Here’s a statement from Mount Rainier National Park outlining what cuts it must make after having it’s operating budget reduced by $603,000.:

Mount Rainier’s annual budget last year (in FY12) was $12.08M. This included funding administered by Mount Rainier for human resources and resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) programs supporting many national parks in the Pacific Northwest, leaving $11.35M for Mount Rainier operations. From this budget, the park is eliminating $603,000 in planned FY13 expenses to meet the five percent mandated sequestration cuts, resulting in $10.75M available for the year. This year’s reduction is in addition to over $500,000

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Karen Taylor-Goodrich has been named the new superintendent of North Cascades National Park Service Complex. She will start her new duties in March.

Taylor-Goodrich has been the superintendent at Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks in California for the last three years. She fills the vacancy created when Chip Jenkins left the park last year to become the National Park Service Pacific West’s deputy regional director in Seattle.

Her career of more than 30 years with the Park Service included a stint at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.

“Returning to work and live in the Pacific Northwest has been a …

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From the National Park Service:

Philip Pantoja, contracting officer for Pacific West Region in Seattle, Washington, retired on January 3rd after 35 years with the National Park Service.

Philip is a Korea and Vietnam War veteran who served in the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army for a combined total of 21 years. He is a recipient of three Army commendation medals and the Bronze Star; he is also one of the few surviving “Atomic Veterans” and is an active member of the National Association of Atomic Veterans, working to bring attention to the issues veterans face

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For Chuck Young, chief ranger at Mount Rainier National Park, tragedies like today’s elementary school shooting in Connecticut stir awful memories.

It was less than a year ago that his staff responded to a gunman in Mount Rainier National Park. When law enforcement ranger Margaret Anderson stopped the man, Benjamin Colton Barnes, on the morning of Jan. 1 she was shot and killed. Barnes fled into Rainier’s unforgiving wilderness where he was found dead, drowned in Paradise River, the next morning.

Some, including Young, believe Anderson’s actions may have prevented a Barnes from shooting park visitors at Paradise.

While park …

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Mount Rainier climbing fees will soon increase by $1 to $44 for adults and $31 for those 24 and younger, park officials announce this morning.

The increase for the annual passes goes into effect on Dec. 1, said park superintendent Randy King in a prepared statement.

The climbing fee was implemented in 1995 and an increase was approved after a series of public meetings last year. The 2011 increase allows the park to adjust the fee annual based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index.

The climbing fee is a special use fee designed to offset cost of Rainier’s climbing program …

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Mount Rainier National Park has started closing roads as snow is now falling as low as Longmire.

According to the park’s website, the following roads are now closed for the season.

- Mowich Lake Road

- Sunrise Road

- White River Road to the campground.

Starting Nov. 1, all vehicle in the park will be required to carry tire chains.

Park officials expect State Routes 410 and 123 Nov. 26 and Chinook Pass on Nov. 13.

UPDATE, Thursday, 10:29 a.m. - Lewis County Coroner Warren McCloud says the identification of the body found at Mount Rainier is still pending.

UPDATE, 10:37 a.m. – The Lewis County Coroner’s office said moments ago that the body has not yet been positively identified but they hope to identify the body by the end of today.

 

Rangers recovered the body of a woman Monday from the base of a cliff below Ricksecker Point at Mount Rainier National Park, officials said today.

The injuries are consistent with a fall from a great height, the park …

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Can you hear me now?

The odds aren’t very good if you are trying to make a cell phone call at Mount Rainier National Park. There are places where you can make calls: the summit (sometimes), Sunrise (almost always) and standing next to the stop sign at Paradise (depending on your carrier).

However, there is no cell phone reception in one of the most popular areas of the park, the 10-mile corridor from Longmire to Paradise. And even at Paradise reception is sketchy at best.

This might soon change as park officials look for ways to make Rainier a little …

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