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Olympic National ParkBackpackers in the high Olympics
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Olympic National Park
Park Newsletter for August 31, 2007
rocky meadow with patches of bright red vegetation
Janet Kailin
Though three more weeks remain of summer, fall colors have arrived at Obstruction Point in the Olympic high country.
 
uniformed man in office

Nancy Hendricks

Olympic welcomes Reed Robinson, new maintenance chief.

Park Welcomes New Maintenance Chief

Reed Robinson, the park's new Chief of Maintenance, began work at Olympic this week. Most recently the maintenance chief at Capitol Reef National Park in Utah, Reed has also worked at Grand Teton National Park, Timpanogos Cave National Monument, Fort Laramie National Historic Site and the National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center in Maryland.

The son of a U.S. State Department employee, Reed was raised overseas until he was 18. He is the dad of a daughter, 15, and son, 11, and enjoys weightlifting, travel, hiking and motorcycling riding. He is an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. 

Welcome, Reed and family!

 
people seated at picnic tables

Superintendent Bill Laitner, left, talks with park volunteers at a recent picnic held in the park maintenance yard.

Volunteers Honored at Recognition Lunch

On August 22, Olympic's staff and volunteers gathered to celebrate and recognize the contributions of the park's 700 volunteers. Over 100 people enjoyed a picnic lunch, prepared and hosted by park staff.

Volunteers who contributed over 200 hours this year were entered into a drawing and were eligible for special awards.

More about volunteering in the park.

 
Rangers Make Drug Bust

Traffic enforcement by Olympic National Park rangers led to an arrest and the seizure of over a half pound of marijuana, a half pound of methamphetamine and a quarter pound of cocaine. 

Read more.

Did you know?

... that since last November, park crews removed 203,000 board feet of downed wood from park roads and campgrounds?

While impacts from fall and winter storms are not uncommon, the effects of the heavy rain and windstorms of 2006 were particularly pronounced and will be noticeable for years to come.

 

Mt. Olympus in winter  

Did You Know?
That Mount Olympus receives over 200 inches of precipitation each year and most of that falls as snow? At 7,980 feet, Mount Olympus is the highest peak in Olympic National Park and has the third largest glacial system in the contiguous U.S.

Last Updated: August 31, 2007 at 16:53 EST