The Way In: The Future of Access to Northwest National Parks

September 3rd, 2008 6-9PM

University of Washington

Kane Hall Room 110

Sponsored by Boeing and The Moraine Foundation

Powerful storms have struck Olympic, Mount Rainier, and North Cascades National Parks the last two years, inflicting record damage on three of the Pacific Northwest's most treasured landscapes. Campgrounds washed away, bridges were damaged, trees and buildings blown down and roads destroyed. The Park Service strongly believes climate change is intensifying these storms.

In response to this unprecedented damage, National Parks Conservation Association, the Student Conservation Association and Washington Trails Association formed Washington Parks and Forests Coalition (formerly the Northwest Storm Recovery Coalition) and facilitated record volunteer participation with more than 2,000 community members taking part in events that rebuilt, restored, and repaired roads, trails, and campgrounds at all three parks. This work saved the National Park Service approximately $2 million in expenses. Unfortunately, the impact of the storms is so severe that damage is still being uncovered and assessed, meaing park visitors and park resources continue to be negatively affected.

However, the floods and windstorms of 2006 were just the latest storm events to ravage Washington's public lands. Given the high likelihood that future storms will cause similar damage, the Washington Parks and Forests Coalition is facilitating this discussion on how the federal government can best sustain long term access to places such as Mount Rainier that make sense from an economic and ecological standpoint.

Panelists for this discussion, which is free and open to the public, include:

• Rep. Jay Inslee, U.S. House of Representatives (WA-01)
• Clara Conner, Division Engineer, Western Federal Lands Division, Federal Highway Administration
• Michael Case, Research Scientist, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Adaptation Centre
• Dr. David Louter, History Program Manager, Pacific West Region, National Park Service
• Dr. Clifford F. Mass, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington
• Dr. Paula Swedeen, Ecological Economist, Swedeen Consulting
• Rory Westberg, Deputy Regional Director, Pacific West Region, National Park Service
• Professor Michael Robinson-Dorn, Director Berman Environmental Law Clinic, University of Washington Law School

For more details, click on the image to the right, find details and a PDF version of the poster on the National Parks Conservation Association website, or read articles in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and The News Tribune.

Park honors dedicated volunteers

The News Tribune has details about the upcoming Mount Rainier National Park Associates "alpine gardening" work party on September 6:

Participants will be working at Paradise on the project to replant the area around the new visitor center.

The same article also summarizes the accomplishments of volunteers who were recognized at the annual volunteer picnic a few weeks ago.

Earlier this month, the park staff held its annual volunteer picnic to honor those who have given their time to the park. In particular, the park recognized the following individuals for reaching milestones in their volunteer service, according to park volunteer coordinator Kevin Bacher.

Work In Progress

Openings at the Fair

Thanks to all of you, employees and volunteers, who responded to my need to fill shifts at The Fair. We have filled all but 8 of the 51 shifts. If you would still like to "do the Puyallup", or do another shift, here are the openings

They are all evening shifts from 6 PM to 9-ish PM (except the Friday which is 6-10).
Tuesday, 9/9; Wednesday, 9/10; Thursday, 9/11; Friday, 9/12;
Monday, 9/15; Tuesday, 9/16; Wednesday, 9/17, Thursday, 9/18.

If you can work any of these, let me know by email.

Thanks,

Jim Ross
Outreach Specialist
Mount Rainier National Park
360-569-6045

Kautz Creek: Nature's power is evident

That's the title of an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, detailing the effects of the November 2006 floods on Kautz Creek. The author of the article "played leapfrog" with volunteers working on the trail as they hiked up into the forest:

The damage to Kautz Creek and other trails within Mount Rainier National Park was so extensive that volunteers from several organizations answered the call for help and have responded accordingly. At the trailhead we ran into volunteers from Starbucks working with the Student Conservation Association, a non-profit organization established 50 years ago. The focus of SCA is to restore and protect public lands for future generations.

We played leapfrog with the volunteers to the crossing of Kautz Creek, their project for the day. The crew was putting in stone steps where the stream bank had crumbled away.We stopped to view the destruction; much of it still looks as if it happened yesterday. Between the trailhead and Kautz Creek fallen trees and root balls line the new route the creek created. The old bridge lies askew on a pile of debris where it was tossed during the rampage. Now bridges are back in place but debris borders the creek as far as the eye can see.

Great pictures of WTA trail work

The Washington Trails Association has been doing some fantastic work this summer on the east side of the park. Lynn Kittridge, with help from her daughter Johana, has captured some great photos of volunteers in action. The pictures include June shoveling at Sunrise and at Panorama Point, the Huckleberry Creek Bridge replacement, Owyhigh lakes trail work, and the Glacier Basin Trail ribbon cutting and first day of work.

Here's a slide show of some of Lynn's images for you to enjoy. Check out the entire collection on her Picasa website at http://picasaweb.google.com/LynnKittridge.



Thanks for the pictures, Lynn and Johana! If anyone else has pictures to share, we'll make them available for everyone to enjoy!

Map and Compass, Crosscut Saw training to be offered in early September

Two new volunteer training opportunities are coming up in the next few weeks!

Map and Compass Workshop
On September 5 from 9am to 4pm, volunteers Flash Parlini and Carol and Jim Miltimore will offer training in "orienteering"--the use of a map and compass--at the Carbon River Ranger Station. Sign up online for this free course!

Crosscut Saw Workshop
On September 16 from 8am to 5pm, join us at the Longmire Community Building for training in how to use that most dependable of historic trail construction tools, a crosscut saw. The training will be presented by U.S. Forest Service instructors through a grant from Boeing and a partnership with the Carhartt Center. Topics will include everything you ever wanted to know about cross-cut saws, saw-related tools, identifying binds and bucking techniques. Participants are expected to include Forest and Park Service personnel as well as volunteers and Student Conservation Association interns.

A second day of training, offered on September 17, is limited to 14 participants and will be entirely field-based. Successfully completing both days, including evaluations, will earn you a certification card. Previous crosscut or chainsaw experience is desirable. Please register online for the classroom training day, and contact Jill Baum at jbaum@thesca.org or 360-569-2211 ext. 3414 if you're also interested in attending the second day.

Other volunteer opportunities coming up
Check out our calendar at the top of the page for more volunteer opportunities, including:

Glacier Basin Trail Reroute
Join the Washington Trails Association to help rebuild the Glacier Basin Trail! Teams will be working August 29, 30, and 31; or, participate in one of WTA's "Volunteer Vacations" from September 20-27. Check out their website for details.

Stevens Canyon Reroute
The Student Conservation Association will be leading a four-day backcountry project in Stevens Canyon to continue repairs from the floods of November 2006. Details and registration are available online.

Puyallup Fair Information
Volunteers are needed to help staff the National Park Service's information booth at the Puyallup Fair. See our earlier posting for more information.

Revegetation and Planting
Join the Mount Rainier National Park Associates on September 6 for a revegetation project; details are available on their website. Or, sign up online to join one of the park service crews on September 6, September 13, or September 20 to help with planting projects at Paradise.

National Public Lands Day
Don't forget the Mother of All Volunteer Days: National Public Lands Day! Projects will be happening all over the country on this date, including several at Mount Rainier. We're still putting together a suite of projects to choose from in the Longmire area of the park, which will be followed by a barbecue or picnic open to all volunteers; and the Washington Trails Association will be continuing their work on the Glacier Basin Trail in the northeast corner of the park.

Temporary daytime closure on SR 123

Travelers planning to travel on the East side of the Park in September should be aware that following Labor Day weekend, from 7 am Tuesday, September 2nd until approximately Thursday, September 18th, there will be a daytime road closure of SR 123 from Cayuse Pass to the north side of the intersection with Stevens Canyon Road for paving. The daytime closures will be Mon-Thu, from 7am to 5pm.

For details, visit Mount Rainier's Access and Roads blog.

Full-time volunteer program manager position approved

It's official--Mount Rainier National Park will be hiring a full-time volunteer program manager, with responsibilities for managing the day-to-day operation of our program and building and maintaining partnerships that support it.

But, you aask, don't we already have that? Well, yes and no. Back in B.C.--that is, Before Catastrophe, the great floods of November 2006--our volunteer program was managed as a "collateral duty" (about 30% of the job description) by a GS-9 park ranger interpreter (yours truly). That was just about enough capacity to keep the program running, but not enough to significantly grow the program.

After the floods, Mount Rainier received literally hundreds of calls, letters, and e-mails from people eager to help out. It quickly became clear that the job needed more than 30% of a single position, and that, furthermore, opportunities existed for building partnerships that would benefit the volunteer program for years to come. The volunteer program manager position was promoted, temporarily, to full-time GS-11.

Over the past year and a half, our volunteer program has surged in participation and effectiveness. The vast majority of that success is due to you, the 1,724 people who volunteered last year and the so-far uncounted numbers who've participated again this year, including hundreds of people who've volunteered for the first time, becoming partners with us in the stewardship of this magnificent park. But there's no doubt that having a full-time volunteer manager capable of building and maintaining those partnerships, with the Student Conservation Association, Washington Trails Association, National Parks Conservation Association, and others, has helped.

As of today, Mount Rainier National Park has committed to keeping the position of full-time, GS-11 volunteer program manager. This is an investment in the park's future, and an affirmation of the growing role that volunteers play in the stewardship of Mount Rainier. I'm personally very excited by this commitment, and look forward to our program continuing to take a leadership role in the National Park Service!

Rainier's Glacier Basin Trail getting a re-route

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a great article about the work that's now underway on the Glacier Basin Trail, under the direction of the Washington Trails Association.

Washington Trails Association began work on the trail with a group of high school students participating on one of WTA's weeklong Volunteer Vacations for Youth earlier this month. Nine teens and two crew leaders stayed at the nearby White River campground and worked five consecutive days on the clearing the corridor and beginning the new construction: clearing duff, large rocks, downed wood, bucked trees, and more. The WTA youth crew worked along side other youth groups, including Northwest Youth Corps, Earthcorps, and Student Conservation Association. For those of you who have ever participated in building new trail, you know this is not a quick or easy task! But the groups made a lot of progress, and although there is still much to be done, the project is finally on its way.

Read the full article on the P-I's Trail Talk blog.