National Park Volunteers Honored by the National Park Service
June 2007
In 2006, 154,000 volunteers gave an astounding gift of 5.1 million hours of their time to enrich our national parks. The National Park Service recently honored several of those outstanding volunteers. Don Harrison was awarded the Individual Volunteer Award for his work raising money for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. For many years visitors to the C&O Canal traveled the canal on a mule-drawn barge. The old boat, the Yankee Clipper, had to be retired because of hull damage. Harrison’s work helped raise over half a million dollars to build a new canal boat.
The Group Volunteer Award was given to ARCH Yellowstone Volunteers, led by Clint Bybee, for their role in major backcountry improvements in Yellowstone National Park. They constructed a 300-foot buck-and-rail corral fence, cleared downed trees, and built waterbars for more than 200 miles of trails. They also relocated toilet facilities, erected food poles in campsites, and made hitching posts for patrol cabins.
The Park Volunteer Program Award went to Mesa Verde National Park. Through the yearlong efforts of 175 volunteers, the park benefited from six new tours, several specials events, owl and bat surveys, oral history interviews, sign construction, park beautification, and library maintenance.
NPCA would like to extend our hearty congratulations to these volunteers who give so much of themselves to improve our parks. Their dedication means people they have never met will have more enjoyable and meaningful park visits. If you would like to lend a hand, the Volunteers-In-Parks Program can help you get involved.
This article is from the June 2007 issue of NPCA's Park Lines. Each month Park Lines takes you to a new park, highlights one of our campaigns, and keeps you informed about what the staff at NPCA are up to and how you can help. Read our latest issue and subscribe for your very own free copy.
