MT-3862
September 14-18, 2009
Must commit to full session
Come join Forest Service archaeologists in the Whitetail-Pipestone area on the beautiful Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest between Butte and Whitehall. FS staff and PIT volunteers will test excavate 5-10 prehistoric sites, which may reveal occupations dating all the way to 12,000 B.P. Site testing will help us to ascertain the extent of subsurface cultural deposits. These sites are in areas of heavy erosion, so the information gathered will not only help us to learn about prehistory in the area, but will help to determine what measures of protection and preservation may be needed.
Number of openings: 8
Special skills: None required
Minimum age: 18 years old
Facilities: Camping at the Delmoe Lake Campground; water, pit toilets; space for RVs up to 50', no hookups; FS will provide all food and a camp cook; volunteers responsible for personal camping equipment; lodging and other amenities available in Butte and Whitehall; volunteers opting to stay in Butte or Whitehall must provide own transportation to meeting area each day
Nearest towns: Butte, 15 miles; Whitehall, 20 miles
Applications due: July 13, 2009
MT-3864
August 16-22, 2009 (including weekends)
Must commit to full session
Charter Oak is a reclaimed and intact 20th Century lode mine and mill and a popular F.S. interpretive site in scenic southwestern Montana. Because of its physical integrity and role as a strategic metal mine during WWII, Charter Oak is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and is a "Save America's Treasures" project. PIT volunteers and local high school youth have played a critical role in its on-going stabilization, interpretation, and public use. Nearly 1,000 people visit Charter Oak each year on guided tours and educational events. The beautiful environment around Charter Oak even supports its very own PIT moose (and calf)!
This year, under the guidance of the F.S. Historic Buildings Preservation Team, PIT volunteers will replace rolled roofing on the mill and reagent shed and complete other "in kind" repairs to the bunkhouse, assay office, and compressor shed. Needed stabilization work is almost limitless - roofing, oiling logs, and fixing windows, to cite a few examples. PIT volunteers may find their own work niche on the project! Training and oversight will be provided by the building preservation team and F.S. heritage staff. The 2009 project will result in an increase of the number of buildings available for public interpretation and viewing at Charter Oak.
Number of openings: 8
Special skills: Carpentry skills helpful, but not required
Minimum age: 18 years old
Facilities: Camping at no charge at Kading Cabin; water, toilets; space for RVs available across from cabin at Kading Cabin Camprground, no hookups; food will be provided by F.S. (vegetarian and special dietary needs will be accommodated), volunteers will participate in preparation and cleanup; volunteers responsible for personal camping equipment; F.S. will transport volunteers daily to/from camp site and Charter Oak
Nearest towns: Helena, 22 miles
Applications due: Reopened until Filled !
MT-3801
May 10-15, May 17-23, 2009 (including weekends)
Must commit to one full session; may participate in both
During this project, we will work on three different historic structures: Rock Creek Cabin, Morgan Case Homestead, and Hogback Homestead Cabin. All three are located in the beautiful Rock Creek draingage. Morgan Case and Hogback are recreational cabin rentals that PIT volunteers have restored over the years.
At the Rock Creek Cabin, volunteers will help frame in and enclose a section on what is now an unfinished back porch to create a sleeping room. We will also add a mud porch to the back of the cabin to restore the building to its earlier appearance (the mud porch appears to have existed until the late 1960s). Further, the current flooring, placed in the late 1960s was, incorrectly installed and is not historically accurate, so new, proper flooring will be laid over. Finally, we will paint and reinstall windows that FS historic preservationists will remove this winter to strip and re-glaze in a nice warm shop!
At Morgan Case, we will spend three days to finish details on this magnificent cabin that PIT voounteers have helped lovingly restore over the past 11 years. Staff and volunteers will apply final coats of paint on the front porch, install screen and screen doors on both the front and back porches, paint the floor and install windows in the "sweet smelling toilet," and install a gate and a driving barrier.
Finally, at Hogback Homestead, we will clean up drip edge installed last fall, replace weathered flooring on the front porch, paint the exterior trim, replace the back porch rain gutter, repair a broken window on the north wall of the front room, and paint the kitchen.
PIT volunteers will camp adjacent to the Hogback Homestead, which is approximatley one mile from the Morgan Case jobsite. A camp cook will provide all meals during both sessions, but volunteers will be expected to help with dishes and camp chores.
With your help, we can restore these historic structures to their original grandieur. Come meet interesting people, eat great food, and work in a beautiful setting while you watch moose and bighorn sheep on the hillside above you!
Number of openings: 10
Special skills: Carpentry, painting, general construction and restoration helpful, but not required
Minimum age: 18 years old
Facilities: Limited occupancy available in the Hogback Homstead for volunteers who travel to the project by air and who cannot bring camping equipment; primitive camping adjacent to Hogback facility; outhouse, drinking water, solar showers and hot wash water; meals provided; volunteers responsible for personal camping equipment
Nearest towns: Phillipsburg, 40 miles
Applications due: March 8, 2009
MT-3818
July 12-17, 2009 (including Saturday)
Must commit to full session
Savenac Nursery was established as a tree nursery 102 years ago on an abandoned homestead near St. Regis. Over the next 60 years, the nursery was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1910, rebuilt twice, and became the largest tree nursery in the Pacific Northwest. Although Savenac was closed in 1969 and its operations were moved to the newer Coeur d'Alene Nursery, 10 buildings (built by the CCC in the 1930s), landscaped grounds, and an arboretum of exotic trees still remain. In 1999, Savenac was formally listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
2009 marks the Nursery's fourteenth annual PIT project! Volunteers and FS staff will continue to expand and improve the interpretive trail system up in the Spruce Beds, construct lodgepole pine bed frames and lamps, and maintain the grounds (pruning trees, shrubs, and plants) where needed. A building maintenance crew will also be designated to repair any damage incurred by the winter snow load. As most of our volunteers know, many other projects will likely occur throughout the week as they arise. Tina Benitez, one of the many returning volunteers at Savenac, is wrapping up her book on the site's history. At the end of the week on Friday, July 17th, PIT volunteers will be guests at the annual Savenac Old Timer's Day. This gathering attracts former nursery employees, members of the CCC, and many area residents to spend the day visiting and reminiscing about the "good ole days" at Savenac. Join us for this momentous occasion!
Number of openings: 20-25
Special skills: Experience with carpentry, painting, and general groundskeeping and restoration helpful, but not required
Minimum age: 14 years old; under 18 with a responsible adult
Facilities: Camping and limited self-contained RV parking on site, 2 FS bunkhouses with showers; volunteers responsible for their own bedding and/or personal camping equipment; FS will provide continental breakfast, lunch, dinner and coffee breaks; lodging, meals, convenience store, and gas next to the nursery at Lincoln's Silver Dollar Bar and Motel and at Pinecrest Café and Lounge in DeBorgia
Nearest towns: Project will take place in Haugen; Deborgia, 2 miles; St. Regis, 20 miles
Applications due: May 10, 2009