OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Free entry to all areas of Olympic National Park, guided programs and volunteer opportunities in both the park and the Olympic National Forest will mark National Public Lands Day today (Saturday).
“National parks belong to everyone, and we invite people to join us for a day of celebration and service on Saturday,” said Olympic National Park Superintendent Karen Gustin earlier this week.
Entrance fees will be waived throughout the park today. Camping, overnight wilderness permit and dump station fees will remain in effect. Park camping fees for volunteers will be waived upon check-in with rangers.
Ranger-guided programs will be offered throughout the day at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles, at Hurricane Ridge, the Hoh Rain Forest, Mora and Kalaloch.
“This is America,” a 45-minute preview to documentary film producer Ken Burns’ six-part series, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” will be shown at the park’s visitor center at 3002 Mount Angeles Road, Port Angeles, at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The series will air on PBS beginning Sunday, shown locally on KCTS channel 9.
Sunday showing
The first episode of the documentary will be offered free to the public Sunday.
The episode will be shown at 7:30 p.m. in the Peninsula Room of the Red Lion Hotel, 221 N. Lincoln St., Port Angeles.
People are asked to RSVP by phoning 360-565-3130.
Nightly showings
Throughout the following week, the park will screen the six parts of Burns’ series.
They will be shown nightly at 7 p.m. at Kalaloch Campground Amphitheater from Sunday, when the series begins, to Oct. 2 when it ends.
Ranger-guided programs on Saturday will include:
• Olympic National Park Visitor Center: Peabody Creek Trail walk at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
• Hurricane Ridge: Meadow Exploration walks at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Terrace Talks at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
• Hoh Rain Forest: Spruce Nature Trail walk, 0.25-mile, at 11 a.m.; Hall of Mosses Trail walk, 0.75-mile, at 1 p.m.
• Kalaloch: “Nature Cleans House,” a lesson on how nature recycles, at Kalaloch Beach at 10 a.m.; “Skulls & Pelts, Fishers and Otters,” a lesson on the area animals, at 2 p.m.; “Sweet 16 of the Coastal Forest,” learn how to identify 16 plants in the area, at 2 p.m. “Sea Otters: Rangers of the Kelp Forest” at 8 p.m.
• Mora: “Rialto Reality Check” at 2 p.m.; “Natural Olympians of the Olympics” at 8 p.m.
Volunteers to work
Volunteers will pick up trash, pull weeds and help maintain trails on public lands.
North Olympic Peninsula projects are:
• Upper Dungeness Trail, near Sequim, in Olympic National Forest. Washington Trails Association members and volunteers doing trail maintenance, including rehabilitation of existing switchbacks and treadwork to address drainage issues across the trail.
To sign up, visit http://wta.org or phone Jennifer Fujii, U.S. Forest Service, 360-765-2251.
• Olympic National Park headquarters, 600 E. Park Ave., Port Angeles. Work will entail board walk repair, exotic plant removal and trash pick-up. Phone Maggie Tyler, 360-565-3141, or see www.nps.gov/olym.
• Hoko-Ozette Road in Olympic National Park, near Clallam Bay. Work will be on marine debris cache site removal from coastal areas, which involves a 3-mile hike to the coast, as well as trail work and exotic plant removal.
Volunteers should check in at the Ozette Ranger Station on Hoko-Ozette Road on Friday noon and 6 p.m. or on Saturday between 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
For more information, phone Tyler or see www.nps.gov/olym.
Volunteers should be prepared for working outdoors in all types of weather and should bring gloves, clippers, sturdy shoes and rain gear.
Overnight wilderness use permits are required for camping on the park’s wilderness coast, including all areas of the Ozette coast. Permits must be reserved in advance by phoning the park’s Wilderness Information Center at 360-565-3100.
Although permits and reservations are required, permit fees will be waived for all volunteers who check in.
Hard-sided food containers are required for anyone camping on the park’s wilderness coast and are available for loan at the Ozette station for a suggested donation of $3.
For more information about National Public Lands Day, see www.public landsday.org.
