Meadow Rover of the Year

Each and every one of you has made a difference in Mount Rainier National Park and I for one could not ask for better people with whom to work. However, the time has come to announce the Meadow Rover of the Year Awards. These awards are given not only for the number of hours spent volunteering in our meadows, but also for the manner in which the individual approaches their duties. The following individuals have been standouts this summer among the many nominations:

Jodie Hollinger-Lant
Jodie stepped up to handle the coordination of the Meadow Rovers at Sunrise. With the changes in the program this year, Jodie handled all the new regulations with ease. She implemented an excellent reservation system for the radios and constantly monitored her territory to place people where they were needed. On top of this, she roved in her free-time and also assisted at the information desk. As overall coordinator, I could not have survived without her work on the east side.

David Howerton
David is a familiar face in the Sunrise area. He has accrued a whopping 303¼ hours of roving time between July 1st and September 30th. During this time, he has made 5623 contacts. But more than hours, he was the volunteer who assisted Lynn as she stepped in for Jodie. When she nominated him, Lynn reiterated how instrumental David was in helping her keep the program running smoothly.

Gwen Remmen
As a brand new Mt. Rainier Volunteer, Gwen managed to accumulate over 100 hours of meadow roving between July and September. Her enthusiasm never waned even on the longest, craziest days in late August. Visitors were highly entertained by her humorous messages among them the poor flower screaming "don’t step on me!" But amongst the laughter, they rallied around to pass on the message of protecting the meadow.

Each of these individuals will choose between lunch with the park administrator of their choice or a hike with one of the park scientists.

We will have two more weekends of roving at Paradise -- 10/26-27 and Nov 2/3. Snow continues to linger hiding parts of the trails, but not deep enough to protect the vegetation. Some visitors have arrived with sleds hoping to catch the slopes. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous... warm and sunny with crisp blue skies. Come up and have some fun.

Maureen McLean
Coordinator MORA Meadow Rovers

"In Our View: Park volunteers show the right way"

In the flurry of busy-ness this past week as we've reopened after the Government Shutdown, I almost missed this wonderful editorial in the local Dispatch newspaper in Eatonville, Washington. Good work setting an awesome example, National Public Lands Day volunteers!

An excerpt:

"It’s ironic that just three days before partisan politics pushed the federal government into a shutdown that forced the closure of Mount Rainier National Park and associated economic impacts affecting the lives of furloughed workers and businesses with fewer potential customers, the place was imbued with a selflessness that our leaders in Washington, D.C. could learn from."

THE MOUNTAIN RETURNS

While we were closed, the Mountain has changed its face.  The Paradise meadows are white, and the trails are covered too.  The foliage has turned orange, yellow and red.  Check the webcams to see the beauty- http://www.nps.gov/mora/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm#CP_JUMP_636381. Better yet, we could still use some help on the weekends thru November 3rd.  With the sun shining, I expect many visitors to reclaim their park.  The snow is not deep enough to protect the vegetation so we will need rovers to help people find and stay on the trails and return sleds to their cars.  I am not working today-Friday, but will be at Paradise Saturday and Sunday.  Even if you are in the ½ mile radius, you will be helping visitors and the resources alike.  I will try to have as many radios as possible charged and ready for your use.  For our Sunrise friends, the road and trails to Sunrise are closed for the winter, so come visit us at Paradise.
Come breathe the fresh air and enjoy the changes October has given. 
Once again thanks so much for all your help and especially thank you for the support and encouragement given during the shutdown.
Yours
Maureen McLean
Coordinator MORA Meadow Rovers

We're Open!

Thank you, everyone, for your patience and support while we were shut down. Note that it'll take a day or two to be fully back up and running again... volunteers, please continue to be patient with your supervisors as they get back to their offices and restart their programs. We look forward to working with you again just as soon as we can! Meanwhile, it's gorgeous up here today (we're well above the fog line). And did I mention that we're open?!

Shut down

 Because of the federal government shutdown this National Park Service blog page is inactive. We’ll start the conversation again when we get back.