Smokies Seeks Clingmans Dome Volunteers

Great Smoky Mountain National Park is recruiting volunteers to staff the Information Center at Clingmans Dome, from April 1 through Nov. 30, 2017. Volunteers will work at the seasonal information center that includes a bookstore/sales area managed by Great Smoky Mountains Association (GSMA). Volunteers will assist in educating visitors about the park and provide recreational and trip planning information and directions to other destinations. Individuals are especially needed on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays but other days may be available.

“Volunteers staffing the station play an important role in enhancing the visitor experience to the Dome,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “They provide visitors the opportunity to appreciate the nuances of their high elevation visit through personal service.”

Volunteers will be working alongside GSMA employees. Each volunteer is asked to work at least one four-hour shift per week from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers must be able to walk to Clingmans Dome Tower during the shift. The contact station sits at an elevation of 6,300 feet and is a point source of information on the national park, in general, and on this high elevation spruce-fir ecosystem in particular.

Interested persons will be provided orientation and training and are required to attend training on Saturday, March 4, 2017 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. The training will be held at the Oconaluftee Administration Building near Cherokee, NC. To reserve a spot in the training or receive more information, please contact Park Resource Education Ranger Florie Takaki by phone at (828)497-1906 or by email at florie_takaki@nps.gov.