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What we do:
Friends of Lord Hill Regional Park participates in two
types of volunteer activities.
1. We hold about six work parties a year to
improve and maintain the trail system. You do not need to be a member of FLHRP
to join these work parties. These events are fun and a great way to give
something back to the park. They also are a good way to meet other park
users.
For information on what to expect at a work party, what to bring,
to review the current work party schedules or to join a work party, click
here. If you have a group that would like to do a work
party we may schedule a separate work party date to accommodate you.
2. We patrol the trails. Members of FLHRP who have
passed qualifying tests for the hiker, horse or bicycle patrol must also submit
to a criminal background check. You are not required to patrol on a set
schedule, but you can monitor the trails whenever you are going to be in the
park. Patrol members have no authority. We are simply eyes and ears for the
rangers.
Our mission is simply to report back to the rangers about
any problems in the park. We also pass out maps to park users and answer any
questions about the trails. We provide information on the importance of safety
in a multi-use park. Patrol members must remain courteous to park users at all
times. Patrol members must not engage in confrontational situations with park
users. If a park user is trying to engage you in a confrontational situation,
get away safely and alert the rangers.
If you are interested in becoming a patrol member
click here.
How to identify
ourselves:
We are volunteers for Snohomish Country Parks and
Recreation as well as Friends of Lord Hill Regional Park.
We should identify ourselves as volunteers patrolling or monitoring the
park and working to maintain the trails. We are not patrol officers or volunteer
rangers. Be careful to only identify yourself as a volunteer.
What the patrol has
accomplished:
We routinely report many situations to the rangers
involving trail conditions, illegal trail building, dogs off leash, illegal
vehicles, a boat in Temple Pond and vandalism. We also pick up
litter and manure from the trails and help maintain the kiosk, placing maps in
the holder when they run out.
We have discovered several events being held in the park
that the parks department was not notified of. The events were all going well,
and we let the rangers know they
were occurring.
We've encountered several groups of people who were lost in
the park. In one case we found an elderly couple in their 80s who were lost on a
cold winter day near dusk.
We have reported two separate accidents to 911 and to the
rangers and helped direct the medics to the location. In both cases a woman was injured when falling from her
horse.
We helped search with the police and search-and-rescue
crews when a 3-year-old neighborhood girl was lost. She was eventually found on
a neighborhood street, having wandered away from home.
Requirements to join
the patrol:
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Interview with a board member to discuss the mission and policies
of our volunteer activity
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Application for the parks department, including a criminal
background check
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Qualifying test for the trail patrol, including a stringent riding
test for horse and bike riders to demonstrate they are safe on the trail with
other park users; filling out a map of the park with trail names to demonstrate
thorough knowledge of the trail system. Horse and bike riders must wear helmets
while on patrol.
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Horse riders and bikers must work on one full-day work party each
year. These are usually held from 9
a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on a Saturday. The work party will be held rain or shine.
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It is recommended hiker patrol members
hike in groups.
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Sign waivers releasing Snohomish County and Friends of Lord Hill
Regional Park and its members and board members of all liability
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Purchase dark green jacket or dark green shirt with a collar.
You'll need to purchase a volunteer patch that you can sew on the shirt or
jacket.
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25 hours a year of trail riding for horses on the patrol; 16 hours
for others
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Submit a list of your volunteer hours at the beginning of each
month that you patrol.
Horse Patrol Trail Test:
Horses and riders need to safely
demonstrate the following in the park:
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Horses on the patrol must be quiet and
have had considerable experience on the trails, including being ridden
alone. They must be either mares or geldings and at least four years old.
They must be shod on all four feet and the horse and rider must be weight
proportional (i.e., the horse must be of an adequate size to carry the
weight of the rider and his or her saddle as attested to by a qualified
veterinarian). The horse must be in good physical condition when out on
the trails and must be well taken care of.
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Mount your horse
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Each rider will need to ride to a
fence and pick up a yellow slicker or towel and ride over to another rider
and hand it over.
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We'll have someone drive a truck
slowly through the parking lot as we ride the horses near it but at a safe
distance.
Most of the following work will occur on
the trails:
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Move your horse laterally by taking a
few steps to the side
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Back up five steps
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We need to ride by and be passed by
bicyclists, joggers, dogs and llamas on the trail
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We'll have someone walk by with an
umbrella and a backpack
After riding by the above participants,
we'll go for about a 1 hour ride in the park. We'll take turns so that each
rider can demonstrate riding in the front and the back. The front horse needs
to ride ahead to demonstrate he or she can be ridden alone.
A written test will involve filling in a
blank map of the park, drawing the trails and including their names. Show the
other ways to get out of the park as in an emergency: Pipeline, English Pond,
antenna, quarry, west end. This test is just to demonstrate general knowledge
of the layout of the park. The drawings can be rough and do not need to be the
exact layout of the trails, but a reasonable approximation.
What to expect when
patrolling:
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Park users needing
information on the park and the trails
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Groups conducting events or outings. If the situation seems
appropriate, you can ask them about their group and find out if the parks
department is aware of their event.
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Users accessing from many different entrances
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Trees and obstacles blocking the trails
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Wildlife reports: coyotes, deer, cougars, bears
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Litter
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Horse and dog manure
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Dogs off leash
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Reckless horse or bike riders, including those wearing headphones
which mean they can't hear approaching park users
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Illegal parking when the lot is full
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Unauthorized trails
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Illegal vehicles on trails
What to take:
How to report
information for patrolling:
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If you see a ranger in the park, report it then.
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Otherwise, report nonemergencies and other issues to Joan
Deutsch, (360) 568-7811.
What to do in case
of an emergency:
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Call 911 first
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Then call (360) 568-2274. This is Flowing Lake where the
rangers are based. If you get the answering machine, follow the directions on
their message for paging a ranger.
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You or your partner will need to meet the emergency
vehicles at the parking lot and show them into the park.
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Feel free to call Joan Deutsch or Mike Kozak,
(360) 568-7811.
If you reach us, we'll help.
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