National Public Lands Day and How You Can Help

How shifts in the ecosystem affect our national parks and why Mount Rainier needs some fixing

By Patrick Knowles August 11, 2015

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This article originally appeared in the September 2015 issue of Seattle magazine.

Once a year, everyone is invited (for free!) to enjoy tranquil vistas and participate in a little fall cleaning at our parks, canyons, rivers and streams during National Public Lands Day (9/26; publiclandsday.org). Volunteers throughout the country have planted more than 100,000 trees and maintained or built more than 1,500 miles of trails since the program started 21 years ago.

As one of the three national parks in Washington, and arguably the most famous (if not the most visible), Mount Rainier, in particular, could use a little TLC in light of the recent and dramatic shifts in its ecosystem. With glaciers melting at six times the historic rate, streams and rivers are overflowing, damaging paths and forests. What better reason is there to caravan out to where that majestic silhouette holds the horizon, roll up your sleeves and help preserve our mountain? 

Once a year, everyone is invited (for free!) to enjoy tranquil vistas and participate in a little fall cleaning at our parks, canyons, rivers and streams during National 

Public Lands Day (9/26; publiclandsday.org). Volunteers throughout the country have planted more than 100,000 trees and maintained or built more than 1,500 miles of trails since the program started 21 years ago. As one of the three national parks in Washington, and arguably the most famous (if not the most visible), Mount Rainier, in particular, could use a little TLC in light of the recent and dramatic shifts in its ecosystem. With glaciers melting at six times the historic rate, streams and rivers are overflowing, damaging paths and forests. What better reason is there to caravan out to where that majestic silhouette holds the horizon, roll up your sleeves and help preserve our mountain?  PATRICK KNOWLE

Once a year, everyone is invited (for free!) to enjoy tranquil vistas and participate in a little fall cleaning at our parks, canyons, rivers and streams during National Public Lands Day (9/26; publiclandsday.org)

 

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