The Sooty Grouse: Mount Rainier's "Turkey?"

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, much of the nation is looking to the turkey to be the centerpiece in their festive feast.  Mount Rainier has over 230,000 acres of beautiful wilderness, but you would be very hard pressed to find a Wild Turkey grazing in the park.  But surely there has to be a similar bird somewhere out there, right?

Sketch of the "turkey" of Mount Rainier
 by C. Frank Brockman

In the November 1, 1928 Mount Rainier Nature News Notes, the second full-time Park Naturalist, C. Frank Brockman, wrote an article giving that honor to the sooty grouse.  An excerpt from Mr. Brockman's writing:



"Perhaps you know the Sooty Grouse as the "hooter" for one of his chief characteristics is the throaty hooting that is often kept up for long periods. To some this continued vocal effort is a sign of rain--like the continued call of the dove--but this theory is not borne out by fact. The Sooty Grouse is a handsome bird, about the size of the domestic hen and its dark slate or "sooty" color is finely mottled with grey and brown. Thus, like many other of Nature's children, it finds its chief protection in the fact that it looks like the region in which it lives. We find it in meadows between 4000 and 6000 feet, strutting about in the huckleberry patches or perched on a gnarled limb of a Mountain Hemlock surveying the passer-by with a calm deliberation that bespeaks of a total absence of fear."



C. Frank Brockman with park visitors and Charlie, circa 1941

 During his tenure at Mount Rainier, C. Frank Brockman helped to shape many of the programs that we still see in the park to this day.  When he was first hired as the Park Naturalist in 1928, one of his first tasks was to convert the Old Longmire Administration Building to a public museum, the Longmire Museum, which is still in use today.  He also oversaw the creation of a visitor's center at both Paradise and Sunrise throughout the early 1930's.  After leaving the National Park Service, Brockman became a Professor of Forest Recreation at the University of Washington, retiring in the late 1960's.  C. Frank Brockman passed away on March 20, 1985, but his legacy can still be seen throughout Mount Rainier National Park today.

A Snowy September Morning at Sunrise

Photo by VictorDallons

Today we are featuring a volunteer photo submission made by Victor Dallons of the snow covered bunk houses surrounding the Sunrise Visitor's Center.  During the beginning of his Roving, Victor found the bunk houses in their new coats on this early September morning. 

During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt's New Deal program strove to put Americans back to work, all while beautifying public lands.  One program, the Civilian Conservation Corps, was very prevalent in the park, creating many of the trails and buildings that can still be seen today.  The CCC Camp that was based out of the White River area began work on the block houses at Sunrise in 1939. 

Photo from Park Archives

This photo was found in the Mount Rainier Archives of a CCC member working on construction of one of the block houses seen overlooking the Sunrise parking lot today. 






Do you have any pictures from your volunteering this year?  Share them with us and you may be featured on the Volunteer Blog in the near future!  Send your pictures and stories to Ian at ian_harvey@partner.nps.gov

Thank you for your submission, Victor!

Free Entrance Day on Veteran's Day

For the last Fee Free Day of the year, all admission fees to Mount Rainier will be waived on Veteran's Day, November 11th.  Even if you aren't coming out to volunteer, come on out to the park to visit The Mountain before the snow really starts to stick!

Photo from Park Archives of Military training exercises on The Mountain during WWII.