Mount St. Helens Institute Spring, 2013

Photo by Karl Girardi

Spring Reigns Eternal

Travis Southworth-Neumeyer

Executive Director

To live in the Pacific Northwest is to live among volcanos. From Lassen Peak to Mt. Baker, these volcanos provide untold intrinsic value to our lives, not limited to the amazing recreation opportunities they provide. Mount St. Helens in particular, reminds us that to live among volcanoes is to live with catastrophic change. The beauty Mount St. Helens was before May 18th, 1980, is gone forever, along with Harry Truman. Mount St. Helens teaches us incredible lessons about resiliency, recovery and growth. For those of us who barely remember May 18th, 1980, or weren’t even born yet, it is hard to imagine the mature forests that blanketed what is now a not-quite barren landscape in the blast zone.

Quick Links Our Website Donate Now Contact Us Email Us

Volcano Views & Brews

Tuesday, April 16, 6:30pm at the Ecotrust Building: 721 NW 9th Ave # 200 Portland, OR 97209. Featuring author and tracker Dave Moskowitz. Thursday, April 18, 6:30pm at the Hop-N-Grape: 924 15th Avenue, Longview,WA 98632. Featuring Pat Pringle, Assoc. Professor of Earth Science at Centralia College. Check out our website for details and more information!

In one short year the Mount St. Helens Institute has changed dramatically. Since I came on in April of last year, we have had nearly complete staff turnover. Thanks to the support of our volunteers, donors, partners, board members, and new staff, we’ve still been able to grow, not unlike the lava dome and the willows on Mount St. Helens. We’ve added a Coldwater Coordinator, been able to keep some of our seasonal folks on over the winter doing project work. We are offering a handful of guided trips on a new climbing route on the north side while we work with the Forest Service on how to open it up for even broader access. We started the Volcano Naturalist Program in partnership with the Forest Service and the participation has been 150% of what we initially estimated. We’ve updated our Volcano After Dark program to include up to three nights of Volcano Outdoor School. We’ve helped re-open the former Coldwater Visitor Center as the Science and Learning Center at Coldwater. We’ve got more exciting changes in store for this year. We’re partnering with Trackers Earth in Portland to pilot a week of summer camp at the Science and Learning Center, next summer we hope to offer four weeks of summer camp programs that teach kids about Mount St. Helens, change, resiliency, and science, all while having tons of fun and maybe even learning a little about careers in science, natural resource management and education. We couldn’t do what we do without you. MSHI volunteers and donors are the pocket gophers and prairie lupine of our resiliency. You create the microhabitats and provide the nutrients that allow our field seminars and youth programs to grow. Thank you all for your continued support, more changes are coming, and because of the support you provide to the Mount St. Helens Institute, I am confident we will be resilient and will continue to thrive and grow through it all. With deepest regards,

Travis Southworth-Neumeyer

It's a Blast! Saturday, May 11th MSHI opens Johnston Ridge Observatory a day early with the $8 admission fee supporting education and volunteer programs. New! May 11th is Free Admission Day for teachers and educators~ Forest Service Interpretive Rangers will be on hand to discuss educational opportunities. 10:00am-5:00pm Johnston Ridge Observatory

Volcano Outdoor School Learn more about our Volcano Outdoor School. Youth groups from schools to Cub Scouts will by day explore the geology and biology of MSH and by night learn the stars and stories that surround the mountain. Lessons are hands-on, interdisciplinary, fun and aligned to science standards. Groups can stay at the Science and Learning Center at Coldwater for 1 to 3 nights from May through mid October. Contact Grace Schmidt at 360.274.2114 for more

Science and Education Programs As the snow starts to melt on the mountain and leaves begin to unfurl in the lowlands, the Science and Education Programs staff are gearing up for summer. We have hired seasonal coordinators, assistants and guides to help make the busy summer schedule of adventuring and learning with youth, adults and scientists a blast! New Faces Ray Yurkewycz, our Science and Education Programs Manager left us on March 30 to be Mr. Mom with his 1 year old daughter, Cady Mae. Abi Groskopf, our current Science and Education Programs Coordinator, will be taking over Ray’s position. She is uniquely poised to do this job as she has played an integral part in our programs over the past year and has been an outstanding leader. Though we are sad to see Ray go, we are excited to watch Abi thrive in her new position! Here are a few words from Ray on his departure: “My resignation is truly bittersweet. I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to stay home with my beautiful daughter and shape her growth day in and day out, but at the same time, Mount St. Helens, my co-workers at the Institute, our partners, volunteers and friends have become such an integral part of my life. It’s hard to think about stepping back from my current level of involvement, but anybody who has met my daughter will understand! And this doesn’t mean goodbye- I will continue to pester my co-workers, partners and anyone else involved with Mount St. Helens! Thanks for the great past couple of years!” Field Seminars, Guided Climbs and Guided Adventures Get outside to explore all the facets and faces of MSH with our field seminars, guided climbs and guided adventures. Test your field identification skills and improve your interpretation of wildlife track and sign with Track and Sign Specialist David Moskowitz on June 22-23. Join us as we hike Into the Crater, climb the new route to an amazing Crater View or summit the Crater Rim with our guides and professional geologists. Mountain bike the Ape Canyon trail or join us for our Awesome fundraising hikes from Johnston Ridge Observatory to Coldwater Lake.

information.

Upcoming Events In addition to education and volunteer programs and events, MSHI’s Conservation Corps Coordinator, Luke Wakefield, is diligently organizing work parties and clean-up projects around the mountain. Please contact us for more information or to sign up for any of these events: 360.891.5199. Saturday, April 27: Pine Creek Partners Clean-up, 9am – 3pm at the Pine Creek Information Station Saturday, May 4: Hummocks Trail (at Coldwater) Work Party, 10am – 4pm with Friday night potluck dinner at the Science & Learning Center at Coldwater. Saturday, June 1: National Trails Day, building new Ape Cave trail, 8:30am – 4pm with optional second day of participation on Sunday. Saturday, June 15: Ape Cave Trail-building, 8:30am – 3:30pm continuation of June 1st project with optional second day of participation on Sunday. Saturday, June 29: Weed Rodeo, 10am – 4pm based out of the Science & Learning Center at Coldwater. Finish the day with a concert at the

Volunteer with us! The winter season was anything but quiet and serene in the Volunteer Programs department. Developing and implementing a strategic plan for recruitment, orientation and training successfully resulted in a full ‘freshman’ class ~ over 40 new participants to complement our existing cadre of passionate and enthusiastic volunteers. Expanded program offerings include the Volcano Naturalist Program (VNP), a 12 week in-depth course about and within the Mount St. Helens landscape and the 1980 eruption. Upon graduation, program participants serve a minimum of 60 volunteer hours each year utilizing their knowledge and interpretive skills to tell the story of Mount St. Helens in a variety of settings: at visitor centers, on the trail, at schools and in the community. Jointly created and facilitated with the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument staff, the VNP provides a unique opportunity for participants to inspire and engage the community through the Mount St. Helens Institute’s volunteer programs.

Other exciting opportunities for volunteers involve more roving and interpretation on trails on the south side near Ape Cave, hosting a booth on White Nose Syndrome (also at Ape Cave), assisting with overnight education programs at Coldwater Science & Learning Center, and supporting climbers on the newly-opened Crater View Climb. For more information about programs or becoming a volunteer, please contact Amy Tanska at 360.449.7826.

JRO Amphitheatre, 6pm – 8pm. Optional overnight on both Friday and Saturday at Coldwater. Email Luke for more details!

STEM Research

(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) With funding from Washington STEM and Columbia Bank, high school students from Battleground, Castle Rock, Toutle, and Mattawa came out to the mountain last fall and collected ecological data alongside USFS, university, non-profit and private organization scientists. Over the past two months, those students have been working on analyzing and presenting their data. Students will convene on April 17 at Washington State University in Vancouver (9am - 3pm) for a research conference where they will share their findings with peers and scientists. The program has been a great success and we are looking forward to seeing what the students have uncovered about the rebirth of Mount St. Helens!

Please visit our website at www.mshinstitute.org Call us at 360.449.7883. 42218 NE Yale Bridge Rd. Amboy, WA 98601