John Muir, 100 Years on Skis, and Ken Burns: Three upcoming events

John Muir in Seattle
One last reminder! The National Parks Conservation Association is hosting a very special event tomorrow, Thursday, March 19. John Muir, the father of the modern conservation movement, is coming to Seattle. Lee Stetson is an actor who has portrayed John Muir for years at Yosemite National Park and around the country. On Thursday, March 19th, he will be visiting Seattle’s Town Hall to present The Spirit of John Muir. This show is a fun romp through some of the very best of Muir's grand, thrilling adventures in his beloved western wilderness. The show includes Muir's encounters with a mighty Yosemite earthquake, dangerous Alaskan ice crevasses, snow blindness, and much more - all liberally salted with Muir's wilderness philosophy. Doors open at 6:00 PM; Show starts at 6:30PM. The presentation will be at Town Hall Seattle, 1119 Eighth Avenue (at Seneca Street). Tickets purchased today will be $7.00 plus applicable fees at:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/53650. Tickets purchased at the door will be $10.00. Cash or check only please.

A Centennial of Skiing
Acting Superintendent Randy King passes this along from Lowell Skoog, chairman of the Mountaineers History Committee in Seattle:

...For several years I've been working on a book about the history of backcountry skiing in Washington. Through my research I've become aware of a seminal event in Northwest skiing that occurred 100 years ago this month. It was a ski outing to Longmire by a group of professional people from Seattle and Tacoma. They included several prominent U.W. professors and the mayor of Tacoma. Prof. Milnor Roberts, the organizer, wrote an article about the trip for the 1909 National Geographic Magazine called "A Wonderland of Glaciers and Snow." Because of this important article, I think of this event as the birth of recreational skiing in Washington. A few weeks ago I started organizing an informal celebration of this event to take place at Paradise on Sunday, March 22. The celebration would be a gathering of backcountry skiers, perhaps a brief commemorative ceremony, and (weather permitting) a short tour to Sluiskin Falls, the high-point of the 1909 party's ski ventures. I'm planning to wear old-fashioned clothing and ski gear, and I'm hoping a few others will as well. I don't know how many people will come, but I imagine there may be ten to twenty of us. Our tentative plan is to meet at the Paradise visitor center after the road from Longmire opens in the morning. So far, the organization has taken place on the Turns-All-Year skiers' website, on the following thread:

http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=12431.0

This thread includes a few photos, background information, and the complete text of the 1909 National Geographic article. I've also been in touch with Craig Hill of the Tacoma News Tribune and I believe the paper will be running a story about this. I'm writing to let you know about this event and to invite you and any park staff who may be interested to join us on Sunday, March 22. I'm not expecting a big to-do -- just a light-hearted gathering of skiers to celebrate a unique date in the local history of our sport. I would be delighted to meet you or any of your staff there.

Best regards,

Lowell Skoog
lowell.skoog@alpenglow.org
206-525-6083

Ken Burns Preview
And finally, a very special invitation to our staff (including volunteers) and supporters, from Acting Superintendent Randy King and North Cascades Superintendent Chip Jenkins:

You, your family and friends are invited to attend a Monday, April 20 preview of the 6-part, 12-hour documentary on the National Park System that will air on PBS in late September, entitled The National Parks: America's Best Idea. Noted film makers Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan will speak and show a preview of their new film in Seattle. This is part of a series of events around the country intended to build public awareness and excitement about the forthcoming PBS documentary series, and about the national parks. If you make the trip to Seattle, you will find the event enjoyable and the film inspirational.

Download a flier from the National Parks Conservation Association and KCTS announcing the event, which will be held at 7pm at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. The event is free, though to help manage participation free tickets are required and available through: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/60143.

This is an opportunity for park staff, partners, friends and key opinion makers to get a chance to see previews as well as to hear from and talk with the film makers and author of the companion book. The goal is to have 1,5000 attend, so please share the information.

More information on the upcoming documentary can be found here.

Want a more personal introduction to the documentary? Consider joining Washington's National Park Fund for a preview of the preview, if you will, on Sunday, April 19. The evening's emcee will be Phil Ershler, world-renowned mountaineer and director of International Mountain Guides. The special presentation will be held in Seattle's Magnuson Park with a Northwest-themed dinner. Hear the latest news from the Superintendents of Mount Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic National Parks; celebrate successful 2008 projects; and learn about new initiatives for 2009. The evening will conclude with a "Fund a Project" Auction, all benefiting Washington's national parks. Visit The Fund's website for more information.

News and upcoming events

There are several current events relevant to volunteers going on at Mount Rainier this week. Here's a quick round-up:

Volunteers Needed
From West District Interpreter Curt Jacquot: Hi Staff and VIP Friends! We will be moving things from the Longmire Field Office and the Museum on Friday, February 27. We need to vacate the Field Office for a renovation. This is a small job for many or a big job for a few individuals. Please let me know (360-569-2211 ext. 3312) if you can help or not. Meet at the Museum at 9:00 AM. We'll go till 4:00 PM. Drinks, snacks, and a crock-pot of soup provided. Thanks in advance!

John Muir is coming to Seattle
This from David Graves: The National Parks Conservation Association is hosting a very special event this spring. John Muir, the father of the modern conservation movement, is coming to Seattle. Lee Stetson is an actor who has portrayed John Muir for years at Yosemite National Park and around the country. On March 19th, he will be visiting Seattle’s Town Hall for:

The Spirit of John Muir
This show is a fun romp through some of the very best of Muir's grand, thrilling adventures in his beloved western wilderness. The show includes Muir's encounters with a mighty Yosemite earthquake, a climb up Mount Rainier , dangerous Alaskan ice crevasses, snow blindness, and much more - all liberally salted with Muir's wilderness philosophy.

When: Thursday, March 19, 2009. Doors open at 6:00 PM ; Show starts at 6:30 PM

Where: Town Hall Seattle, 1119 Eighth Avenue (at Seneca Street)

Tickets purchased by March 13th, will be $7.00 plus applicable fees at: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/53650. Tickets purchased at the door will be $10.00. For more information, please contact Shane Farnor at (206) 903-1444, x24 or sfarnor@npca.org.

About Lee Stetson : Lee Stetson's plays include three one-person shows based on the life of naturalist John Muir, and a fourth based on both Muir and President Theodore Roosevelt. These productions, with Mr. Stetson in the title role, have been presented in Yosemite National Park since 1983 to more than a quarter of a million visitors. Additionally, the Muir shows have toured throughout the country to universities, parks, museums, wilderness and environmental organizations from Washington D.C. to Hawaii . Mr. Stetson lectures frequently on the arts and the environment, and spends a considerable portion of his time promoting the performing arts in the national parks. Lee's career has included founding and managing the Hawaii Performing Arts Company, being the Artistic Manager of both the Hawaii Theatre Festival and the Antique Theatre Festival of Idaho, and freelance directing throughout the Northwest and in Los Angeles . He is also featured in the upcoming Ken Burns’ documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.

A poster for this event to post at your place of work can be downloaded at: www.npca.org/take_action/upcoming_events/pdf/John_Muir_Poster_Online.pdf

Volunteers publish foreign language brochures
Mount Rainier has been working with volunteers based at the National Park Service's Columbia Cascades Support Office in Seattle to translate park brochures for use by speakers of languages other than English. Interpretive Media Specialist Patti Wold has posted the brochures on our website: www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/brochures.htm.

Climbing Program wins national safety award
Here's a note from Superintendent's secretary Donna Rahier:

CONGRATULATIONS TO US!!! The two highest awards bestowed by the National Park Service for outstanding public and employee safety achievement – the Andrew Clark Hecht Public Safety Achievement Award and the Director’s Safety and Health Achievement Award – have been presented to Mount Rainier and Glacier Bay National Parks. This year, the Division of Risk Management was pleased to receive outstanding nominations from six regional winners competing for the public safety award and five regional winners competing for the employee safety award. Two separate review committees comprised of field, regional and headquarter NPS staff faced a challenging task to select the best from among such excellent contenders, but each review committee member put careful consideration into the selection process.

2008 Andrew Clark Hecht Public Safety Achievement Award
Mount Rainier National Park, Pacific West Region – Despite unforgiving conditions and the more than 9,000 climbers who visit Mount Rainier National Park annually, through innovative efforts of the Mount Rainier Climbing Program, other park staff and partners, the park was able to realize impressive decreases in injuries and fatalities over a sustained three year period. Enhanced communication, training, improved concessions management, and improved coordination among park programs has resulted in significant reductions in visitor injuries. Climbing-related search and rescues (SARs) have decreased from 1.14 per 1,000 climbers in 1998-2005 to 0.49 from 2006-2008. Injuries have also decreased, from 1.03 per 1,000 climbers in 1998-2005 to 0.35 in 2006-2008. Fatalities on the upper mountain have also decreased from 0.18 per 1,000 climbers in 2005-2008, and there were no fatalities in 2006-2008. Overall, 2008 had the least number of total park-wide search and rescue incidents (10) since 1987.

Mount Rainier's climbing program relies heavily on volunteers to staff upper mountain high camps and the climber information center at Paradise. Climbing volunteers, this award belongs to you as much as it does to the paid staff!

Are you deducting volunteer travel on your taxes?
There's been a very interesting discussion on our volunteer discussion group regarding deducting travel expenses incurred while volunteering on your Federal taxes. I am not a tax professional, and everyone should check with their own tax advisor to confirm this information; but the word is that travel to and from the park, when you're volunteering, can be deducted in Schedule A if you itemize on your taxes, in the "Gifts for Charity" section. You can claim the actual amount you spent on gas, if you've kept specific records, or a specified amount per mile, which in 2008 was 14 cents per mile. Given current gas prices, this is a good reason to start keeping good records! This is also the kind of discussion that demonstrates why it's worthwhile to join our free volunteer discussion group.

I blog, you blog, isn't everybody blogging?
Apparently not. A recent article on the blog of the Sunlight Foundation is called "The Feds are blogging," and discusses a new trend of openness in government through the use of blogs. They list a grand total of 40 such blogs currently active as a means of communicating interactively with the public, including--hey--this one! But only 40? I knew we were on the cutting edge, but given the size of the Federal government, and the importance of communicating with and listening to feedback from those we serve, that number seems a bit anemic. But maybe we'll inspire others! Meanwhile, if YOU have ideas about how to make this means of communicating with you BETTER, I'm all ears: post your ideas in the comments section at the end of this post! (And while you're at it, also check out Socialfeds.com.)