Immerse yourself: The WSU Snohomish County Extension Beach Watcher course is 80 hours of training. Then craft your own volunteer experience by giving back 80 hours in Puget Sound education, research or stewardship projects that you select over the next two years. Training includes lectures on topics from marine wildlife to water quality to climate change and guided field trips. The training will be 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every Friday from March 17 to May 19 and two Saturday field trips April 1 and 29. Applications are due Feb. 26; a free background check is required. There is a $55 (electronic version) or $75 (hard copy) materials fee. More at www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/Snohomish/training; chrys@wsu.edu or 425-357-6020
Spring courses: Hosted by the Everett branch of The Mountaineers, 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 1, Snohomish County PUD Building, 2320 California St., Everett. Representatives from the Alpine Scrambling, First Aid, Hiking, Lookout and Trail Maintenance, Navigation and Sea Kayaking Committees will be on hand to preview and field questions about their spring courses. Open to the public. More at www. mountaineers.org/about/branches-committees/ everett-branch/events/everett-branch-spring-course-night.
Gear Grab: and potluck dinner, hosted by Everett branch of The Mountaineers, March 1, Everett United Church of Christ, 2624 Rockefeller Ave. Bring in that gear that has been sitting in your garage for decades. You can sell or trade it and buy more from others. Guest speaker is Craig Romano, an outdoor author who has written many Mountaineer Hiking Guidebooks. More at www.mountaineers.org/about/branches-committees/everett-branch/events/copy_of_everett-branch-annual-pot-luck-gear-grab.
Grizzly: The Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center will host a grizzly bear restoration presentation at 1 p.m. Jan. 29, 52809 Rockport Park Road, Rockport. Fewer than 10 grizzly bears are left in the North Cascades, making it the most at-risk bear population in North America. Learn more about the future of this threatened species and steps that can be taken to ensure a healthy outcome. Free. RSVP requested. Hosted by the Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center at Howard Miller Steelhead Park in Rockport and sponsored by the Friends of the North Cascades Grizzly Bear Coalition. The Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center is open through January during the peak of bald eagle migration and provides opportunities to learn about the Skagit River ecosystem. More at www.skagiteagle.org; srbeatic@frontier.com; 360-853-7626.
Permits: Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is taking applications for long-term priority use permits for outfitting and guiding services to operate for up to 10 years. Services needed for mountaineering and climbing, skill and rescue training, backcountry skiing and snowboarding, stock trips, environmental education, hunting and snowmobiling. Priority deadline is Jan. 31 with applications accepted until Feb. 17. More at www.fs.usda.gov
Walk: Join Friends of Camano Island Parks members on a guided community walk at Camano Ridge Forest Preserve, Feb. 4. Meet at 9:50 a.m. at the Camano Multipurpose Center on East Camano (blue building next to tennis courts) for the 3.3-mile walk. There will be a brief stop at the Kristoferson Beaver Marsh on the way back to the cars. The first half-mile of trail has a 200-foot gain. Trails on top are level with short ups and downs and include a forested loop and a wetland trail. For safety reasons, no dogs are allowed on guided walks. Trail booklets and maps will be available at the walk for a suggested $1 donation. For more, go to www.friendsof camanoislandparks.org.
Plant trees: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 18 and March 18, Kenmore Waterfront Activities Center, 7353 175th St., Kenmore. Volunteers needed to plant 400 trees and shrubs that will be used to restore natural streamside vegetation benefiting salmon. Go across Swamp Creek by canoe. Team up with the Adopt A Stream Foundation, the Sno-King Watershed Council and the City of Kenmore. Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board funds were used to purchase the trees and shrubs and to prepare the Swamp Creek streamside area for planting. More at www.streamkeeper.org
Recreate: The U.S. Forest Service will waive fees at day-use recreation sites in Oregon and Washington on President’s Day, Feb. 20. The waiver includes many picnic areas, boat launches, trailheads and visitor centers. Fees for camping, cabin rentals, heritage expeditions or other permits still apply. The fee waiver does not apply to SnoParks, although they might be located on national public lands. Other free days are: National Trails Day, June 3; National Get Outdoors Day, June 10; National Public Lands Day, Sept. 30; Veterans Day Weekend, Nov. 11-12. More at www.fs.usda.gov
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