Volunteers set records helping Mount Rainier

THE OLYMPIAN | • Published November 06, 2009

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A record number of people volunteered at Mount Rainier National Park this season.

There were 1,865 people who volunteered, according to a report from Kevin Bacher, the park’s volunteer coordinator. That tops last year’s number of 1,837 volunteers. This year, volunteers worked for 72,231.25 hours, up from 70,130 hours last year.

That work was worth an estimated $1.46 million, based on the estimated dollar value of volunteer time of $20.25 per hour, set in 2008 by Independent Sector.

That compares with the nearly $47,000 needed to run the program, including some housing, meals, training, transportation and supplies.

This was the first year since the November 2006 flood that the park’s volunteer effort was not directly supported by the Mount Rainier Recovery Corps, Bacher said. Through a partnership developed with the Student Conservation Association, the corps recruited volunteers and led recovery efforts.

Instead, Bacher said, this year the volunteer program built on the partnerships developed during the last three years and from the lessons learned to create new opportunities, including a major trail construction project at Glacier Basin led by the Washington Trails Association. That project alone brought almost 500 volunteers to the park.

Jeffrey P. Mayor, The News Tribune