Anderson Design Group Interviews Friends of Crater Lake National Park!
As artists and wilderness explorers, our passion is to venture into the 63 American National Parks, photograph and document the wonder of these natural places, and share our enthusiasm for the parks and other natural wonders by creating original, high-quality poster art for our 63 Illustrated National Parks Collection.
In our travels, we’ve also developed an immense appreciation for national monuments, which inspired the American National Monuments and Natural Wonders collection.
The national parks, monuments, historic sites, memorials, recreation areas, forests, and other BLM lands were created to preserve America’s natural beauty and cultural history, with each protected site representing a significant chapter in the great American story. Because we at Anderson Design Group believe strongly in preserving the parks and natural and historic spaces for future generations to enjoy, we’re always looking for opportunities to support the conservancies, foundations, natural history associations, and friend groups that protect these invaluable places.
To raise awareness for the important educational, conservation, fundraising, youth involvement, and preservation activities taking place in a beautiful national park located in the Pacific Northwest, we took some time this week to sit down with Jodi Glover Thiel, President, Board of Directors of Friends of Crater Lake National Park, the official nonprofit partner for Crater Lake National Park. Read on to learn how this group preserves and protects natural wonder, rich biodiversity, and cultural history in this Oregon paradise.
An Interview with Friends of Crater Lake National Park
ADG: How would you describe your group? If you have an elevator pitch for what your group does, what would that be?
Jodi: Since 1993, the Friends of Crater Lake National Park have partnered with NPS staff to care for Crater Lake National Park. We are a membership-based group made up of diverse people who love Crater Lake and believe in showing our appreciation of wild spaces through tangible action, whether that’s rebuilding trails, serving as docents, or supporting initiatives through financial support.
That range is really important. National parks mean so much to so many people but sometimes the message, whether intentional or not, is that to support them you have to be able to physically volunteer. That’s not always an option for people. We’re a membership organization in part because it’s a way for people to engage and support CLNP wherever they are in the world. We currently have members based in 20+ states, Canada, and parts of Europe.
ADG: A big part of the National Parks is the educational side of visitor experiences, and friend groups are often deeply invested in helping educate folks about the importance of the parks. Can you tell us a bit about that and why education is an important part of a park experience?
Jodi: Education is one of the most powerful ways to equip people, and instill understanding and empathy. Any wild space—whether it’s a national park or your backyard garden—benefits from human understanding and empathy. When we don’t understand a wild space it’s easy to generalize, miss the nuance, and not understand our impact. When we don’t understand our impact, our decisions can do damage.
In national parks, education is essential for increasing the odds that these spaces will exist for future generations—and not as fragments of what they once were but as thriving ecosystems. When I’m in national parks, which fundamentally are massive shared spaces, I’m reminded of a childhood book titled “If Everybody Did.” As the story unfolds, the reader is taken through a range of scenarios in which the protagonist is inconsiderate or considerate and shown what happens if everyone else followed suit—a garden picked clean or thriving, a home covered in muddy footprints or tidy.
I often wonder if social trails, trash and other daily damage done to national parks are more about people assuming their one action isn’t that big of a deal but missing that they are one of thousands of people making that assumption and all those micro impacts add up in a big way. Education goes a long way in helping visitors understand the profound impact, positive or negative, they can have in national parks.
ADG: We completely agree, Jodi. Let’s get some of your backstory. How did your friend group get its start? What’s the story behind the birth of your group?
Jodi: In the early 1990s, then Superintendent Dave Morris saw an opportunity for community members to be more involved at CLNP. He envisioned a friends group that would partner with NPS staff to care for the park. Around the same time, Chuck Wells, a local community leader, was on the search for a meaningful project. Stars aligned and Chuck, Superintendent Morris, and then Chief Ranger George Buckingham, who, with his wife Judy, would go on to be long-time board members and volunteers, architected the Friends.
One of our first projects was rehabbing a trail that is part of the PCT. Since then we’ve helped install and maintain infrastructure throughout the park, supported the Park’s Science and Learning Center, which, in particular, has helped thousands of elementary school students experience the park, and logged countless volunteer hours across a wide variety of conservation projects.
ADG: What types of projects does your group work on/fund each year? What are some of the projects you're most proud of?
Jodi: Year round, Friends volunteer as docents. They are stationed around the Rim, where most people experience the park, to answer questions, provide information, and assist with visitor safety. We also host a Project Weekend every August and support large events at CLNP, like a Naturalization Ceremony and Ride the Rim. Our volunteers take a lot of pride in projects that help all visitors experience the park.
A few years ago we helped rehab a portion of the Annie Creek Trail so that it would be safe for wheel-chair-bound visitors to use. The Friends are also very active in supporting the Greg Hartell Internship Fund which provides paid internship opportunities for students and early career professionals who are building skills in historic infrastructure preservation and cultural resource management.
Additionally, we’ve been involved in strengthening the Sister Park relationship between CLNP and Triglav National Park in Slovenia. It is inspiring and satisfying to learn from like-minded collaborators in an entirely different context.
ADG: Given the extensive list of projects your group is working on, how do you enlist the help of the community in these projects? Do you organize volunteers? Do you have other avenues for funding your projects beyond friend group memberships?
Jodi: Our projects are open to community members and we look for opportunities to support other groups that are involved with CLNP, such as the Crater Lake Natural History Association and Crater Lake Trust. We also are able to accept general donations and are part of 1% for the Planet, which can make it easier for businesses of all sizes to support us.
ADG: What do you think about our poster art of the national parks? Any designs we should add to our series to continue representing Crater Lake National Park?
Jodi: I appreciate the representation of CLNP in different seasons, especially winter. That is the hardest time for visitors to get to the park but it is magical. We’re always trying to help visitors understand that CLNP is so much more than the lake. The backcountry is stunning, as are spots like The Pumice Desert, Vidae Falls, and The Pinnacles.
We also love the diverse wildlife of the park. Yes, it’s amazing to spot a bear but Clark’s nuthatchers, yellow-bellied marmots, and incredible range of insects and butterflies are equally stunning and worth keeping an eye out for. Any time the full spectrum of the park’s landscape and wildlife is shown is so helpful in helping people understand the beautiful complexity of the park.
ADG: One last question, if there was one thing about your group or about national park conservation/restoration/education generally that you’d want the broader public to know, what would that be?
Jodi: It’s not guaranteed. National parks and friends groups only exist because individuals chose to get involved. Their futures depend on people continuing to make that choice. Get involved. We love welcoming new members and volunteers—wherever you are, join us.
But also be involved where you are. Maybe that’s a national park. Maybe it’s your local park or watershed. And, consider serving on a non-profit board. Often, friends groups and other conservation groups exist because there is a board who is overseeing finances, liability, and future planning. Without those boards, these groups cease to exist. If you find yourself saying “Someday I’ll serve on a board.” I’d encourage you to do it now.
ADG: We couldn’t agree more, Jodi. Thanks for chatting with us today!
Jodi: Thanks for having me!
The Importance of Supporting Non-Profits Committed to Protecting the National Parks
You can learn more about Friends of Crater Lake National Park at their website. If you want to support their work, you can become a member or participate in a variety of donation options.
If you represent a natural history association, foundation, friend group, conservancy, or preservation association that works in any of the 63 American National Parks or the hundreds of national monuments and other NPS sites across the U.S., contact us today to set up an interview! Just email ren@andersondesigngroup.com.
In the meantime, we’ll get back to creating vintage poster art of the national parks. Let’s enjoy these beautiful, historic places and do our part to preserve them for future generations.
-Ren Brabenec
Anderson Design Group Staff Writer
