Over the last seven months, working as an AmeriCorps member for the parks has given me an insight into the great respect and pride Montanans have for the environment and their state and national parks. In recent years, Montana State Parks has attracted over 2.5 million people annually. On the busiest of days, tour guides at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park can expect to collectively educate upwards of a thousand people. This means that no two days of working at the caverns are ever the same. I never know what combination of children and adults I am going to get, whether they will be seasoned cave explorers or excited for their first ever cave, a boisterous group of 32, or a personalized tour just the two of us. This ambiguity is part of the draw for many individuals seeking a job in the outdoors.
Working outside often means getting your hands dirty. For two weeks in July, I concentrated efforts between tours on a 1.9-acre section near the exit tunnel to remove a very prolific invasive weed- musk thistle. There are native and nonnative thistles, but all of them have a prickly stem and leaves that laugh at the thin material covering your hands and a stubborn taproot that threatens to send you rolling down the hill when finally removed. Even so, I found that the tricky task builds gumption, and pride in one’s work. Upon my triumphant return each day I presented my bounty to the ticket sellers, a sign of recognition for all they do, in the form of a lovely musk thistle bouquet.
When working for a park, you wear many hats and cater to the flux of visitors. Over the past decade, visitation with the state parks has increased almost 40%, greatly outpacing the budget, which has remained relatively stagnant over this time. To combat this deficit, my position was originally created in 2017 as a ten-month service term. Recent listings rank Montana sixth in the nation for AmeriCorps enrollment. Over 800 members served statewide with schools, veterans’ facilities, and public lands in 2018.
I am one of 17 Montana State Parks AmeriCorps members serving this year across the state. Beyond the in-house duties of education and preservation, we are also expected to have a presence at other parks and local communities. Once a year, all of us come together for a service project and All Corps gathering. I work at Lewis and Clark Caverns with another summer AmeriCorps member Michelle, and it was a special treat for us to host the event this year at our park.
During the gathering, we learned brushing techniques to clear a trail and spent an afternoon removing branches and trees crowding 1.1 miles of the East Side hiking and biking trail.
We also worked as a team to remove knapweed from 1.3 acres of the park.
Kate, Julianna, Amber, and Victoria ^^ Isabella >
All the while, we used the time to reconnect, enjoy the beauty of the park, and recharge in our downtime.
Later in the summer, a number of us represented State Parks at the Butte Folk Festival. For the last 11 years, the city of Butte has invited a wide variety of musical artists for the three-
The next week, Michelle and I were sent out to our local community to assist with Whitehall Frontier Days. I helped to organize floats and individuals as they arrived to line up for a parade and later walked along the sidelines as the parade progressed. Representing the park in the town I currently call home made me feel more connected, and my presence sparked many inquisitive questions locals had about the parks system and the caverns.
But if you ask any park employee, there is anticipation in the air in the early part of July as all preparations are finalized for the largest park event statewide. Bannack Days entices 6,000 visitors annually, requiring the cooperative efforts of countless volunteers, many of which are park staff borrowed from other parks. Bannack State Park is a historic park created to protect the buildings that arose during the gold rush, over 100 years ago. Bannack Days reawakens the culture and spirit of the abandoned town with booths, activities, and reenactments, transporting visitors back in time.
Visitors could pan for gold, take a wagon ride, make their own candle, or even cheer on a hanging.
Although there are many park events across the state that call on the assistance of AmeriCorps members, Bannack Days is all hands on deck. Fifteen of us arrived from all over the state to play an integral part in helping the event run smoothly by helping to park cars, sell tickets, and drive shuttle vans.
Mindy shuttling visitors Kyle assisting with parking
Will, the AmeriCorps member working at Bannack, gave us a tour of the park the day before, introducing us to his temporary home. Everything from the unique flora of the park to the historic structures felt like a playground welcoming us to explore. In fact, a number of us embraced our inner child while riding the nearly 100-year-old merry-go-round.
Amber
These community events have been some of my favorite memories from the summer. It is a great way to be a presence at local gatherings and also to gain a greater insight into how the Montana State Parks system functions overall. For such a large, sparsely populated state, Montana has taught me a lot about service and supporting each other.
If any of this has piqued your interest and you think you or someone you know would enjoy this type of work, you can apply today. Montana State Parks AmeriCorps has just opened the application for next year’s full term positions. You could be in my position at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park in 2020, helping to organize events and educate the influx of visitors, all the while learning what it means to be part of a community.
