Great Smoky Mountains National Park is recruiting volunteers to help the park staff by roving the Oconaluftee River Trail, the Mountain Farm Museum, and fields along Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road) to educate and advise visitors and help with traffic flow. This volunteers will be needed from late August until November 10, 2012.

Volunteers will be asked to rove four hours prior to sunset on the same day each week.

Volunteer rovers offer great assistance during the evening hours in the Oconaluftee area by providing visitors with useful park information regarding regulations about littering and interacting with wildlife. They also informally present important information about the Park’s history, wildflowers, and make suggestions for the best areas to view fall leaf colors.

During the frequent presence of elk in the fields along Newfound Gap Road, volunteers will aid Visitor Use Assistants and Rangers in traffic management as well as provide visitors with information on viewing the elk and their role in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The volunteers will also provide assistance by distributing information about regulations that prohibit disturbing and approaching wildlife.

Anyone interested will be required to attend one, 5-hour orientation and training session on Monday, August 27 (not the 28th as park officials initially said), at the Oconaluftee Multi-purpose Room near Cherokee, N.C. To register for the training, or for more information, please contact the Oconaluftee Visitor Center at 828/497-1904.