Gooseberry Falls Candlelight Ski – Feb 18
Enjoy the beautiful winter scenery as you help with the preparations for Gooseberry Falls State Park’s Annual Candlelight Ski event, Saturday February 18, 2012 near Two Harbors. This event is very popular and attracts hundreds of visitors to the park, but could not be offered without the assistance of volunteers! The event includes several miles of ski, snowshoe and hiking trail, plus hot beverages by the fire in the Visitor Center. A MN Ski pass is required for skiers and can be purchased at the park. The event will be cancelled in case of poor weather conditions.
Duties: Volunteers will break into teams that either set out candles, light them or pick them back up at the end of the evening. Teams are needed for each of several loops (ski/snowshoe/hiking trail). Set up time is from about 4 to 6:30 PM and pick up will be from about 8:30 to 10:00 PM.
Volunteers are also needed to hand out information and refreshments and assist with other activities as early as 2 PM. Volunteer for the entire evening or just one of the teams/times. Minimum time commitment is 2 hours. Please request you preferred task/time. Training will be provided.
Volunteers must be comfortable working in the outdoor environment, i.e. being physically able, and wearing warm winter clothing as needed, etc. Bring skis or snowshoes (none will be provided) – you don’t need to be an expert, but these are needed to travel on the trails. Backpacks are also helpful for carrying candle materials.
There will be a volunteer pot-luck at the Visitor Center after set-up, and there’s also plenty of time to participate in the event in-between volunteer tasks. If you want to join the potluck, bring something (delicious) to share. This would be a great group activity as upwards of 40 volunteers are needed for this event. Older kids are welcome to volunteer with parents – families will work together.
For more information, contact Shawn Donais, Assistant Park Manager, Gooseberry Falls State Park, 3206 Hwy 61, Two Harbors, MN 55616 at 218-834-3855 or email Shawn.Donais@state.mn.us .
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Java or C+ Experience for Fish CSI
Work from home as you assist the DNR Fisheries Research Unit with some Fish CSI work! Searching for an alternative that would reduce handling stress and avoid the minor surgery of tagging, all of which can alter fish behavior, the DNR is exploring the possibility of fish photo fingerprinting. Identification of individual trout and pike by their spot patterns, like fingerprints, would allow the DNR to study growth, movement, survival and possibly capture by anglers based on digital photographs. In addition, fish photo fingerprinting would save money for the cost of tags.
Two to three volunteers with some programming skills in Java or C+ are needed to help with this fish photo fingerprinting project. Volunteers familiar with Java are needed to improve the initial macros written for ImageJ, an open source image analysis program using Java. Cropping the fish image from the background of a blue measure board can be modified for green and grey boards. Programming output of spot locations is not yet in the text format to be read by the fingerprint matching program and addition of automatic measurement of fish length would be a huge improvement. The spot matching program now compares one new pattern to one reference pattern. Some C+ programming is also needed so it will compare each new pattern in a batch to each old pattern in a collection, and add new unmatched ones to the collection. Some training will be provided.
For more information on this project, contact Charles Anderson, Fisheries Research Supervisor, St. Paul, at 651-259-5188 or email charles.anderson@state.mn.us
MNDNR.GOV —the official Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website.
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 The newest DNR volunteer opportunities are NOW posted on our webiste at mndnr.gov
Check them out to see how YOU can get involved!
These opportunities cover the months of December 2011 - Februrary 2012.
Volunteer Safety Instructors
Consider becoming a Certified Volunteer Safety Instructor in Firearms, Bowhunter Education, Snowmobile, ATV, or Wildlife Species!
Pass on a love for your sport by teaching youth and adults the ethics and safety you would expect from those you meet in the field. During the instructor training, applicants will learn about policy and procedures, teaching concepts, use of training aids and youth classroom training techniques.
Check current certified volunteer instructor classes or sign up for our instructor e-mail list to receive notification of any additional instructor training sessions. Go to www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/instructors
All new instructor applicants and instructors seeking recertification must meet the requirements of being at least 18 years old and passing a Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) background check. All applicants for any of the DNR safety programs must also complete the forms online and attend a volunteer instructor training course. There is no fee to attend.
Please contact the Regional Training Officer in your area - Map of RTOs
Candlelight Ski/Walk near
Red Wing – January 21
Experience the magic of candles reflecting on snow! Help park visitors enjoy the winter season at a candlelight ski/walk event at Frontenac State Park just south of Red Wing on Saturday, January 21, 2012. Two to four volunteers are needed to set up candles along the route and maintain them during the event, as well as remove them afterward. Training will be provided. Volunteers must have the ability to work outdoors in the cold after dark and be willing to work with others. Help is needed from 4:00 – 9:00 PM or any part of that time. After you are done, enjoy a nice warm beverage next to the wood stove in the enclosed shelter building. Event will be cancelled in the case of extreme cold weather conditions, or due to lack of snow cover. This event is not possible without volunteer help.
Directions: Frontenac State Park is located approximately 10 miles SE of Red Wing on Highway 61 or 5 miles northwest of Lake City, then 1 mile north on County Road 2.
For more information contact Harry Roberts, Park Manager, Frontenac State Park, 29223 Co. 28 Blvd., Frontenac, Minnesota 55026 at 651-345-3401 or email harry.roberts@state.mn.us
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