WARRENTON – Starting on Wednesday, Feb. 22, the log walls of the new Fort Clatsop exhibit will begin to be assembled at the park site near Warrenton. Volunteers are needed to help carry the logs a short distance to the construction site.

Groups of six to eight people using two handled log tongs (one person on each tong handle) will lift and carry a log approximately 200 feet to the fort site. People who wish to help must be able to lift and carry 60 pounds per person in order to properly and safely carry the logs.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of creating history,” said Chip Jenkins, superintendent. “We hope that high school athletic teams, community groups, and families join us in bringing the logs to the site in a way similar to what the Corps of Discovery may have done.”

Volunteers are needed each afternoon and evening from Feb. 22 through March 21 from after 4 p.m. until dark. Help is also needed during the day on weekends. The logs will be carried on a temporary trail from the Fort Clatsop Visitor Center parking lot to the site of the Fort Clatsop exhibit. Logs carried in the evening will be staged for placement by work crews on the following day. Approximately 400 logs need to be moved. The logs are approximately 16- and 20-feet long, 8- to 10-inches in diameter and weigh approximately 300 pounds.

“The area around the construction site will be open and we want people to come out and watch the work on the new Fort,” Jenkins said. “We will have park rangers on hand to help answer questions and give programs.”

Thanks to the more than 425 volunteers who worked almost 1,600 hours, these logs have already been debarked. Working at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds, skilled National Park Service crews from Mount Rainier National Park have notched and fitted the logs together to form the walls of the new Fort Clatsop. The walls of the enlisted men’s quarters, one of two buildings that comprise the Fort Clatsop exhibit, have been completed. These walls were disassembled and trucked to a treatment facility on Jan. 31. The logs will be delivered to the Fort Clatsop Visitor Center parking lot by Feb. 22. The walls of the officers’ quarters will be completed by the end of February at which time they will be shipped for treatment and brought to the construction site by March 1.

Walls for both structures will be up in time for the final Lewis and Clark Bicentennial event, “The Return Home” which will be March 23 to 26 at Fort Clatsop. A ceremony, marking the bicentennial of the Corps of Discovery’s departure from Fort Clatsop, the return of the walls of the new Fort Clatsop and the dedication of the new Netul River Trail will be on March 23.

People who would like to volunteer to help bring the logs of Fort Clatsop home need to schedule time to be part of the work crew. This will ensure that people will have a chance to help and make the best use of their valuable volunteer time. Volunteers can schedule their work time by contacting Park Ranger Bob Conway at (253) 569-4193 or (503) 861-4400 (leave a message). Volunteers are also needed to help with ranger-led programs, school programs and work in and around the visitor center. Anyone interested in helping with ranger and education programs please contact the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park Volunteer Coordinator Sally Freeman at (503) 861-4424.

“We could not run this park if it were not for the top-notch volunteers,” Jenkins said. “This is a great place to work if you enjoy meeting and talking with people, sharing history, and learning more about your national parks.”