Seeking hosts for the Longmire Stewardship Campground

I just discovered that, due to a typo, our advertisement for campground host volunteers at the Longmire Stewardship Campground has not been visible on volunteer.gov. While we do have some applicants on file from our other campgrounds, I could use a few more applicants to choose from, and who have applied specifically for this job.

The full listing and online application is at http://www.volunteer.gov/results.cfm?ID=9361, and is reproduced here:

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Mount Rainier National Park's volunteer program is seeking an individual, a couple, or multiple individuals in sequence to serve for five months (or a portion thereof) as the manager of the Longmire Campground.

The historic Longmire Campground was closed to use by the general public almost forty years ago. Since then, many of its trails and facilities have gradually disappeared under a sea of moss, with the exception of a dozen sites that were restored for use by seasonal employees living in RVs. In 2007, full-scale restoration efforts began, with the help of volunteers under the direction of the Mount Rainier Recovery Corps, as part of recovery efforts following flood damage in November of 2006. The campground now has two dozen rough individual campsites and two group sites, though few picnic tables or fire pits. Five platform tent sites have been built, though the tents themselves must be taken down and put into storage during the winter months. A bath house has been built with three shower units, one of them handicap-accessible.

These restored campsites and facilities are now available for the exclusive use of volunteers and other park partners. The campground manager sought by this announcement will be responsible for the following duties:

• Opening the campground in the spring, including cleaning up winter storm debris, rebuilding the platform tents, and assisting with dewinterization of the bath house.
• Coordinating use of the campground by volunteers, including scheduling the use of campsites and welcoming and assisting volunteers as they come and go.
• General upkeep and maintenance of the campground throughout the summer, including working with maintenance staff to keep the bath houses clean and well-stocked.
• Continuing the campground's historic restoration, including helping maintenance staff to remove deteriorating picnic tables and fire grates, and build and install new ones.
• Preparing the campground for winter, including taking down the platform tents and putting them into storage.
• Leading volunteers on campground-related projects, including any or all of the above-listed tasks.
• Assisting with other volunteer-related duties as available and interested, including data entry, correspondence, and coordination of volunteer events.

Housing for this position may be in one of the campground's employee RV spaces, which includes water and electrical hookups. An RV will be required. A separate vehicle is also recommended for trips to town. Alternatively, an apartment is available adjacent to the campground for those who prefer it or do not have an RV. The person selected for this position will generally be on duty Thursday through Monday, with Tuesdays and Wednesdays off, though this schedule may vary. A background check may be required.

The campground host's apartment or RV site and hookups will be provided at no cost. Pets are permitted for full-time RV residents in the Longmire Campground if they are indoor pets and not kenneled outside.

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I need hosts from mid-May through the end of September, though I will consider multiple partial seasons to fill that span of time (and last year's hosts may return for part of the season). Actual time working will vary according to how busy the campground is. There will be stretches when the campground is only partially occupied, and duties may be completed in a few hours. At other times, the campground will be completely full, with people checking in at all hours. (There are a few very large groups already scheduled to use the campground this summer.) The work will average out to about 32-40 hours per week. A small per diem is available, if needed, to defray living expenses.

Please share this job announcement with anyone who may be interested, and direct any questions to me at Kevin_Bacher (at) nps.gov. I will be filling the position no later than April 24.

Wanted: Longmire Volunteer Campground Manager

Boy Scout volunteers hard at work cleaning up
storm debris in the Longmire Volunteer Campground

With summer fast approaching, we are still searching for the right individual or couple to serve as our next Campground Manager at the Longmire Volunteer Campground. It's a unique position -- part campground host, part docent, part project crew leader, part volunteer coordinator -- and it requires a unique person to fill the role.

Specifically, we're looking for someone to live in our volunteer campground in their RV and coordinate the use of 31 tent sites, 2 group places, and several platform tents. You'll be taking reservations and assigning campsites, making sure guests are aware of campground regulations and in compliance with them, and making sure everyone feels welcomed and supported. You'll deal with challenges as they come up -- illegal campers, people who've lost their keys, loose dogs, and periodic reports of gunfire echoing up the canyon from Forest Service land outside the park. You'll maintain, clean, and supply a comfort station with three showers, and assign and retrieve keys from campers. You'll make sure that campsites are kept clean and inviting for the next guest.

The Longmire Campground is a historic site dating back to the 1930s, so its spaces are small, limiting RVs, including yours, to 24 feet in length. It contains 16 sites with hookups, including yours, which are used by park staff, concession employees, and full-time volunteers. The remaining sites -- the ones you'll be coordinating -- have no hookups.

The campground was closed to public use in the late 1960s, and was resurrected in 2007 for use by volunteers, education groups, and other working park partners. Its picnic tables are begged and borrowed, and its fire grates are 50 years old. With the help of grant money from Washington's National Park Fund and Glad®, we're planning to purchase and build or install new tables and grates this summer. You'll be helping to coordinate and lead these efforts, as well as other volunteer groups that help open the campground in the spring (cleaning up storm debris and setting up platform tents) and close it down in the fall.

Like any campground host position, it's a full-time, 40-hour-a-week job, with flexible hours, since you'll need to be on call whenever volunteers arrive or need assistance. Reimbursement is available for living expenses. The season begins approximately June 1 and runs through the end of September.

If you're interested, don't delay -- fill out an application today at volunteer.gov! You can also contact me directly to express interest in the position, at 360-569-6567 or Kevin_Bacher [at] NPS.gov.

Summer Volunteer Assistant positions posted

While it may seem odd to be thinking about summer staffing while there's still four feet of snow on the ground at Longmire, it's nevertheless time to start recruiting! I've posted two new positions today, for individuals who will help manage and operate our volunteer program this summer:

SCA Volunteer Coordinator
A six-month position hired through the Student Conservation Association. This individual will be my right-hand man or woman from April to October. We have a special challenge this year: After two years with the assistance of the Mount Rainier Recovery Corps, led by the tireless Jill Baum, this year we're on our own, the way we were before the great flood of November 2006. Nevertheless, we want to keep the momentum going. We've almost doubled the number of volunteers we work with, and we've created volunteer opportunities in exciting new areas. I'm meeting with program managers all over the park this month and next to begin planning for the coming summer, and so far, the theme is "we could do more, if we just had a little help." I'm encouraging supervisors to consider hiring an intern or volunteer to fill this role, with assistance and coordination from my office. That's the SCA Volunteer Coordinator will come in: that will be the person who helps me network both with park supervisors and with individual and group volunteers, to orchestrate the free-ranging logistics of our summer volunteer program. I'm hoping this individual will also be able to help with recruitment, outreach, publicity, partnerships, training, and strategic planning. In other words, this will be a demanding job, one that will take a lot of skill, but one that will provide invaluable experience and a great deal of job satisfaction. The Volunteer Coordinator will also work closely with the:

Longmire Campground Manager
The Longmire Campground Manager will be in charge of day to day operations in the historic, newly-restored Longmire Campground, which has been set aside for the use of volunteers. He or she--or he and she--or a succession of hes and shes over the course of the summer from May to October--will set up the campground in the spring and prepare it for winter in the fall, including building platform tents and returning them to storage. They will coordinate use of the campground by volunteers, and serve as hosts for volunteer guests. They will help with general maintenance and cleaning, especially of the new shower building. They will continue the process of renovating the campground and making it more usable by volunteers, including, hopefully, removal of deteriorating picnic tables and installation of new ones. They will work with groups of public volunteers to accomplish many of these projects, and will help out with general office work and event coordination as time permits. We will provide an RV site with hookups, as well as a reimbursement of general living expenses.

To apply for the Volunteer Coordinator position, visit the website of the Student Conservation Association. (Note: As of this writing, the position is still in the process of being added to the SCA database. If not all of the details show up yet, please check back later.) To apply for the Longmire Campground Manager position, fill out an application on volunteer.gov/gov, or submit a resume directly to me at Kevin_Bacher@nps.gov. Call me with any questions at 360-569-2211 ext. 3385. Both positions will be open until filled.