The 2014 summer season is off to a fast and busy start. Spring came early this season, so early we had to cancel the mountaineering patrol we had scheduled. There are many new things going on in the backcountry this summer. Wrangell-St. Elias has begun a Wilderness Stewardship Plan. This is exciting news because the plan will focus on how the heart of the backcountry will be managed for the foreseeable future. Staff members will be out in the Wilderness area of the park collecting baseline data that will help create a better plan.
This season there are also two Student Conservation Association interns working jointly with the Interpretative Staff and Backcountry Program. These two talented folks will be helping with river and backpacking patrols as well as spending time working in the Copper Center Visitor Center. It’s good to have Eric and Amy helping us out this season.
2014 is shaping up as a busy year. There are considerably more patrols scheduled to go into the field this year compared to last year and there is additional focus being put on river patrols. The River Operation has become an integral part of the Backcountry Program in a very short time. I am excited for all the new challenges of this season. The Backcountry staff has been out training a lot so far this spring but starting next week field season will really kick into gear!
