Ah, temptation: A 360-degree view of the North Cascades, a brilliant star show and a place all your own for a summer weekend.
OK, maybe not all your own. There will be numerous hikers hanging out after climbing more than 3,000 feet up to ‘your house” — the Green Mountain Lookout.
You’ll be there as a volunteer for the weekend educating visitors on the area’s history and resources.
The lookout in the Darrington Ranger District is a high-value destination for hikers despite the steep four-mile hike through forest and meadows to an elevation of 6,500 feet.
This is an opportunity afforded only a handful of people. Backpacking experience is needed because you’ll bring your own supplies. You need current first-aid or wilderness first-aid training.
You must be selected and attend one of two training sessions in May or June. To apply by March 31, visit the Washington Trails Association Website, www.wta.org.
Always a challenge: Volunteers working with Washington CoastSavers and other groups battle tons of household plastics and the other unnatural debris that washes up on beaches. April 23 is your next opportunity to pitch in, pack up and take out some of it.
Visit www.coastsavers.org and select from dozens of beaches from the Long Beach Peninsula to the Olympic Peninsula. Since 2007, volunteers have removed tens of tons of trash on Earth Day weekend. At the website you can donate time or money. It costs about $1,000 to rent a dumpster and dispose of the trash.
Wolves: The state’s wolf population continues to grow, now totaling at least 90 wolves, 18 packs and eight breeding pairs. In 2008, only one pack and five wolves were documented.
Pigeon Guillemots: The chunky black-and-white seabirds with fire-engine red feet are the only seabirds known to breed and nest in the bluffs around Whidbey Island. They are the topic of a talk by Ann Casey at the Pilchuck Audubon Society meeting at 7 p.m. April 8 at the Everett Firefighter’s Hall, 2411 Hewitt Ave. Whidbey Audubon’s Pigeon Guillemot Research Group has more than 50 trained volunteers collecting data from 25 nesting sites.
Flight time: Birdwatchers have been active. Here are a few recent observations: 600 mew gulls just north of the Burlington Industrial Park, plus a big flock of Wilson’s snipes; a snow bunting at the Everett sewage lagoon and a great gray owl in Skagit County. The Edmonds pier may be closed for a few months, but nearby bird-watching areas are open, including the Edmonds marsh.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
