Interested in marmots? Enjoy Olympic National Park? Can you spare some time this summer? If you answered 'Yes' to those questions, the folks at Washington's National Park Fund want to hear from you.

The fund is underwriting a project in Olympic to learn more about the park's marmot population. This is an observational study that will send you to pre-determined locations in Olympic where Olympic Marmots are known to have burrows. You will count and monitor presence or absence of the marmots over a period of several days to a week.

Olympic Marmot - Marmota olympus

Identification:

Nuzzling, playing, chirping, feeding together; the Olympic marmot is quite possibly one of the most social and gregarious mammals on the peninsula. They are endemic to the Olympic Peninsula, meaning they are found no where else in the world. The Olympic marmot is a heavier-set rodent with a long, bushy tail. They are often brownish in color, but may be yellow or tan colored when they emerge from hibernation in the spring. They have a sharp, piercing whistle that warns others of intruders or potential predators, and notifies hikers that they are in marmot territory.

Habitat:

Marmots occupy mountain meadows, hibernating under many feet of snow during the winter months. These colony-dwelling animals have quite the unique living arrangement. The typical colony is made up of an adult male, and two adult females (which conveniently breed in alternating years) and the offspring of two or three different mating seasons.

Diet:

Olympic marmots prefer fresh, tender, flowering plants. Throughout the summer, they may move from meadow to meadow for the emergence of different flowering communities. They use stored fat from the summer to hold over during a long hibernation in the Olympic Mountains.

Skill Level:

Moderate - strenuous, ability to hike with a backpack and tent camp at elevations of 4,000 to 8,000 feet for 4-7 days. Ability to navigate off-trail using GPS and maps/compass.

Hiking Distances:

Initial hike into backcountry of 5 - 15 miles. Daily hikes to study sites of 4-8 miles with some off-trail route finding in steep and rocky terrain. Expect elevation change of 1,000 - 2,000 feet per mile.

Gear required:

Backcountry camping gear including backpack, tent, sleeping bag, safety equipment, appropriate clothes/boots, and food. Rain gear highly recommended. Good boots with ankle support and aggressive tread a must.

Gear provided:

GPS, binoculars, and backcountry/wilderness permits.

Schedule and Dates:

* July 20 (training day), July 21-24 or July 21-27 (hiking, camping, observing marmots)
* July 27 (training day), July 28-31 or July 28 - August 3 (hiking, camping, observing marmots)
* August 3 (training day), August 4-7 or August 4-10 (hiking, camping, observing marmots)
* August 10 (training day), August 11-14 or August 11-17 (hiking, camping, observing marmots)
* August 17 (training day), August 18-21 or August 18-24 (hiking, camping, observing marmots)

Group size:

2-12 people per group. Up to 7 groups can be simultaneously hiking to study sites.

If you are interested, please send a message to Eleanor Kittelson, executive director of Washington's National Park Fund, with the date or dates you are available and the number of people in your group. Also provide name, address, telephone and email contact information for the primary person in the group, along with names of other participants, if known. This will be forwarded to the staff at Olympic National Park, who will follow up with you directly.