Volunteer Lawrence Jacobson shared this photo with us of his son Andy, who will soon be a graduate of The Evergreen State College, helping out as a restoration volunteer at Sunrise on September 7. Thanks for your efforts, Andy!
On August 30, Mount Rainier National Park employees and local community members gathered to say farewell to the Japan Volunteers-in-Parks Association (J-VIPA), a group that has contributed volunteer time and friendship to the park since 1994 and is now moving on to other projects. The event was featured in The News Tribune and the Eatonville Dispatch. Photos from the event, and from this year's volunteer project building picnic tables in the Longmire Campground, can be seen on the park's Flickr page.
Thank you, J-VIPA... you've enriched our park and our lives, and we wish you well!
The T'kope Kwiskwis lodge of the Boy Scouts of America returned to Mount Rainier at the end of August for what has become an annual gathering of service and training. The group camped at the Boy Scouts' Camp Shepherd, north of the park on Highway 410, and spent two days working on painting and campground cleanup projects at Carbon River and Ohanapecosh. They spent a third day doing trail work in the Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest around their camp.
National Public Lands Day, September 28
Our biggest volunteer event of the year is coming up on Saturday, September 28! National Public Lands Day is a nationwide effort by volunteers on public lands that often draws more than a hundred people to Mount Rainier National Park.
This year’s event will take place on the west side of the park, with registration by the National Parks Conservation Association beginning at Longmire at 8:00am and the day’s work kicking off at 9:00. Trail crews will carpool up to Paradise and Pinnacle Peak to do trail maintenance in partnership with NPS and Washington Trails Association crew leaders, while other volunteers will gather in the Longmire Volunteer Campground to continue its historic restoration and take down wall tents in preparation for winter. Other projects are also being organized, so watch the volunteer blog for details!
As always, free camping in the Longmire Campground is available for anyone who volunteers, and participants will receive a coupon for free entrance into the park on a later date. Please RSVP if you plan to camp, and we look forward to seeing all of you here!
Special Thank Yous
Volunteers always play a special role at Mount Rainier National Park, contributing more than a million and a half dollars worth of work every year. We could never protect our park and its resources, nor serve its visitors, as well as we do, without the help of our volunteers! At no time in the park’s history, with the possible exception of the years following the great flood of 2006, has our volunteer team been more critical to the mission of the park than it has been this summer. The automatic budget cuts known as "sequestration" reduced our budget by 5% over 2012 levels, following several years when our appropriations had already fallen behind inflation. Volunteers have stepped up to help fill the gap, as they always do – serving in visitor centers, patrolling frontcountry and wilderness areas, conducting research, assisting with search and rescue operations, maintaining trails and backcountry facilities, and in general performing work equivalent to almost 150 additional seasonal employees.
Reports of your good efforts come across my desk in the volunteer program office every week: campground hosts setting up makeshift visitor centers and deputizing Junior Rangers when regular visitor centers are closed, meadow rovers helping to respond to emergencies, youth trail crews assisting grateful visitors in spots where trails have washed out, and much more.
Our volunteer program thrives also on the support of partners and sponsors. Washington's National Park Fund has contributed generously to our budget through the financial support of people like you, making possible the purchase of project supplies, housing and vehicle rent, uniforms, and student internships, among others. Additional funding this summer has come from the Youth Partnerships Program, National Park Foundation, Keep America Beautiful, and Glad Corporation, which have made possible youth crews and the purchase of materials to build new picnic tables. The Washington Trails Association continues to coordinate trail work throughout the park on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays all summer long. The Student Conservation Association and Geologic Society of America work with us to field student interns. Community groups like the Mount Rainier National Park Associates, Japan Volunteers in Parks Association, and Boy Scouts of America work hard to make sure we have the hands we need to get work done. And hundreds of other individuals and groups contribute their time and sweat every day.
We could not do what we do without your help. On behalf of all of us who work at Mount Rainier every day, all of us who recreate and renew our spirits here, all of us who look up to see if The Mountain is out when we begin our commutes every morning, and all of us who support the purpose and ideas of national parks, thank you.
We Have Opportunities For You!
While the season is winding down, there are still ways to get involved as a volunteer!
With
our Meadow Rover season winding down, it is time to choose our outstanding
rovers of the year. In my book, you are
all outstanding and have made my summer marvelously easy. Anyone can nominate an individual – either
themselves or someone else. The criterion for judging is based on the hours of
service, quality of service, mentorship, and innovation of service (how you
spread the message).
Even with the great response from volunteers and park staff we still have need for some more folks to fill out our schedule. With 51 shifts at the information booth and another 18 shifts at the snowshoe track, we can use your help Please consider helping, especially during the days and times listed below as URGENT NEEDS
The opening day of the Washington State Fair is one week away!
Snowshoe Track URGENT NEEDS
Saturday 9/7 from noon to 3 PM
Saturday 9/7 from 3 to 6 PM
Saturday 9/14 from 3 to 6 PM
Need at least one (prefer two) person for each of these shifts
Information Booth URGENT NEEDS
Monday 9/16 from 5:00 to 8:30 PM
Tuesday 9/17 from 5:00 to 8:30 PM
Need at least one person for the quiet closing shift on my days off.
Snowshoe Track Less Urgent
Friday 9/6 from 3 to 6 PM
Friday 9/20 from 3 to 6 PM
Saturday 9/21 from 3 to 6 PM
Sunday 9/22 from 3 to 6 PM
Would like a second person for each of these shifts
Information Booth Less Urgent
Friday 9/6 from 1:30 to 5:00 PM
Sunday 9/8 from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM
Sunday 9/8 from 1:30 to 5:00 PM
Friday 9/13 from 1:30 to 5:00 PM
Saturday 9/21 from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM
Saturday 9/21 from 1:30 to 5:00 PM
Would like a second person for each of these busy weekend shifts.
- Jim Ross, Jim_Ross@nps.gov
The
asters and bog gentian are blooming, berries are ripening and summer is drawing
to a close. However, roving continues
through the month of September. Mount
Rainier will continue to draw visitors who will find themselves drawn to our
beautiful trails. Sadly, Jodie is back
in school and the Sunrise Visitor Center will be closed. However, our radios and log books will be at
the White River WIC. Continue making radio and campground reservations for Sunrise
through the mora_meadow_rovers@nps.gov and I will forward
the information to the WIC. Just check
in with the rangers at the information desk and they will sign out the radio to
you.
This week Mount Rainier National Park staff will celebrate with present and past members of the Japan Volunteers-in-Parks Association (J-VIPA) and thank them for the contributions they have made to the park during the past 20 years. Each summer, students, individuals and staff from Japan have come to Mount Rainier to volunteer their time. The completed projects have been numerous, including the ADA accessible boardwalk at Kautz Creek; repairing and rehabilitating campsites throughout the park; trail repair on the Westside Road; building the ADA trail near the Jackson Visitor Center; and revegetation projects in many areas. Staying with host families during their visits has resulted in lifetime friendships and memories. Some park and local families have hosted J-VIPA volunteers the entire 20 years. This year will be the final season the group will come to “the Mountain” for this volunteer program.
The J-VIPA program began as an International Volunteer Experience in 1993 coordinated by Mr. Hiro Yamaguchi with Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. Inquiries were sent to several national parks about interest in utilizing a volunteer group from Japan. Mount Rainier National Park responded favorably. As a result, in 1994 the first group of volunteers arrived at Mount Rainier – the beginning of a long-standing partnership. During the past 20 seasons, over 380 individuals have contributed 22,656 hours of service to the park – equivalent to $501,600+ dollars. J-VIPA is the longest international volunteer group in the National Park Service. They have also sent volunteers to other national park areas such as Hawaii Volcanoes, Glacier, and Manzanar and done volunteer project in their own country as well.
Mount Rainier Superintendent Randy King said, “We are sincerely grateful to all of the participants of the J-VIPA program for their hard work and dedication in helping us repair and improve the resources of Mount Rainier National Park. The work they have done will benefit the park for many years to come, and the friendships that have been formed through this program will last a lifetime.”
It is 10 days until opening day of the Washington State Fair and I am in need of more volunteers and park personnel to staff our booth and snowshoe activity at the fair.
The greatest need is helping with the snowshoe activity. This is one of the featured activities in our building. Use this link to see our page on the Fair website: http://www.thefair.com/fun/details/northwest-outdoors/. The straw track is longer this year and will be right in front of the Mount Rainier booth. See the attached floor plan if interested in getting a sense of the set up.
The Sunrise Visitor Center will remain open through Labor Day. You are more than welcome to continue roving at Sunrise until the road closes in approximately one month. Radios will be located at the White River WIC (Wilderness Information Center) located just inside the White River entrance. Radio reservations should continue to be made through MORA_Meadow_Rovers@nps.gov. Please put "radio request" in the subject heading.
The annual Sunrise volunteer/staff picnic was a success with approximately 20 Meadow Rovers [in addition to other volunteers] attending in the cool, overcast weather. Thank you to the National Park Service staff including Randy King, Kevin Bacher, and Maureen McLean for attending and to Discover Northwest for enabling us to have hamburgers, hot dogs, and veggie burgers provided. It was a great way for the rovers to have a chance to talk to our NPS staff and socialize. We are a team!
It has been a great summer at Sunrise with many days of constant sunshine and blue skies until recently when we have experienced foggy days. I want to thank the 57 Meadow Rovers who came to Sunrise this season and gave of their time and energy to help the park service protect the resources and serve the public. You are a dedicated, knowledgeable group who made my job as volunteer coordinator incredibly enjoyable and easy. Our conversations were one of the highlights of my day. Everyone who helped with injured hikers, bear patrol, meadow stompers, turned-around hikers, and hikers with dogs know who you are and also please know neither the park service nor I could have done it without each one of you.
There must be a special thank you to Lynn Kittridge who was my replacement for three weekends. She was definitely the Sunrise co-coordinator this year and did a great job both as the volunteer coordinator and helping to control the visitors as well as the bears when their paths intersected.
In closing, to my many new Sunrise meadow roving friends, I can’t wait to see you next year at our June MR training and happy trails!
Jodie Hollinger-Lant
2013 Sunrise Volunteer Coordinator
