Volunteers needed for county parks

Whitman county parks are in dire need of volunteers this year because the parks department has fewer seasonal employees.

Leaf raking, tree planting, trash collecting, sign painting and other outdoor chores all need to be done in the county’s four parks and miles of county trails.

The department has two full-time office staff, two full-time park rangers and one and a half seasonal employees to cover a year fraught with cuts and delays to the park budget.

“We are so limited in staff now. We just don’t have enough people to put together to do some of these bigger projects,” said Parks Director Tim Myers.

The county budget saw stiff cuts for the 2010 year. To cope, the parks department cut one and a half seasonal staff positions. Where there were three full-time seasonal positions helping the two parks rangers last year and in years past, there will be just one full-time and a half this year, Myers said.

In addition, the department had to cut all overtime hours and has delayed regular maintenance of some park equipment.

Park rangers Justus Barton and Dave Mahan this season will do some of the regular maintenance tasks previously accomplished by the seasonal employees. This will take time away from bigger projects the rangers would like to accomplish Myers said.

Mahan and Barton both have lists of volunteer projects, from staining picnic tables to cutting firewood for campers to picking up fallen branches. Mahan said his largest need is for a group to come help him rake up leaves and pick up tree limbs.

The parks department regularly gets volunteer help, but now needs more. Church groups and Boy Scout troops often undertake parks projects to meet service time requirements.

Myers mentioned one volunteer who happened to hike by while Barton was working on the prairie restoration project at Kamiak Butte.

“He was just hiking the trail and stopped to say, ‘Hey, do you need some help with that?’” Myers said.