2018-2019 Priority Parks Projects

2018-2019

PARKS PROJECT Fundraising efforts are underway now through September 2019

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Nearly five million people visit Mount Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic National Parks each year.

Washington’s National Park Fund serves as their primary philanthropic partner raising millions for unfunded projects. The parks present their top priorities to Washington’s National Park Fund. The Fund then invites individuals, foundations, and corporations to show their support. Funds raised enables more science and research, improves visitors’ experiences, strengthens volunteer programs, and brings more young people into the parks.

Each year, more revenue is raised by Washington’s National Park Fund.

Most importantly, more funds are given to Mount Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic National Parks year after year.

VISION Parks that are strong and vibrant…youthful and everlasting.

MISSION Raising private support to deepen the public’s love for, and understanding of, Mount Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic National Parks.

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MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK

MOUNT RAINIER JUNIOR RANGER BOOK - $30,000

FUNDED

This project will replace the current, 20-year-old Junior Ranger Book with a new edition designed to inspire environmental and cultural stewardship and to foster transformative experiences for children visiting the park. It will include engaging, learner-centered activities for all ages and will feature custom illustrations that reflect our increasingly diverse population. The book will be approximately sixteen, full-color pages. Completion certificates will also be designed, printed and distributed to children who complete a book. Like our current Junior Ranger book, it will be distributed free of charge throughout the park.

Printing costs for one season are included.

MOUNT RAINIER/MOUNTAIN RESCUE ASSOCIATION JOINT PATROL PROGRAM - $10,000

FUNDED

Washington Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) and Mount Rainer National Park (MRNP) staff regularly work together on search-and-rescue efforts and on patrolling the park. This project will support their existing cooperative efforts by providing funding for joint training exercises, travel expense reimbursement, funding supplies for patrol cabin L123, and communications/tracking equipment for continuity of operations between the two entities. The project’s goal is to provide additional highly skilled MRNP and MRA staff who can respond faster, more efficiently and more effectively on search and rescue missions in the complex environment of Mount Rainier National Park.

MOUNT RAINIER VOLUNTEER PROGRAM - $50,000

PARTIALLY FUNDED

In 2018, 2,533 volunteers and interns contributed 69,181 hours of service to Mount Rainier National Park, an economic value of $1.7 million. Volunteers assist in every aspect of the park’s operation, including trail maintenance, trail patrol, citizen science, revegetation, historic landscape restoration, and many, many others.

Volunteer work days, such as National Trails Day and National Public Lands Day, bring in dozens of volunteers with their families. Program funding provides for project supplies, uniforms, housing, vehicles, reimbursements for long-term volunteers, and the cost of interns hired through the Student Conservation Association and Geologic Society of America.

MOUNT RAINIER MEADOW ROVER PROGRAM - $40,000

PARTIALLY FUNDED

In 2018, 2,533 volunteers and interns contributed 69,181 hours of service to Mount Rainier National Park, an economic value of $1.7 million. Volunteers assist in every aspect of the park’s operation, including trail maintenance, trail patrol, citizen science, revegetation, historic landscape restoration, and many, many others.

Volunteer work days, such as National Trails Day and National Public Lands Day, bring in dozens of volunteers with their families. Program funding provides for project supplies, uniforms, housing, vehicles, reimbursements for long-term volunteers, and the cost of interns hired through the Student Conservation Association and Geologic Society of America.

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MOUNT RAINIER EMERGENCY ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE - $16,000

FUNDED

Volunteers will be hired at Paradise and Sunrise to assist visitors on the roads during the summer. They will help with a wide range of issues including parking, lock-outs, dead batteries, low fuel, minor medical issues, and mechanical breakdowns. A fifth volunteer will be recruited to perform these duties at Paradise during the winter months. These extra staff members are also able to help with emergencies, drive the park ambulance, assist with search and rescue events, and even perform CPR. This program addresses visitor needs without diverting the park’s paid ranger staff from law enforcement and visitor protection.

BUS SUBSIDIES FOR SCHOOL GROUPS TO VISIT MOUNT RAINIER - $10,000

FUNDED

This project funds bus transportation to Mount Rainier National Park and directly benefits at least 500-1,000 local K-12 students from schools that would otherwise not have the means to visit. Not only will these students have an opportunity to spend time in a mountain environment, they’ll learn why parks like Mount Rainier are so important. Many of these students can see Mount Rainier from their neighborhoods, yet have never been there. It is one of the park’s priorities to reach out to students from underserved communities.

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MOUNT RAINIER VOLUNTEER HISTORIC PRESERVATION CORPS - $40,000 This program will build a network of experienced and educated volunteers who can be entrusted with completing the vital work of preservation and maintenance work on park structures. A formal path will be developed for volunteers who would like to undertake critical historic preservation work. Volunteers will receive training from cultural resource professionals in historic carpentry, masonry, and cultural landscape preservation, through a combination of workshops and project work. Funding will support travel and training costs for cultural resource professionals from both the NPS and regionally; it will also be used to purchase tools, safety equipment, and materials for projects.

RESTORE AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS USING A CITIZEN SCIENCE BASED PROGRAM - $20,000

FUNDED

Funding for this project will support a citizen science-based program to provide field assistance with several aquatic restoration and research projects in Mount Rainier National Park and support planning efforts in the park. This will allow park staff to expand their own field work, while providing trained oversight for volunteers who are interested in aquatic restoration.

The project will provide an SCA student intern to organize groups of citizen science volunteer anglers to target known brook trout hot spots in the Carbon watershed, eDNA collection to document aquatic species in the park, and lake surveys within the park to verify the existence of introduced fish populations.

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INTERN CORP TO REACH NEW AUDIENCES (RECRUIT AND MANAGE INTERPRETIVE MEDIA VOLUNTEER CORP [PILOT]) - $25,000 A team of two interns will engage new audiences through social media and inclusive photography by conducting and videoing a series of on-the-street-interviews with diverse groups of locals from around the Sound. This project will provide a way for many individuals to share the importance of the mountain in their lives and inspire others to reflect on the mountain and to think about visiting the park someday.

CITIZEN SCIENCE AMPHIBIAN MONITORING PROJECT - $7,300 This project will fund a position to coordinate community volunteers to assist in documenting amphibian populations and aquatic ecosystems throughout Mount Rainier National Park. The project will monitor amphibian populations at breeding sites throughout the park and record changes over time. These survey efforts will continue to add to our knowledge of the park and its resources, and also engage members of the public in significant work toward helping to preserve those resources.

RE-PLANTING THE SUBALPINE MEADOWS IN PARADISE - $20,000 In the 1980’s the park began to restore the Paradise subalpine meadows. Due to 100 years of people walking off-trail, many acres of meadows have been trampled to the point that vegetation has been replaced with bare ground.

Planting by park staff and volunteers is required because the growing season is too short to allow natural regrowth of the plants without assistance from humans.

ENGAGE DIVERSE YOUTH AND FAMILIES THROUGH JUNIOR RANGER PROGRAMMING $25,000

FUNDED

This project revitalizes Junior Ranger programming at Paradise and Cougar Rock Campground in Mount Rainier National Park through a targeted approach to reach diverse family audiences not currently attending park programs. Staff will implement new program formats that better engage underserved audience members including non-English speakers.

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SPANISH TRANSLATION FOR TRIP PLANNING WEBPAGES - $7,500 The park will contract with a professional translation service to translate critical trip planning information on the park website. This project will fund translation of 10 web pages into Spanish. This will help the park serve Spanish speaking audiences and reach new audiences by providing key trip planning and safety website content in Spanish.

ALPINE MAMMAL MONITORING AND DATA SYNTHESIS - $22,000 The Cascade Red Fox is a subspecies of mountain fox that is unique to the Washington Cascade Mountains and is a candidate for listing under the Washington State Endangered Species Act and ranked as Threatened. The project will help with park management decisions and will continue the collaboration with the Cascades Carnivore Project.

Funds will support staff, interns, and volunteers in the collection of scat samples for identification, diet analysis and parasite screening.

CONNECTING MOUNT RAINIER WITH SEATTLE AUDIENCES THROUGH MUSEUM EXHIBITION - $10,000 Building off of an existing partnership with the University of Washington’s Museology graduate program in Seattle, this project will result in an exhibit highlighting one of the lesser-known stories related to Mount Rainier National Park. The exhibit will be installed in Klondike Seattle’s gallery space on Jackson Street in historic Pioneer Square.

ENGAGING YOUTH IN SCIENCE AND NATURE: BIRD MONITORING, EDUCATION, AND OUTREACH - $13,200 The bird-banding station at Mount Rainier National Park aims to: compliment the long-term bird monitoring conducted by the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program; provide professional development opportunities for early-career biologists; and expose interns and youth groups working in the park to both the diversity of birds and career opportunities in the field. Data from MAPS stations has greatly contributed to the conservation and knowledge of life histories of birds, while promoting lifelong learning and enjoyment of nature.

LATINO OUTDOORS 2019 - $12,000

FUNDED

Washington Trails Association (WTA) and Latino Outdoors (LO) have developed this project to provide the opportunity for ten high school aged, Latina youth to experience the park. Participants will spend a week camping, hiking, and engaged in hands-on learning through trail stewardship projects.

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MOUNT RAINIER VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR ASSISTANT -$19,500 Mount Rainier’s volunteer program works with more than 2,000 volunteers per year, who contribute more than 70,000 hours of service. Coordinating these volunteers is an immense job that requires the work of more than one person, especially during the summer months. This individual will help coordinate volunteer groups, visit volunteers in the field, maintain a social media presence, and cover the Meadow Rover Coordinator’s weekends, while the primary Volunteer Program Manager focuses on supervision, partnership-building, and budget management.

WTA WORK LEADER - $24,000 Funding for this project supports bringing in a Work Leader from Washington Trails Association (WTA) for the summer season. It also provides housing and truck rental. The WTA uses its network of volunteers to set up work parties to help with much needed trail work in the park.

LONGMIRE MAIN GATE - $33,000 The main gate to Paradise is an old metal gate that seems incongruous with the beauty of the Longmire National Historic District. This project will provide for a new gate in the classic “Rustic Architecture” style, commonly called “parkitecture”.

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NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK

RED BUS REPAIRS - $24,496

FUNDED

This project will fund the repair of Stehekin’s four red buses which provide the only motorized travel up and down the valley, accessing such popular sights as Rainbow Falls and Buckner Orchard. Buses also reach hiking trails in High Bridge and the remote upper valley.

Without these buses, many park visitors will be limited solely to exploring Stehekin Landing. The gravel road through Stehekin means frequent repairs for the buses.

Funds will be used primarily to ensure that the buses are safe, ADA compliant, free of dents and scratches, and have fully functioning air conditioners.

RESTORING FISHERS TO THE NORTH CASCADES PARK SERVICE COMPLEX - $60,000

PARTIALLY FUNDED

This project’s goal is to restore a self-sustaining populations of fishers in the southern and northern Cascades, including Mount Rainier National Park and North Cascades National Park Complex, identified in the Washington State Fisher Recovery Plan. Funding will cover the costs of capture, veterinary care, and transportation for 80 fishers to release sites in North Cascades National Park and surrounding national forests. This is a new collaboration between the parks, the Alberta Ministry of Environment and Parks, Calgary Zoo, and Alberta Trappers Association. The first 24 fishers were reintroduced into the North Cascades between November 2018 and February 2019.

INCREASE VISITOR ACCESS TO WILDERNESS INFORMATION AND PERMITS - $18,700 This pilot program will add a trained wilderness ranger to the interpretive staff at the main park visitor center in Newhalem to meet a wide array of general visitor needs. The new wilderness ranger will receive training and orientation alongside interpretive staff, as well as seasonal training with wilderness district staff.

They will offer expanded trip-planning information, permits, and leave-no-trace education services throughout the busy summer season. In addition to visitor center responsibilities, the wilderness ranger will spend some time on trail patrols, contacting visitors, checking permit compliance, and providing information—freeing interpretive staff to offer more programming to the public.

PROTECT THREATENED BULL TROUT IN THE UPPER SKAGIT WATERSHED - $25,148 Bull trout are an iconic specie of the North Cascades, but are now listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. North Cascades National Park supports a healthy population of bull trout living in some of the highest-quality habitat remaining in the United States, with the Upper Skagit watershed being a core recovery area for the species. A primary threat for bull trout recovery is the non-native Eastern brook trout, which is found in abundance in Hozomeen Lake.

We propose to collect data on conditions in Hozomeen Lake and Creek and develop a treatment plan to eliminate this invasive fish using a piscicide.

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CASCADES BUTTERFLY PROJECT: MONITORING THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE WITH CITIZEN SCIENTISTS - $25,000 The Cascades Butterfly Project is a long-term monitoring program in which citizen scientists and NPS biologists monitor butterfly populations and plant phenology in subalpine meadows of the Cascade Mountains. Goals are to understand how climate change influences high-elevation ecosystems, document changes in species distributions and population totals, communicate these impacts to the public, and provide these data to inform protection guidelines for NPS and U.S. Forest Service lands. Monitoring is conducted once a week between snow melt and snow fall. The number of butterfly species, abundance of each species, and timing of peak butterfly flight periods provide important indicators of the pace of climate change in national parks and forests.

INCREASE ACCURACY OF VISITATION STATISTICS AT THE WILDERNESS INFORMATION CENTER - $1,000 This project will fund a digital people counter for the Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount, the primary station issuing backcountry permits in North Cascades National Park Complex. The counter will provide a more accurate measure of visitation and allow rangers to focus exclusively on issuing permits, trip planning, and other visitor services. Providing an accurate visitor counts is critical for understanding visitation trends and gauging budgets and staffing needs.

Visitation data stems primarily from visitor center encounters and the permit system. Since not all visitors who enter the Wilderness Office obtain a permit a digital people counter will more accurately document the number of visitors served.

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UN-DIVEABLE DUMPSTERS FOR CLEANER AND SAFER CAMPGROUNDS - $22,175 North Cascades National Park is working to ensure that people and bears can successfully coexist. One of the most important ways to conserve a healthy black bear population is by effectively managing attractants.

Garbage, whether edible or not, can be alluring to, bears, often bringing them into close proximity to campers, with dangerous consequences for both. Current dumpster models are not effective in deterring wildlife and those that have passed bear-resistance testing by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee are expensive.

However, these models will keep bears out and trash in.

This project will fund the purchase of 12 of bear-resistant dumpsters for use in the front country campgrounds.

DEVELOP PREVENTATIVE SEARCH AND RESCUE PROGRAM - $84,000

FUNDED

The purpose of this project is to begin to initiate a Preventative Search and Rescue (PSAR) program at North Cascades National Park, including designing the overall PSAR program, identifying an implementation strategy, and developing initial materials. Staff will also increase PSAR information provided to visitors by increasing climbing ranger presence at the Wilderness Information Center and in the popular climbing areas.

Visitor use of the park’s backcountry and climbing areas has increased and there have been more search and rescue incidents. One way prevent some of these incidents is to provide safety information to visitors through a formal PSAR program.

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OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK

EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAM - $5,500

FUNDED

Employee wellness has a direct impact on park visitors and allows staff to adequately prepare both mentally and physically for the high number of visitor interactions and emergency response situations they typically encounter.

This project will allow park staff to exercise on a regular basis – even in remote locations – with the purchase of treadmills, elliptical machines, weights and exercise bikes for far-flung stations. The more physically and mentally fit park staff are, the more prepared they will be to serve the needs and experiences of visitors.

ADVENTURES IN YOUR BIG BACKYARD - $25,000 In this project, Olympic National Park rangers will partner with the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula for recreational experiences in the club’s summer camp programs. Hikes, canoeing and kayaking, swimming, and beach clean-up will introduce youth from local communities to the wealth of environments and recreational opportunities available in the park. Campers will have the opportunity to go on weekly field trips led by park rangers and club staffs. Experiences in nature have the potential to become transformative for youth and build the next generation of passionate parks people.

FUNDED

PORT ANGELES MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE PROGRAM - $12,939

FUNDED

Olympic National Park provides ongoing science programs with Port Angeles School District’s Stevens Middle School. This program sends 8th grade students to Olympic National Park to experience the restoration and ecology of the Elwha River and, in a new program piloted this spring, 7th grade students will go to Hurricane Ridge to study snow science. Field trips are designed to allow students to explore both river ecology and questions such as “How is the changing snowpack, resulting from climate change, going to affect park ecosystems and surrounding communities?” Activities will take place in the Elwha River Valley in September and at Hurricane Ridge in March.

OLYMPIC WILDERNESS SCHOOL: REHAB-RESTORE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM - $20,000

FUNDED

The Matt Albright Native Plant Nursery is a vital operation for Olympic National Park’s wilderness management program. Created to supply native plans for the revegetation of former lake beds after the removal of two dams on the Elwha, the nursery continues to be essential to the park’s revegetation and restoration efforts as well as partner restoration projects in other parks and forests. This project supports drop-in opportunities to give the visiting public and local community groups service opportunities. It will also incorporate the BOLD and GOLD YMCA youth partnership by introducing approximately 150 urban youth to park stewardship and service learning.

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OLYMPIC MARMOT CITIZEN SCIENCE MONITORING PROGRAM - $5,000

FUNDED

The Olympic marmot is a large ground-dwelling member of the squirrel family that is found only in alpine meadows on the Olympic Peninsula. Concerns about declines in this marmot population prompted the park to develop a citizen science monitoring program, implemented in 2010.

In 2016, collected data was analyzed and the park found that the program is yielding statistically robust and useful data, so the program has continued to assess long-term marmot trends. This project will allow additional research to be completed, data to be analyzed, and strategies to be developed to protect this endemic animal. This project is also a very successful citizen science program, for both youth and adults.

ART IN THE PARK - $15,000 This project will develop an Artist-In-Park program that will highlight the NPS Mission and engage youth and volunteers through the arts. The program will incorporate an artist-in-residence and an art ambassador to work with area schools, partners, events and visitors. They will be available to coordinate many different mediums of art-focused activity and will build on established partnerships, including art internships with area students, building relationships with local tribes, and engaging with visitors in many different mediums. Through the arts, this program will highlight wilderness, stewardship and service learning and connect with the next generation of park visitors, supporters, and advocates.

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GEOSCIENTISTS-IN-PARKS INTERNSHIPS - $26,000 This project will place two Geoscientists-in-Parks (GIP) interns at Olympic National Park with the Division of Interpretation in the Kalaloch and Hurricane Ridge areas. The internships will last for 20 weeks from May-September. The Kalaloch intern will focus on interpreting climate change and its impacts on the coastal ecosystem, including ocean acidification. The Hurricane Ridge intern will interpret climate change and its impacts on glaciers. Funding for this project will cover stipends, application and administrative costs, travel allowances and housing. The GIP program works with partners to match college students and recent graduates with short-term, paid internships with the National Park Service.

INCIDENT MANAGEMENT AND EQUIPMENT - $18,000 Incident Command Structure (ICS) is a management system designed to enable effective and efficient incident management by integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications, all operating within a common organizational structure. Training in ICS will facilitate activities in five functional areas: command, operations, planning, logistics, intelligence and investigations, and finance and administration. This program will help identify when collaboration of other agencies is needed during natural disasters, as well as during Search and Rescue and Emergency Services incidents. Equipment will be purchased for field use during incidents needing gear. Park staff from Mount Rainier and North Cascades National Parks will be encouraged to attend the training.

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SWIFTWATER RESCUE -$9,000

FUNDED

This project will fund Swiftwater Rescue Technician Unit 1 courses for 15 staff members and safety equipment for 20 staff members. Upon successful completion of the course, rangers will be certified Swiftwater Rescue Technicians, meeting the National Park Service standard.

EMERGENCY MEDICAL TRAINING -$6,000 This project will provide funding for one candidate to complete an Advanced Life Support Program (Parkmedic) in Fresno, CA. The candidate will achieve certification in National Registry of EMTs (NREMT), Advanced EMT (AEMT) Certification and an NPS EMS Credential as a Parkmedic, allowing increased ability to provide medical services throughout the park.

AVALANCHE TRAINING - $9,800 Hurricane Ridge is heavily visited by many and a favorite of locals for gaining access to the backcountry during the winter months. Understanding snow and its behavior is imperative to responder and visitor safety. Training will be offered to Search-and-Rescue staff providing SAR personnel the ability to recognize and prevent potential avalanche injuries or deaths.

REHABILITATE EAST FORK QUINAULT TRAIL - $50,000 The East Fork Quinault trail leads to the extremely popular Enchanted Valley as well as connecting to numerous other trails. Some sections need major rehabilitation to restore them to Olympic National Park (ONP) trail standards. Work will involve restoring tread to original grade, reconstruction of cribbing to support tread, restoration of drainage structures to reduce erosion, replacement of tread materials (i.e. rocky soil to cover exposed roots and even out tread surface) to restore one of the most heavily used trails in the park back to park standards and reduce further resource damage.

REHABILITATE QUEETS RIVER TRAIL - $50,000 The Queets River Trail has received no maintenance from park staff for several years resulting in sections of it falling well below park trail standards. This project will improve the condition of a total of 22.7 miles of trail with work being performed to bring segments currently in poor condition to good condition.

PRODUCTION OF PARK DATA AND ANNUAL REPORT - $5,000 The project will fund a publishing software program, expenses for materials, printing and binding as well as shipping and associated costs with producing a physical annual report featuring data generated by the WNPF-funded Computer Aided Dispatching (CASD) system.

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