Rainier visitors reminded to not feed wildlife
THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Visitors to Mount Rainier National Park during Labor Day weekend will be reminded of the dangers animals face from vehicles and human food.
Paw-Print wildlife remembrance signs will be placed along park roadways to promote awareness of those issues: speeding and feeding, said a park news release. The signs will recognize the 225 animals hit in the park by vehicles since 2007.
Park staff have been working the last two summer seasons to educate visitors about the danger feeding animals creates. Feeding wildlife attracts animals to roads and parking areas to beg for human food. This unnatural behavior increases their risk of being hit and killed by vehicles, the release said.
In addition, speeding reduces driver’s reaction time to animals on the road and that has contributed to the number of animals hit in the park.
Japanese volunteers return: Students volunteers with the Japan Volunteers-in-Parks Association have returned to the park, continuing a 13-year-old relationship.
With the exception of one year, students from Waseda University in Tokyo have to come to Mount Rainier each summer for two to three weeks to assist with a variety of projects.
Since 1994, more than 250 volunteers have contributed 19,716 hours of services to the park. They have constructed the first wheelchair accessible boardwalk at the park, installed wayside exhibits, built campsites, assisted with trail projects, and helped with construction of a composting toilet at Cougar Rock Campground.
This summer, the group is assisting with constructing a wheelchair accessible trailhead at Paradise. The project involves regrading and resurfacing about 350 feet of trail to a width of 6 feet. Reclaimed fill and native plants will be used to repair and revegetate an improperly functioning drainage system adjacent to the historic Paradise Guide House. In addition log benches will be installed along the trail.
Jeffrey P. Mayor, The News Tribune
