Aiding Paradise: Volunteers are helping us understand and prepare for climate change

Volunteers make survey measurements
on the Nisqually Glacier

Many of you have already read the excellent 16-page special section in The News Tribune that came out last month called "Losing Paradise: Climate Change is Changing Mount Rainier." If you haven't done so, it's an excellent read, covering everything from the science behind climate change (both what we know and what's still uncertain) to its effects on the mountain's glaciers, rivers, plants, animals, visitors, and caretakers.

The one tiny flaw in this exceptional and comprehensive story is that nowhere are volunteers mentioned -- at least, by that title. But anyone who knows anything about Mount Rainier knows that volunteers are intimately involved in everything we do, and that is certainly true of our efforts to understand and prepare for climate change.

This mountain is one of the best places on the planet to study the local effects of changing climate, and as the article suggests, it has attracted a swarm of graduate students. Many are independent researchers, working with their universities under research permits. Others are hired as volunteers or interns by the National Park Service through programs like the Geoscientists-in-Parks program, a partnership with the Geologic Society of America (whose interns have contributed greatly to Mount Rainier over the years, and whose 2015 positions are accepting applications until February 3rd). Scott Beason, a park geologist, began his career as a "GIP" intern. John Beyeler and Rebecca Rossi, who spent the summer of 2013 gathering stream data in the Carbon River channel, and who are featured on the cover the special section in the News Tribune, sitting on an island surrounded by the rushing river, were two more such interns. Emily Knoth and John Russell, 2014 interns, are photographed conducting surveys at Longmire. Mitch Haynes, pictured mapping the Nisqually Glacier, was a 2014 summer volunteer working with park geomorphologist Paul Kennard.

MeadoWatch volunteer Karen Murante
surveys wildflowers on Mazama Ridge

Volunteers help in other ways, too. They survey sensitive animal species on our wildlife crews, and serve as Citizen Scientists, documenting the changing populations of amphibian surveys in wilderness lakes and ponds. "MeadoWatch" volunteers monitor the timing of when flowers bloom and set seed, and its Park Service and University of Washington facilitators are working with NASA satellite imagery to develop predictive snow melt models. The volunteer Cascade Butterfly Survey tracks fluctuations in butterfly populations over the years. Even casual park visitors can get involved, by submitting their geotagged photos for researchers to analyze. The deployment of volunteers gives us hundreds of data points where, if we relied solely on paid staff, we would have only dozens.

And, of course, when the rivers rise, causing damage like that of the November 2006 floods that wiped out roads, bridges, trails, and campgrounds, volunteers respond to make repairs. Miles of trail were rebuilt almost entirely by volunteers; it's no exaggeration to say that large swaths of the park would still be closed off without the help of partners like the Washington Trails Association and Student Conservation Association who helped organize work crews. Community groups representing REI, Boeing, Starbucks, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, church groups, military units, geocaching clubs, and dozens of others joined hundreds of individuals to grade and build and brush and plant.

You can make a difference! Volunteer with our MeadoWatch, Butterfly Survey, or Citizen Science programs to help gather data for researchers. Share your photos of flowering plants (how simple is that)! Work with our Trail Crews, and with our partners at the Washington Trails Association, to continue repairing and maintaining damaged trails. Support the work of other partners like Washington's National Park Fund and the National Parks Conservation Association. Join other volunteer efforts throughout the year, and encourage your employee associations, church groups, civic groups, and community organizations to contribute. Together, we can make a real difference. See you on the Mountain!

Soliciting help for the Nisqually Glacier Survey later this month

I received the following e-mail from Scott Beason, Mount Rainier's geologist, this week. He's looking for help surveying the Nisqually Glacier, and is open to volunteer assistance. If you're interested, contact him at the e-mail address or phone number below. Note that this is arduous work, suitable only for those in excellent physical condition--but it's also a cool opportunity (no pun intended)!

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Hello Everyone!

I think we’re finally getting to the point on the Nisqually Glacier where we’ll be able to see some rocks or other stuff on the surface to survey! We’re hoping to get a pretty large area of rocks surveyed in order to determine the extents of stagnating ice on the lower glacier. This will involve using a Total Station to survey in individual rocks on the glacier over the course of several weeks. We will hopefully have between 2 and 3 teams combing the Nisqually Glacier surveying in rocks. Each team will also GPS and photograph the rocks in order to get relative positions so they can be resurveyed.

At this point, I am seeking the following information:

1) Are you able/willing to help out on the following dates:

Thursday, August 18;
Thursday August 25;
Thursday, September 1; and
Thursday, September 8.
(Possibly one other day in September, to be determined)

There may also be another day down the road where we’ll have surveys. I think the first 2 surveys will be the most important in determining the initial surface velocities.

2) Do you have glacier hiking/climbing skills and have personal gear necessary for the trip?

We have a limited amount of equipment (crampons, helmets, ice axes, etc) for the excursion, but not enough to supply everyone.

3) Do you know others that may be interested in helping?

Please let me know if you are willing/interested in helping… this isn’t really a funded project for us, but it’s definitely important and will be a cornerstone for future delineation of ice extents at Mount Rainier. If you can forward this on to anyone I may have forgotten who you think might want to help, I would sincerely appreciate it.

Thanks again for all the help!

Scott Beason
Park Geologist
Mount Rainier National Park
360-569-6781
Scott_Beason@nps.gov

Volunteers contribute to Nisqually River research

The News Tribune, on Sunday and Monday, had a pair of articles about the Nisqually River and the research that's being done on it, both here in the park and further downstream. The articles feature work by several current and former volunteers. Scott Beason began working with us as a Geologist-in-Parks volunteer sponsored by the Geological Society of America, a position we try to fill every year at either Paradise or Sunrise or, budget permitting, both. Scott has since done a lot of work with us as a volunteer researcher while completing his master's thesis. This summer, Beth Copeland is also filling that role, as a student researcher from Oregon State University. Their research is contributing to our understanding of the geologic processes underway on the Nisqually River, how those processes might be being influenced by climate change, and the implications for those of us who live along the river.

The first article, from the July 20th News Tribune, is called "Revolution on the Nisqually River." The second, from July 21st, is called "Scientists study impact of glacial melt on rivers."