many of the behind-the-scene jobs which help keep the Park operating smoothly and efficiently. If Jean contacts you and you are willing to participate, YOU may be featured in our new Monthly Volunteer Profile!

Read about last month's MVP, Pete Sabin, on our volunteer blog.

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Putting a Value on Volunteers
Independent Sector specializes in crunching numbers in order to put a monetary value on volunteer hours. In a recent report, they say that the value of one hour of volunteer service is $22.55 nationally, and in the state of Washington, $26.72.

Eva Meassick Retires

A Park Volunteer since 1987, Eva Meassick has announced her retirement. Eva and her husband Joe conducted wilderness patrols on the east side as well as frontcountry patrols out of Sunrise until Joe passed away in 2002. The Meassicks also staffed Sunrise, assisting visitors in many capacities, including issuing permits, providing information and offering roadside assistance. They also made winter ski patrols from the north boundary to Chinook Pass, as well as assisting in other volunteer projects and SARs.

In 2003, Eva received the Superintendent's Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2008, she was invited to Washington, D.C. to receive the George B. Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. Eva and Joe were cited for their cheerful demeanors and exceptional stewardship of the Park as well as the ability to handle difficult situations.

Upon her retirement, Eva Meassick has a total of 12,496 hours of volunteer service on record. We would again like to thank her for her amazing contribution of time and service.

Mount Rainier's Volunteer Program receives award for Outstanding Volunteer Service

Dr. Jennifer Dow (upper left) and the Flight 93 Volunteer Ambassadors (in light blue shirts) pose with Director Bomar (center), Mount Rainier volunteers, and others at the Department of the Interior.

It's now official -- Mount Rainier National Park's volunteer program today received the George B. Hartzog Jr. Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service! An individual award was also presented to Dr. Jennifer Dow, of Denali, Wrangell-St. Elias, and Katmai National Parks, and a group award was presented to the Flight 93 Volunteer Ambassadors, from Flight 93 National Memorial.

This has been a quick but exciting trip to Washington D.C. Superintendent Dave Uberuaga and I flew out yesterday with volunteer Eva Meassick. Volunteer George Coulbourn joined us this morning; serendipitously, he was already in the D.C. area visiting family during this event, so he just hopped on the Metro and joined us!

I'm so pleased that Eva and George were able to be here to represent our volunteers. They are two of our most dedicated long-term volunteers (admittedly, among many in that category), with more than 30 years and 15,000 hours of service between them. They represented our program well, and did a fine job of conveying the pride we have in our national park and those who serve it.

Today began with a tour (in off-and-on rain) of some of the sites on the National Mall, with ranger John Hanna explaining the finer details of the World War II, Vietnam War, Korean War, and FDR Memorials. We were joined by representatives from the Flight 93 Volunteer Ambassadors. I had conversations with several of these remarkable volunteers, whose dedication to interpreting one of the central stories from September 11, 2001 is truly inspiring. These are people who live close to the crash site, who self-organized to respond to the hundreds of people who started visiting after 9/11. It's now a unit of the National Park Service, working on purchasing land, and making plans for a visitor center and memorial, but more than 40 people still put in a few days a week each to meet individuals and school groups in all kinds of weather to tell the story and answer questions.

We returned to the hotel at noon for a luncheon attended by about 40 people, including several representatives from the leadership of the National Park Service: Joy Pietschmann, director of the NPS volunteer program; Chris Jarvi, Associate Director for Partnerships and Visitor Experience; Doug Blankinship, from Take Pride in America; Mark Kornmann, from the National Park Foundation; Dave Barna, communications director for the Park Service; and others. They spoke in turn about the importance of volunteerism and the quality of this year's award recipients. Sharing our table was Dr. Jennifer Dow, the individual award winner and an emergency room doctor at Alaska Regional Hospital, who also serves in a volunteer capacity as medical director for three major national parks in southern Alaska. She is a dedicated, talented, and eye-crossingly busy person, who flew out from Alaska just long enough to receive her award before hopping on a plane again for the 12-hour set of return flights.

When it was our turn, we went up front and received our award, a beautiful crystal medallion in a wooden display case, and a check for $1,000 for our volunteer program from the National Park Foundation. I said a few words of thanks--in the picture here, I'm reassuring the crowd that no, even though I'd really like to, I'm not going to read the names of all 1,724 people who helped earn this award for us in 2007! George said a few eloquent words as well, repeating the sentiment I've heard from him many times, that volunteering is a "positive feedback loop" that returns more benefit to the volunteer than the volunteer invests into it. (We were talking about this before the luncheon, and decided that every hour volunteering is an hour that gets taken off of your age, making George 2 1/2 years younger than he would be if he hadn't spent 5000 hours volunteering. Kind of like "dog years in reverse.") Dave Uberuaga spoke briefly too, expressing his gratitude on behalf of all of us in the National Park Service to our many volunteers for their hard work and steadfast support, and emphasizing the added value that their efforts bring to Mount Rainier National Park.

A Volunteer Accessibility Achievement Award was also presented to the Friends of Great Falls Tavern in the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park for designing mule-drawn canal boats accessible to those with mobility and hearing impairments. After the awards, we posed for lots of pictures, then hopped in a van to drive over to the Department of the Interior, where we spent a few minutes chatting with the Director of the National Park Service, Mary Bomar, and posed for more pictures. We returned to the hotel to say our farewells to each other and swap business cards with new friends. George headed back to his aunt's home in Falls Church, while Dave, Eva, and I walked down to Old Ebbitt's Grill (in what was by this time a steady drizzle) for dinner. We'll be up bright and early (at least early) tomorrow morning to return to Washington state.

For now, our--your--Hartzog Award will be in my office at Longmire, so stop by any time to take a look at it. I'll be attending the Meadow Rovers brunch in Tacoma on Saturday and will bring it along to that event, and to any other events in the near future where volunteers may be present as well. I'm very proud of you all for helping to make ours the best volunteer program in the National Park Service this year, and you have all been close to our thoughts throughout today's festivities, as we have humbly represented your outstanding contributions.

New news and previews of coming events

April and May are always busy months for our volunteer program. I'm getting at least half a dozen calls and e-mails per day from people with questions about volunteering, and we're busy planning projects and training for the coming season. Here's where we stand:

New Volunteers: I've received dozens of calls and e-mails in the past two weeks while I've been traveling from people interested in joining our volunteer program. Thank you all for your interest! I'm a bit overwhelmed at the moment getting caught up from being away, but responding to your inquiries is high on my priority list. Please be patient, I intend to respond to each of you, hopefully within the next week. This is a good place to remind you, too, that I would be extremely grateful for some help keeping up with the start-of-season flood of paperwork and correspondence related to new volunteers. Some of it (the correspondence especially) could even be done remotely. If you'd like to help, send me an e-mail.

Projects: Meanwhile, we're making progress on a project calendar for the summer. My partner on the SCA side, Jill Baum, will be sending me a list of upcoming projects, which I will post here on this blog. We have few specific dates yet, but hope to have them soon. Most of the work will begin in mid June, with a few earlier projects; you can, for sure, set aside June 7, which is National Trails Day and will have a bunch of projects scheduled.

Training: We're also closing in on a training schedule. I have a tentative schedule, at least, for our beginning-of-season interpretation training, our volunteer program management training, and our Conservation Corps training. Volunteers are welcome to participate in any or all of that. I'll post those tentative calendars later today or tomorrow, so stay tuned and watch for it in a later blog entry.

Surveys: Don't worry, I haven't forgotten to get back to you with the results of the volunteer survey. It has been such a gold mine of information that it's taken some time to compile. I'm about halfway through preparing a PowerPoint/PDF summary of the key insights we've gleaned from the survey, and will share that with you, along with the raw data, as soon as I get it finished.

Representing Mount Rainier: As we announced recently, Mount Rainier National Park has received the George B. Hartzog Jr. Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. Superintendent Dave Uberuaga and I will be traveling back to Washington D.C. next week with volunteers Eva Meassick and George Coulbourn to receive the award on behalf of our volunteer program. Thank you to Eva and George for agreeing to represent us at this prestigious event! It will be a luncheon ceremony at noon on May 8th, attended by the Director of the National Park Service.

Eva and George are both patrol rangers in the Carbon River/Sunrise areas of the park. Both have been volunteering for years and have received our Superintendent's Award for Lifetime Achievement. Eva has passed the 10,000 hour mark for volunteer service since 1987, while George is closing in on 5,000 hours since 1997.

More from the EarthVision Summit: The EarthVision Summit I attended last week, sponsored by the Student Conservation Association near Washington D.C., was incredibly energizing. More than 400 youth attended, and their commitment to service on behalf of the environment was inspiring. I'm still sorting through my own pictures, but meanwhile, if you're interested, you can find loads of images, videos, and stories at SCA's Conservation Nation blog.

In the News: Also out there in cyberspace: The Washington Trails Association now has a YouTube page; spring opening is a struggle at Olympic National Park (no surprise, since we're dealing with lots of lingering snow issues ourself); and Mike Gauthier has posted a "year in review" summary for the Mount Rainier climbing program. I hear also through the grapevine that a citizen climber on our mountain will be receiving a Valor Award next week for help in saving the lives of a couple of other climbers. I'll try to get more details on this and share it with you. Meanwhile, Mount Rainier is one of many national parks nationwide that will receive Centennial Initiative funding to help improve the park; the park is still accepting input from the public about proposed repairs to the Wonderland Trail near Carbon River; and a news website in Massachusetts (!) listed WTA-led volunteer projects at Mount Rainier as one of six examples of Earth Day activities nationwide.

That's all for now; I'll get those training calendars, project lists, and survey summaries posted as soon as I receive them.

Loads of news from all over

Lots of cool things to catch you up on today. First, check out this awesome picture taken today by volunteer Eva Meassick, on patrol with Uwe Nehring at Chinook Pass. Yes, that's the entrance arch at the pass, completely buried by the snow!! Latest word is that DOT has plowed to about a mile and a half from Cayuse Pass.

Next, in the news: Here's the Department of the Interior's press release about our Cooperative Conservation Award; the Adventure Guys at The News Tribune report on "Another Award for Mount Rainier"; American Rivers borrows one of our flood damage photos for their advocacy efforts; and the Seattle Times had a great article recently about EarthCorps and their volunteer efforts, including work at Mount Rainier, titled "Local Agency, Global Reach".

Here's a memo from Mary Bomar, Director of the National Park Service, about National Park Week, April 19-27:

National Park Week is also a time to pause and thank all those who help protect our special places and provide outstanding visitor experiences to all. That certainly includes the men and women of the National Park Service; but it also includes the volunteers, concessioners, cooperating associations, friends groups and partners who work with us daily. Together, we can engage Americans with their parks—to visit them, to support them and to ensure they remained unimpaired for the future generations. Thank you for all you are doing for National Park Week and for what you do every day. You’re the best! Happy National Park Week!

Finally, a quick update on my adventures in Washington D.C. Superintendent Dave Uberuaga and I spent Tuesday and Wednesday participating in the Cooperative Conservation Workshop, sharing ideas with other winners of the Cooperative Conservation Award. There are a lot of good programs out there, and I think we learned a lot from each other. Today we both moved on to the Student Conservation Association's EarthVision Workshop, so I'm blogging from a dorm room at the 4-H Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland, surrounded by literally hundreds of high school and college age kids (and some old guys like me too) who are fired up about service for public lands. I attended one session this evening, but the main events begin tomorrow, with a welcome from the Secretary of the Interior and a set of service projects around the Capitol.

In between, Dave and I attended the rollout of the Park Service's Centennial Initiative on the steps of the Capitol Building. The ubiquitous Secretary Kempthorne was there, along with Director Mary Bomar, several Congressmen including Norm Dicks, representatives of several major partnerships, lots of park rangers, a bunch of very hot kids representing the Class of 2016 (NPS's centennial year), and even Ben Franklin! We also walked around the Capitol dropping off framed copies of our Mount Rainier Recovery poster to both of our Senators, our to Congressman (Dave Reichert), and to Congressman Norm Dicks, who has been so vital a partner in his role on the Interior Appropriations Committee. We missed seeing Congressman Reichert and Senator Murray in person, but were welcomed by their staff. Congressman Dicks was on his way to a vote, but brought us into his office for five minutes to hear all the news from the park. We thought we'd missed Senator Cantwell, but she came in just as we were leaving and we were invited to join her and about ten other people for a coffee meeting! So we got to spend about half an hour with her and to present her with her poster in person. All of the elected representatives that we met today were very impressed by your accomplishments as volunteers, and all of our Washington delegation had very specific questions about the ongoing work in the park.

We're finalizing details for our return trip to D.C. for the Hartzog Award on May 8. We've tentatively confirmed two volunteers to travel to the Capitol to receive the award on behalf of the rest of you. I'll share the details with you when they are confirmed.