THE Parade

​Support Mount Rainier National Park as we take part in this year's Eatonville 4th of July Parade.

This year we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.

We need  6 "Wilderness is..." sign carriers, 2 sets of "banner babes and/or dudes", plus flag wavers, folks smiling, waving, and giving high fives.  If you normally wear a uniform, please do so for the parade. If you don't have a uniform dress in "wilderness attire". Park staff, volunteers, scouts and their family members are welcome to join.
 
If you wish to take part, we gather at 11:30 AM, usually on Pennsylvania Ave., near Lynch St., one block west of the football stadium at Eatonville High School.  The exact spot is different each year and is not known until we arrive.  Just look around for some ranger hats.  For more information contact Jim Ross.

Please join us!

Jim

Join the Parade!

It's almost July and you know what that means - the Eatonville 4th of July Parade, Like always, Mount Rainier National Park will take part in this year's parade.

This year we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.  Some of the signs we carry this year will say "Wilderness is . . ."  I would like you to finish that sentence with 1, 2, or 3 words.  Email your "Wilderness is . . ." to me (Jim_Ross{at}nps.gov) and it could be featured in the parade.

To make this a true celebration, we also need park staff and volunteers, including scouts.  We need flag wavers, sign carriers, "banner babes" (banner dudes?), and folks smiling, waving, and giving high fives.  If you normally wear a uniform, please do so for the parade. If you don't have a uniform dress in "wilderness attire".  Family members are also welcome to join.
 
If you wish to take part, we gather at 11:30 AM, usually on Pennsylvania Ave., near Lynch St., one block west of the football stadium at Eatonville High School.  The exact spot is different each year and is not known until we arrive.  Just look around for some ranger hats.  For more information contact Jim Ross.
 
Please join us!

Jim Ross

In Memory of Terry Kakida

To all Meadow Rovers and all those who worked with him, we are sad to announce the passing of Terry Kakida on June 18. In the words of his life partner, Liz Anderson, "If you visit Mount Rainier, the most beautiful place on earth to Terry, take a moment to remember his love of the mountain. And stay on the trails to make his volunteer ranger soul happy."

Terry ready for Mt. St. Helens crater 2013 - photo courtesy Liz Anderson

SEARCH and RESCUE COURSE for MEADOW ROVERS

First, I would like to thank all of you who attended our New Meadow Rover Training this past Saturday and the Advanced Training on Sunday.  I would especially like to thank all of the presenters for their time and for sharing their knowledge…Gwen, Ed, Ryan, Emily, David, Kevin, Kirsten, Crow, you rock!

I have received the following announcement from Ranger Ryan McLoughlin regarding the Search and Rescue training he spoke of Sunday. 

“Please let all of your Meadow Rovers know we will be having a "Search and Rescue Type III" SRTIII (Team member level) this Saturday from 0800 to 1200. This is the entry level course for all Search and rescue work, and will go over:

-How to come prepared to an incident

-How to act safely during an incident

-Carryout procedures and packaging

-Saftey equipment familiarization

-Basic search tactics

-Risk refusal”

If you would like to attend this class this coming Saturday June 28, please e-mail me at either Maureen_McLean@nps.gov or mora_meadow_rovers@nps.gov. I need to give Ryan an approximate number of attendees by Friday.

Again, thank you all for giving your time this past weekend.

Maureen McLean

Coordinator MORA Meadow Rovers

 

MRNPA Exotics Removal - July 12

From John Titland:

The next Mount Rainier National Park Associates volunteer work party will be Saturday, July 12th.  This will be the annual Mount Rainier National Park Associates Exotic Plant Removal work party.  We will be working at the site of the new Carbon River Ranger Station, which is located a few miles west of the Carbon River Entrance of the park on the Carbon River Road.  The ranger station occupies a building that was formerly identified as the Carbon River Ranch.  The property extends all the way down to the Carbon River.  I am sure we will be able to find an abundance of invasive, exotic plants to remove.

To participate in the Exotic Plant Removal work party there is no need to know about native plants.  The NPS crew members we will work with will teach you which plants to remove, and they will be able to identify for you all the native plants in the area.  There will be no heavy tools (like shovels and pulaskis) to carry and use.

Things you should bring are work gloves, a small digging tool like a hand trowel, or your favorite weed removing tool, your lunch, plenty of fluids to drink, and a full set of rain gear.  A warm jacket would be good to include.  If you have a reflective safety vest, bring that too. 

We will meet at 8:30 AM in front of the ranger station.  Be ready to go to work by about 9:00 AM and expect to finish about 3:00 PM.

If  you plan to attend this work party, please reply to volunteer(at)mrnpa.org indicating that you are coming and give me the number of volunteers you expect to accompany you.  I need an estimate of the number of volunteers who will attend.

John Titland
Volunteer Coordinator
Mount Rainier National Park Associates

SR 410 Traffic Delays - Summer 2014

The Washington State Department of Transportation will be performing chip-seal on SR 410  between Enumclaw and Chinook Pass. Travellers on this highway should expect delays of 30 minutes or slightly more through early July.

July through October, crews will temporarily close SR 410 to remove loose rock from the slopes east of Chinook Pass. Drivers will experience TWO to FOUR hour delays 6 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Thursday and 6 AM to noon on Fridays. Drivers need to plan ahead , be prepared to wait in traffic at the closure points or consider driving an alternate route.

Lanes temporarily open:
10 to 10:30 AM Monday through Friday
To minimize wait times, depart from Naches or Enumclaw by 9 AM.

Noon to 12:30 PM Monday through Friday
To minimize wait times, depart from Naches or Enumclaw by 11 AM.

2 to 2:30 PM Monday through Thursday
To minimize wait times, depart from Naches or Enumclaw by 1 PM.

Can I avoid the closure?
To minimize traffic impacts, drivers may want to travel
* before 6 AM Monday through Thursday
* after 4:30 PM Monday through Thursday
* after 12:30 PM Friday
* any time Saturday or Sunday

Where can I find up-to-date travel information?
* check the weekly construction web page for region wide updates at www.wsdot.wa.gov/regions/southcentral/construction
* sign up for email updates about SR 410 Chinook Pass at www.wsdot.wa.gov
* tune into the Highway Advisory Radio at 1610 AM
* dial 511 or check the weekly construction hotline 509-577-1944
* learn more about the SR 410 rock scaling project: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr410/echinookpassrkscaling/

Visitor Survey volunteers needed!

Here's an easy way to put in a few hours as a volunteer! Every year, the National Park Service hands out survey forms at primary visitor contact centers around Mount Rainier. These surveys help us to monitor how well we're meeting visitor needs, and to get a sense of where and how to improve. Survey time slots are 4 hours long, though during the busy summer period it usually doesn't take the whole time period to go through a stack of forms. Surveyors simply need to stand in a predetermined location at a set time and ask a random selection of visitors if they'd be willing to take a survey form, which can be mailed back at their convenience.

If you're interested in helping, please RSVP right away to Kevin_Bacher@nps.gov so that we can set up our schedule. We'll follow up with more details about where to go and what to do. Here's the 2014 Survey Schedule -- and thank you for your help!

2014 Survey Schedule

• Sunrise,  Friday 7/4/2014, 10:30AM-2:30PM
• Paradise, Saturday 7/5/2014, 12:30PM-4:30PM
• Ohanapecosh, Sunday 7/6/2014, 12:30PM-4:30PM
• Longmire, Monday 7/14/2014, 12:00PM-4:00PM
• Longmire, Thursday 7/17/2014, 12:30PM-4:30PM
• Paradise, Wednesday 7/23/2014, 9:00AM-1:00PM
• Ohanapecosh, Tuesday 7/25/2014, 9:00AM-1:00PM
• Sunrise, Saturday 7/26/2014, 3:00PM-7:00PM

Cascade Carnivore Project

If you are interested in joining the Cascade Carnivore Project volunteer crew for the 2014 Field Season (July 1-Sept.30) as a trail steward, read on!

Jocelyn Atkins (Project Coordinator for CCP) is looking for dedicated hikers to collect carnivore scats from one to four trails. In order to join this trail stewardship effort, you will need to commit to a minimum of 3 hikes between July 1 and September 30. You are free to select any 3 dates which work for you within this timeframe. If you want to do them all together, you will need to sign up for 3 different trails. If you would like to sign up for three well-spaced dates, you can opt for the same trail or different ones, as you prefer. There will be no formal training for this position. Ms. Atkins will send you supplies and the field protocol to guide you.

As a trail steward, you will photograph and collect any putative montane red fox, wolverine, coyote or gray wolf scat for genetic DNA analysis in order to investigate the conservation status and connectivity of the montane red fox and the wolverine in the Cascade Range. GPS and camera will be helpful, but they are not required.

If you are interested in becoming a trail steward, select the trail(s) you would like to steward from the following list and contact Ms. Atkins via cascadescarnivore(at)gmail.com with the trail name(s) and number of visits (1-4) you intend to make.

If you have sighted a montane red fox or a wolverine in Washington or Oregon or would like to suggest a trail you think might be a good spot to detect one, the Cascades Carnivore Project would love to hear about it.

You may follow the Project's blog postings at http://cascadescarnivoreproject.blogspot.com/2014/06/volunteer-opportunity.html

Mt Rainier & Tatoosh Wilderness Trail Stewardships

• Wonderland Trail – any sections
• Paradise to Panorama Point
• Paradise River Trail
• High Lakes Trail from Reflection Lakes to Skyline Trail
• Sunrise area – any trails
• Burroughs Loop Trail
• White River to Glacier Basin (optional to St. Elmo's Pass)
• White River to Emmons Moraine Trail (terminus)
• Kautz Creek Trail (at least 6 miles out - 12 miles round trip)
• Eagle Peak from Longmire
• Summerland
• Paul Peak Trail
• Mowich Lake to Eagle's Roost
• Mowich Lake towards Mowich River (1 mile out - 2 miles round trip)
• Tatoosh Lakes

Phenology Photo Op!

Visitors love coming to the park to view our wildflowers, but I need your help to update what's blooming where.

As you're out working in the park this summer, please let me know what flowers you see blooming, whether that is in a meadow, on a trail, or alongside a park road. I'm also looking for photos of currently blooming wildflowers - your photo may be featured on the park website and social media sites!

Wildflower updates are posted weekly on the park website at http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/wildflower-status.htm and on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MountRainierNPS.

So what to email me:

• Name of wildflower (or a photo if you don't know the ID)
• Location of wildflower in the park (Ex. Longmire Campground, Silver Falls trail, Grand Park, Sunrise Road, etc)

That's it! Thanks for the help!

Contact Kristyn Loving via kristyn_loving(at)nps.gov

Take 2! Interpretive Training

There are a very limited number of spaces still available if you are interested in taking the second round of Interpretive training. This session will be held at the Tahoma Woods Ed Center on Monday, June 23 and covers the following topics:

8:30-9:30 am Resource and Visitor Protection (Craig Brouwer)

9:30-10:30 am Vegetation, I&M, Climate Change (Lou Whiteaker)

10:30-11:30 am Wilderness (Kraig Snure) 

11:30-12:30 pm Animal Communities (Mason Reid) 

12:30-1:00 pm LUNCH 

1:00-2:00 pm Human Habitation (Greg Burtchard) 

2:00-3:00 pm Authority of the Resource (Casey) 

3:00-4:00 pm Historic Features (Sueann Brown) 

4:00-5:00 pm Tectonics (Sierra) 

If you'd like to attend this session, contact Kevin Bacher kevin_bacher(at)nps.gov immediately! "First come, first served" applies!