Volunteers will work on trails, planting at Mount Rainier on National Public Lands Day, September 25 – Entrance Fees to be Waived

September 21, 2010
For Immediate Release
Kevin Bacher, Volunteer and Outreach Program Manager
360-569-2211 ext. 3385, Kevin_Bacher@nps.gov

On National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 25, 2010, more than a hundred volunteers will assemble at Mount Rainier National Park to plant native plants and work on completing repairs to the Glacier Basin Trail. Volunteers will also conduct general maintenance around the Longmire Volunteer Campground in preparation for winter. The work day will cap a highly successful season in which more than a thousand volunteers have contributed to the protection of Mount Rainier National Park’s natural and cultural treasures and helped serve its visitors.

Members of the public are invited to join in the day’s work. The National Parks Conservation Association, the Washington Trails Association, Evergreen State College, and the T’Kope Kwiskwis Lodge of the Boy Scouts of America will also participate.

National Public Lands Day is an annual celebration of public involvement in the stewardship of America’s national, state, and local parks and forests. More than 120,000 individuals are expected to participate in events all over the country. In recognition of this, entrance fees will be waived at all national parks for the day. Volunteers will receive an additional coupon for free admission on a day of their choice.

National Public Lands Day volunteers will register at the Longmire Museum, on the south side of Mount Rainier National Park, by 9:00 a.m. and then continue on to Paradise. Volunteers throughout the months of September and October have been helping park crews to plant 120,000 native plants on the site of the old Jackson Visitor Center, which was replaced in 2008. Meanwhile, at White River Campground, in the northeast corner of the park, volunteers will join crew leaders at 9:00 a.m. to rebuild sections of the Glacier Basin Trail that were damaged by flooding in November 2006.

Volunteers should come prepared for cool, wet weather, with warm clothing, rain gear, sturdy footwear, and gloves. If the weather is nice, sunglasses, sunscreen, and hats are recommended. Volunteers should also bring water, snacks, and a lunch.

A coalition of nonprofit organizations and corporations has supported volunteer efforts at Mount Rainier throughout the summer. The National Parks Conservation Association coordinates National Public Lands Day and leads efforts to increase public awareness and understanding of issues facing northwest parks. Washington Trails Association members and crew leaders have led projects at Glacier Basin and elsewhere. Student Conservation Association interns and crews serve as volunteer coordinators and on trail teams. Washington’s National Park Fund supports volunteer and outreach efforts through fundraising. Corporations including REI and Starbucks have contributed with both financial and on-the-ground volunteer support. Hundreds of individuals and dozens of groups have invested their time and sweat, in partnership with park employees, to build and patrol trails, assist and educate visitors, conduct citizen science research, plant native plants, provide roadside assistance to visitors, maintain backcountry campsites, and catalogue historic records. Last year, 1,865 volunteers contributed 72,231 hours of service at Mount Rainier, an effort valued at $1.5 million.

Information about Mount Rainier National Park’s volunteer program, including a list of open positions, a calendar of activities, and pictures and videos of volunteers in action may be found on Mount Rainier National Park’s website at www.nps.gov/mora, or on its volunteer program blog at rainiervolunteers.blogspot.com.

- NPS -

The 2010 Mount Rainier Volunteer Picnic

Three Moon Bay Video has once again come through for us by donating their time, resources, and considerable talent, this time with a one-minute clip of the Volunteer Picnic on August 28. If you weren't able to attend, here's a little of what you missed! Your work is deeply appreciated, and we hope you're able to attend next time!

This video is also available in High Definition on YouTube and Vimeo.

Thank you, Three Moon Bay!

Revegetation Drop-In Week

Time to strike while the iron is hot!

In 2004, 18,000 plants were grown for restoration mostly in the Sunrise area. By continually growing our exemplary greenhouse and revegetation programs, this year we are undertaking perhaps our most ambitious restoration project by placing 120,000 plants into the fragil subalpine areas of Paradise and Sunrise. This is a testament to the dedication in preserving and restoring the esscence of Mount Rainier National Park, its subalpine meadows.

Unfortunately for these beautiful and precious areas there is a very small window in which the conditions are just right to plant and regrow the damaged meadows. Our revegetation crew will continue to work tirelessly to accomplish this huge endeavor but achieving our full potential will only be possible with the help from YOU!

Thanks to groups of students from Evergreen State College who will be working Saturday through Thursday we are inviting everyone to "drop-in" this week with the revegetation crew at Paradise.

Revegetation Drop-In
Saturday September 18th - Thursday 23rd
9:00am-4:30pm
Paradise Lower Lots
All are welcome!

Don't forget that our biggest volunteer day of the year, National Public Lands Day, is September 25th! Free entry to the park, a free entry voucher to all volunteers for use in the future, friends, family, and fun restoring the sub-alpine meadows!

Saturday September 25th

9:00am-4:30pm

Registration at Longmire Administration Building

J-VIPAs at Thompson Ranch

Mount Rainier recently hosted our 17th yearly group of volunteers from Japan aka J-VIPAs. This year 9 volunteers stayed with host families for up to two weeks working at the Thompson Ranch at what is to be the Carbon River Ranger Station on a number of projects including building this staircase!

During their time away from volunteering they attended a Seattle Mariners baseball game with several park employees. The J-VIPAs also enjoyed hiking and a tour of Mount Rainier National Park with special stops at previous year's J-VIPA projects.

A big thanks to everyone who contributes to making the J-VIPA program possible and especially to the J-VIPAs for their hard work!

National Public Lands Day is September 25th!

National Public Lands Day 2010 celebrates service and recreation on public lands while educating volunteers about the effects of climate change on our parks. NPLD engages a diverse audience of adult and youth volunteers to get to outdoors and improve their lands, whether at the grandest national park or at an urban park in their neighborhood.

NPLD inspires a new generation of volunteers committed to service on public lands. The event also encourages volunteers to explore and enjoy America's natural wonders through outdoor recreation. After working hard, volunteers can take a hike, a swim, a bicycle ride and get healthy in America's backyard.

Last year Mount Rainier received over 200 volunteers participating in revegetation, trail work and other various volunteer projects. We are trying to top last year's numbers by offering several volunteer opportunities around the park.

Volunteers should plan on meeting in front of the Administration Building in Longmire at 9:00am for the official welcome, volunteer registration, and to receive your NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS FREE ADMISSION PASS!!

Some of the volunteer projects taking place will be;

• Restoration Project with Will Arnesen at the Paradise Lower Lot
• Longmire Campground end of season cleanup
• WTA - Glacier Basin Trail work
• Trail crew cleanup

Finally, don't forget to bring your cameras! There photo contest again this year and Mount Rainier boasts a nation-wide winning photograph 2 years in a row! So let the shutters fly and send in your pictures. You can see the previous pictures from 2008 and 2009 here.

Reminder: FREE Living History training this Saturday!

In case you missed it the first time, don't miss our announcement of free Living History training at Mount Rainier National Park this Saturday, September 11, 2010! We'll spend the day working with an expert in presenting programs about history using first-person or third-person techniques. This is an exciting opportunity to make the history of Mount Rainier come alive!

The class is filling up rapidly, but there are still a few spots left, so give West District Interpreter Lee Snook a call today to reserve your space!

Will Arnesen and Josh Drown receive 2010 NCR Co-Employee of the Year Award

Please help us in congratulating Will and Josh in receiving 2010 Natural and Cultural Resources Co-Employee of the Year Award who extend their thanks to all the volunteers that contribute their valuable time and efforts to their programs.
Will Arnesen is being recognized as the Natural and Cultural Resource (NCR) Division Co-Employee of the Year for 2010. Will directs the park’s field restoration operation and takes great pride in all aspects of the vegetation restoration program. He is a very accomplished at coordinating invasive non-native plant treatments by both the crew and the EPMT, native plant salvage and maintenance, and planting of both salvage and greenhouse produced native plant materials. In October 2009 he coordinated the completion of planting approximately 100,000 greenhouse plants and 5,000 contractor grown shrubs at Paradise, and this year will plant approximately 120,000 plants at Paradise and Sunrise. He is very dedicated to protecting the ecosystems of the park and maintenance of the salvage and greenhouse plantings through scheduling regular watering by the crew after initial planting. He has proven to be an excellent supervisor of a crew that is composed of personnel from various sources including seasonal hires, student hires, SCA’s, YCC’s and Japanese VIP’s. He also incorporates the efforts of various volunteer groups on weekends and specials events, including training for the ongoing efforts of volunteer meadow rovers. On National Public Lands Day he coordinated the efforts of over 150 volunteers in that one day. Since the previous restoration lead went on extended detail, Will has assumed leadership of the vegetation restoration crew without missing a beat. He purchases supplies and materials needed to support the operation, and documents those purchases to support management of the numerous accounts that fund the operation, including Paradise restoration, Sunrise restoration and several Federal Highways projects. Will also routinely presents vegetation of the park and restoration program information to both internal and external groups, such as seasonal interpreters and Elderhostel.

Josh Drown is being recognized as the Natural and Cultural Resource (NCR) Division Co-Employee of the Year for 2010. Josh manages the park’s horticultural operation and takes great pride in the production of native plants for the vegetation restoration program. He is a very accomplished at coordinating seed collection and cleaning, stratification and propagation, care of containerized plants and subsequent transplanting. In October 2009 he completed production and delivery of approximately 100,000 greenhouse plants to the Paradise restoration site, and this year is in process of production of another 120,000 plants: 80,000 plants for Paradise and 40,000 plants for Sunrise. He is very dedicated to the nurturing of the seedlings and plants by tending to the watering and climate control of the greenhouse. He will come in on weekends or holidays before seasonal staff have come on duty or when they are otherwise unavailable to provide plant care and facility maintenance. Since the retirement of the previous horticulturist, Josh has assumed management of the greenhouse without missing a beat. He purchases supplies and materials needed to support the operation and maintain the facilities, and documents those purchases to support management of the numerous accounts that fund the operation, including Paradise restoration, Sunrise restoration and several Federal Highways projects. Josh routinely assists other staff in the operation of the park’s air quality monitoring station at Tahoma Woods, and directs the mowing of the meadows adjacent to the greenhouse to reduce the potential of invasive plants to contaminate the native plant materials used for restoration.

Will and Josh are hard-working employees and well respected by their staff, peers and all NCR personnel. Will and Josh are to be commended for their excellent technical skills and dedication to resource protection. Their work in the vegetation restoration program compliments each other and they are both very deserving of this award.

Volunteer Newsletter: September 2010

As the end of the summer draws near the kids are going back to school and the we're seeing the number of daily visitors fall with each Fahrenheit degree on my thermometer here in Longmire but there is still so much work to be done! We'll have individual volunteers and groups out working nearly every day until the winter's snow covers their tracks. Please come join us in enjoying the parks beauty by serving in whatever capacity that interests you. Listed below you will find our upcoming opportunities for the month of September.

Washington Trails Association Projects
Contact WTA through their website to register for these projects:

September 3, 4 & 5 - WTA Trail Work Party at Glacier Basin
September 10, 11 & 12 - WTA Trail Work Party at Glacier Basin
September 17, 18 & 19 - WTA Trail Work Party at Glacier Basin
September 25 - NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY at Glacier Basin

Mount Rainier National Park Associates Projects
Contact MRNPA through their website for details and to register for these projects:

September 11 - Alpine Gardening Party at Sunrise
October 2 - Trail Maintenance

Training Opportunities
Watch for details about these training courses, and how to register for them, on this blog:

Living History Training - September 11, 8:30am - 5:00pm at the Education Center in Tahoma Woods

Other Individual Volunteer Opportunities
Several dates are on the calendar for drop-in projects, with more being planned:

National Public Lands Day
September 25 - Look for an upcoming blog with the details on one of the largest volunteer weekends of the year. Last year we hosted over 200 volunteers!

Revegetation projects at Paradise
September 11, 18, and 25 - Help us plant native plants in the meadows above Paradise. Individuals and groups are welcome.

Soundscape Monitoring
This unique opportunity to contribute to science by assisting with the Soundscape Surveys is located in some of the most spectacular backcountry areas of Mount Rainier National Park on a gorgeous fall day? --anyone interested should contact Brett Kiser directly at bkiser@rsginc.com, or by calling 802-295-4999 (work) or 540-250-0202 (cell)

Group Projects
If you are a part of a group and/or organization that is looking for a project at the park we have several projects that require groups ranging in size from 5 to 100. Multi-day projects can use volunteers for a single day, or for several days at a stretch. Here are some options:

Cougar Rock Campsite Rehabilitation:
Join maintenance crews as they repair and rehab individual and group campsites in the Cougar Rock Campground. Crews will work Monday-Thursday from August 30 to October 7. Contact Dale Harvard at 360-569-2211 ext. 3388.

Trail Maintenance:
Our trail crews will be building and maintaining trails all summer long, and are always happy for help from volunteer groups. Call Trails Foreman Carl Fabiani at 360-569-2211 ext. 3351 to set up a date and location for a project that meets your needs any time.

Native Plant Restoration:
Weather permitting our revegetation crews will be busy through late September planting native plants at locations in both Paradise and Sunrise. Groups of almost unlimited size are welcome to help, either for single days or multiple day stretches. Contact Will Arnesen at 360-569-2211 ext. 3374 to arrange a date for your group.

More projects are in the works, so even if you don't see something of interest to you here, give us a call (360-569-2211 ext. 3385) and let us connect your group with a project that will make a real difference at Mount Rainier National Park!

Individual Openings
Would you like to volunteer for a longer period of time, or return regularly throughout the summer to help with an extended projects? We have many opportunities to choose from! Follow these links for details and to apply for any project that interests you:

Meadow Rover: Help us protect the subalpine meadows above Paradise and Sunrise by patrolling trails and educating visitors about the importance of staying on trails.

Plant Propagation (Greenhouse Assistant): Help grow plants for transplanting in the subalpine meadows.

Historic (Costumed) Interpreter: Act out scenes from the park's history, or help lead visitors by lantern-light through the trails at Longmire! Although we won't be putting on any more Shadows of the Past programs this summer we are looking for interpreters to put on programs at other times. Anyone interested should sign up to attend our upcoming Living History training session.

Citizen Science Team: Survey frogs, salamanders, and other species in the park's backcountry!

Resources
Besides the obvious benefits of volunteering at a National Park (time outdoors, meeting new people, sense of accomplishment), our volunteers get free entrance to the park on their days of service, as well as free use of the Longmire Campground (and its showers!).

We are consistently updating our blog with all the latest information and opportunities to volunteer at Mt Rainier. If you would like to get involved in any of the programs you have read about it this newsletter get in touch with either Evan Escamilla (360.569.2211 ext. 3414 or evan_escamilla@partner.nps.gov) or Kevin Bacher (360.569.2211 ext. 3385 or kevin_bacher@nps.gov).

Thanks for your support of Mount Rainier, and we'll look forward to working with you this fall!

Alpine Gardening Party at Sunrise

Coming up on Sunday the 11th of September, the Mount Rainier National Park Associates are sponsoring an "alpine gardening" party at Sunrise. Come help revegetate the meadows! For details, check out this article in today's News Tribune:

Work Party Scheduled at Sunrise

Living History Training

Become a living part
of Mount Rainier's history!

September 11, 2010
8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Education Center at Tahoma Woods, Ashford, Mount Rainier National Park (click link for map)

Mount Rainier National Park is looking to develop a cadre of living history volunteers to research, develop and present living history programs in first and third person. Hoping to build on the popularity of the Shadows of the Past program, we have invited Living History Reenactor and Professional Storyteller Karen S. Hass to present a one-day workshop for staff and volunteers interested in exploring this medium of interpretation.

Subjects covered will include first and third person interpretation; costumes; how to research your character; storytelling; and more. There will be role playing and work in small groups. Come prepared to interact with your fellow participants.

While there is no other time commitment required beyond attending the workshop, our hope is that participants will work with park Interpretive staff to research, develop and present living history programs in the park. If you have a passion for the Mountain, an interest in history, enjoy dressing up and would like to perform for the many visitors of Mount Rainier, please contact Lee Snook by September 7th at Lee_Snook@nps.gov or 360.569.2211 x 6043 to RSVP for this free training. Space is limited.

The volunteer campground at Longmire is available to participants of the workshop for the nights of September 10 and/or 11. Let us know when your RSVP if you plan to use this resource, in order to reserve a spot.

Lee Snook

West District Interpreter
Mount Rainier National Park