Volunteer trips with the Cascade Forest Conservancy
The work of volunteers is an essential part of our conservation and restoration efforts. We use field data collected by volunteers to inform all aspects of our work, from forest policy to road restoration initiatives. We also lead restoration trips with volunteers to improve habitat for wildlife and support ecosystem resilience. We are deeply appreciative of the time and effort invested by volunteers, and we hope our citizen science trips are a mutually beneficial endeavor. Our citizen science program is called GPS: the Gifford Pinchot Stewards.
Visit our Trip Sign Up page to see the list of trips we are offering for the year and to sign up. Recent trips include:
- Survey of streams and forest roads to collect important field data on stream culverts, forest road conditions, erosion, and fish passage
- Timber surveys to collect information important for conservation planning and our collaborative work with timber harvest proposals
- Wildlife survey trips to monitor the distribution of carnivores and pikas
- Huckleberry monitoring to determine the effects of forest thinning on huckleberry restoration
- Beaver habitat surveys to validate spatial models, monitor current occupancy, and identify limiting factors
- Riparian planting trips to enhance native vegetation along stream banks
- Post-fire seeding trips to support re-growth of grasses and pollinator species in areas impacted by uncharacteristically severe fire patterns
Young Friends of the Forest
In addition to leading trips with volunteers, we also work with local schools to offer these opportunities to middle school and high school students. The aim of the Young Friends of the Forest program is to lead fun and engaging trips to our surrounding forest lands and give students an opportunity to become part of real conservation programs and environmental science research in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
The video below offers a look into our citizen science work.