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 needed to distribute Washington's National Park Fund information at Nisqually gate

Mount Rainier National Park and Washington's National Park Fund are looking for three good volunteers to help distribute information about the Fund at the Nisqually Entrance for four hours on Saturday, August 20.

The volunteers will talk to visitors as their cars wait in line at the entrance during the peak 11am to 3pm period, hand out brochures about the Fund and its activities, and answer questions. They will meet at 10:30am for a brief training and safety orientation.

Laurie Ward, Executive Director of the Fund, explains that "No solicitations will take place....Just friendly outreach with offers of information."

If enough volunteers sign up, we may also distribute information on the following day, Sunday the 21st.

To sign up for this project, please contact Laurie Ward at 253-566-4644 or laurie@wnpf.org

Make Your Escape ... to the Puyallup Fair!

It's almost time to do the Puyallup Fair. This year's theme is "Make Your Escape!"

Last year park staff and volunteers talked to over 10,700 people. That averages out to 1 new contact every minute of our 17 days at the fair. In addition thousands more took time to look at our exhibits. We hope to do even better this year.

The Northwest Outdoors Alliance is working hard to make our building space more open and inviting. It will have hundreds of native plants throughout the building to make it an outdoor experience. The park is teaming with the Pierce County Stream Team to put in a small water feature between our two spaces.

The park will occupy a prominent place. Our 10’ x 30’ space will have two exhibits, one will try to answer the question "What can you see at Mount Rainier when you can't see Mount Rainier," and another one features the 93 miles of the Wonderland Trail. We’ll have our traditional "paws and poop" display and kids will be able to make bookmarks. But the most important part is a real live person representing the park service, talking with all those enthusiastic fairgoers.

This is where you come in! The fair runs from September 9th through September 25th. We would like to have park volunteers for each of the three 3 1/2-hour shifts a day (10:00 AM – 1:30 PM, 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM, 5:00 PM – 8:30 PM). You will receive a ticket for admission to the fair and a parking pass (together worth $21-23). You can experience the fair before and/or after your shift.

Ready to make your escape? Contact Jim Ross at 360-569-6568 or Jim_Ross@nps.gov for more information or to sign up as a volunteer!

Photos from ArrowCorps

I've finally sorted through all my photos from the ArrowCorps 502 Boy Scouts project last week. The Scouts accomplished amazing things in their four projects, two within Mount Rainier National Park and two in the adjacent Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest! We're still assessing the accomplishments and the number of hours of volunteer time contributed, but you can see in the photos just what an amazing program this was.



The above slide show is only a small taste of the full set of photos, which can be viewed on Flickr. Enjoy the photos, and we look forward to working with the T'kope Kwiskwis Lodge of the Boy Scouts again soon!

Volunteer Cascades Butterfly Project Training Happening This Weekend!

The Cascades Butterfly Project needs you!

Get out into the beautiful mountains of North Cascades National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and help wildlife biologists identify and count alpine butterflies.

Mark your calendars for volunteer training:

When: Saturday, August 13th - 9am to 3pm

Where: Paradise Jackson Visitor Center

Participants will learn more about the project and the ecology of Cascades butterflies. The trainings will have two components: an hour-long classroom session, followed by a longer afternoon field excursion where we will practice field ID and scientific research protocols in subalpine meadows.

Volunteer training is highly recommended, but not mandatory for participation in the project.

You may read more about this exciting project by visiting the original post on our blog.

MRNPA Volunteer Work Party - August 13th

The next Mount Rainier National Park Associates trails work party is Saturday, August 13th. That's 12 days away . If you plan to attend and have not yet contacted John yet, please visit http://mrnpa.org/workprojectdetails.php to sign up and let him how many volunteers you are bringing with you.

Following the work party, there will have a potluck dinner in the Longmire Campground. Even if you do not plan to camp overnight, please consider joining us for the potluck dinner. This is the one time each year we get together and have time to socialize.

John Titland
Volunteer Coordinator
Mount Rainier National Park Associates

Annual Volunteer Appreciation Potluck - August 13th!

The Annual Volunteer Appreciation Potluck
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Gather at the Longmire Community Building at 4 PM

Volunteers you've worked hard all year long. You’ve spent thousands of hours on your feet, sometimes on your hands and knees, through meadows, forests, rain, snow, occasionally sunshine and all on your free time. Now it's time to pat each other on the back, swap stories, and celebrate all your work over the past year.

Join your fellow volunteers in celebration at the Longmire Community Building. Please bring a dish to share this is not a requirement for attendance). Utensils and plates will be provided.

We also hope to put together a slide show presentation to highlight all the accomplishments of our fantastic VIPs since last August and we would love to include some of YOUR best photos showing your volunteer experiences at Mount Rainier. Please send them to Jim Ross (Jim_Ross@nps.gov).

Paradise Melt-Out Starts, Meadow Rovers Take Action

The snow has started to melt off the meadows of Paradise and that means it is time for the Meadow Rovers to get out and educate Mount Rainier National Park visitors on how to protect the fragile flowering plants that will soon appear. I arrived at Paradise for my first meadow roving experience of the season on Thursday July 28, after slowly driving my way up from the Nisqually entrance and weaving through some of the 800 bicyclists participating in the Ride Around Mount Rainier (RAMROD) event.

In the Paradise parking lot, I could clearly see the Mountain surrounded by crystal clear blue skies and temperatures in the upper sixties as hundreds of visitors milled about and ventured out onto the snow that starts a few yards from the parking lot.

I headed out on the Skyline Trail for an aerobic workout up to Glacier Vista. The trail, marked with bamboo wands, is snow covered the entire way except for the steep stone steps located a quarter mile above Alta Vista. Along the way I stopped and talked to several groups of visitors that asked for advice on how far they could safely go up the trail. Near Glacier Vista, several large rocks have melted out and made a great location to sit and talk to climbers making their way down from Camp Muir or day hikers debating a further climb up to Panorama Point.

Heading back down to the Jackson Visitor Center, I encountered Meadow Rovers Judy and John Bernard rerouting the Skyline Trail on the steep section just above the Snow Play area. Judy was busily moving wands away from a section of trail where hikers had stomped through the snow and exposed the vegetation below, while John stood several yards below her directing a long line of visitors onto the new route away from the sensitive plants.

In the parking lot, I ran into Bill Marsh, the new Volunteer Meadow Rover Coordinator. Bill works four days a week in the Park and lives in his RV down at the Longmire Volunteer Campground. Bill told me that the Park could really use the Meadow Rovers now and that he has been primarily focused on protecting the plants right by the parking lot at Paradise as the snow melts back away from the pavement. Bill and others have used metal fence posts and rope to mark off areas to keep visitors off the plants. With the warm mid- summer temperatures, Bill expects more rapid melt out and a need for even more Meadow Rovers to come up to the meadows. Any help you can provide during melt-out would be much appreciated in the next few weeks.

After lunch, I drove down the valley road past Reflection and Louise Lakes to the Bench Lake trail head at the request of one of the Park’s Rangers. I hiked the 1.2 mile trail up to the upper end of Snow Lake located below Unicorn Peak. Adjacent to the first few 100 yards of trail, a carpet of white avalanche lilies line both sides of the trail. The trail is snow free except for the last 500 yards long the creek that leads to the upper lake basin.

I met several families with small children along the trail and handed out “Don’t Be a Meadow Stomper, Stay on Trails” buttons. Everyone I encountered was well behaved and I had no issues with people wandering off the trails. The Bench/Snow Lake trail is a much more relaxed and less hectic place to Meadow Rove than the area just above the Paradise Parking Lot and I was glad a Ranger had asked me to check out this trail.

The Melt-Out has started, so don’t hesitate and come on up to the Park to help out with Meadow Roving.

Phil Hertzog, Meadow Rover

Star Party and Night Skies Program at Paradise

Mount Rainier National Park News Release
August 2, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Curt Jacquot, 360-569-6577, email: curt_jacquot@nps.gov

Star Party and Night Skies Program at Paradise: 9:00 PM, Friday August 5, 2011

Families and individuals of all ages are invited to the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park for a special program on Friday, August 5. The event starts at 9:00 PM in the lobby of the Paradise Inn with a short presentation about the National Park Service “Night Skies” program. The National Park Service has come to embrace night skies as one of the many scenic vistas the agency is a steward of. It is essential to keeping a park whole and touches on almost every aspect that is important to us - from sustainability to stargazers, and animals to ancient ruins.

At 9:45 PM there will be outdoor star gazing in front of the Paradise Jackson Visitor Center with Tacoma Astronomical Society (TAS) volunteers and their telescopes. Astronomy Society volunteers will also assist with special children's astronomy activities. All ages will be able to make astronomy devices called "star finders."

If weather makes star gazing difficult, the party will move inside the Paradise Inn lobby for a 45-minute film about the Milky Way galaxy.

Night Sky viewing at the park through Labor Day Visitors are also invited to join Mount Rainier volunteer astronomer-interpreter Don West-Wilke for night sky viewing Thursdays through Sundays through Labor Day. Don and his unique telescope will help visitors see the night sky (weather permitting) beginning at 10 PM at the following park locations:

Thursdays: Longmire Plaza in front of the National Park Inn

Fridays: Plaza in front of the Paradise Jackson Visitor Center

Saturdays: Plaza in front of the Paradise Jackson Visitor Center

Sundays: Backbone Ridge pull-out along Steven's Canyon Road

Mondays: Plaza in front of the Paradise Jackson Visitor Center

If you have questions please contact Park Ranger Curt Jacquot at (360) 569-2211, extension 6577. Information about the Tacoma Astronomy Society is found online at: http://www.tas-online.org/

General park information is available at www.nps.gov/mora or by calling 360-569-2211.

Tools in the ground: ArrowCorps 502 begins!

Two years after the idea was first proposed to us here at Mount Rainier National Park by advisors of the T'kope Kwiskwis Lodge of the Boy Scouts of America, "ArrowCorps 502" is officially off and running!

The program takes its name from the "Order of the Arrow," the Boy Scouts' leadership corps who have planned and coordinated the project from its inception; from a similar project called ArrowCorps5 that occurred on several National Forest sites back in 2008; and from the Seattle-based group's Lodge number, 502.

As described in a press release last week, nearly a hundred Boy Scouts from all over the country have converged on Camp Sheppard, just north of Mount Rainier National Park, in preparation for three intensive days of volunteering. As I write this, crews are preparing to begin work tomorrow at Government Meadows, Silver Creek, and Crystal Mountain in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, and at Crystal Lake and Ipsut Creek in Mount Rainier National Park.

I had the opportunity last evening to join the group at Camp Sheppard for their official opening ceremony. Already the boys had spent the day planning, gathering and learning to use tools, conducting safety briefings, and learning first aid and Leave No Trace techniques. When Acting Superintendent Randy King, Seasonal Volunteer Coordinator Patti Poulin, and I arrived, they were preparing for dinner. And while those camped at Ipsut Creek this week will be eating camp rations, back at base camp the fare was more generous: salmon and wild rice with corn on the cob and salad, tasty enough to be worth the drive all the way from our offices on the south side of the Mountain.

After dinner, we adjourned to the amphitheater for speeches and "shows." Arrow Corps member Ian Bellows emceed the event, beginning with the lowering of the flag for the evening, welcomes by Randy King and myself, and the presentation of a letter of support from Congressman Dave Reichert, who was unable to attend in person due to pressing business in the other Washington. Congressman Reichert also sent a flag that had been raised over the U.S. Capitol in honor of ArrowCorps, and which will be flown throughout this week at Camp Sheppard. After the speeches, the ArrowCorps "Show Team" presented several short videos, introducing us to Mount Rainier National Park and the history of Boy Scout volunteer projects in the National Parks, and summarizing the work that had been done up to that point. A final video, called "Why You? Why Now?" left us all with a challenge to go out and make a difference.

Congressman Dave Reichert sent a
special welcome and a flag flown over
the U.S. Capitol.

A special camera and video crew will be traveling around the park over the next few days to document the work in the field, and Friday evening the Corps will re-gather at Camp Sheppard for a celebration of the week's work, including another feast and another presentation of images and video gathered along the trail.

We left for home at 9:00, tired but excited by the spirit and enthusiasm we'd seen, and impressed by the level of organization. Most of the work on ArrowCorps 502 has been done by youth members of the Order of the Arrow, led by Evan Skandalis, Matt Allyn, and Ian Bellows. They and their crews represent the next generation of stewards of our national parks and other public lands--and by all indications, those resources are in good hands.

Patti, Randy, and I will be visiting crews in the field throughout this week, and hope to post more images and status reports on this blog along the way, so come back for updates. You can also check out the ArrowCorps website at http://www.arrowcorps502.org/.