December 20th, 2005

Winter Solstice Volunteer of the Season - Paula Hood

When Paula walked into Bark's office it was clear that she cared about Mt. Hood.

Paula Hood grew up in Louisiana and Minnesota before packing up and heading west with her daughter Wren. She immediatly fell in love with our majestic mountain and the surrounding forests, which is probably why she ended up at Bark...the only group focused solely on protecting the Mt. Hood National Forest.

In April of 2005 Paula decided to turn her love for Mt. Hood into action by joining the Bark team. Since then she has been relentlessly working for its preservation, sometimes staying up past midnight peering over pages and pages of Forest Service documents.

Over the past nine months Paula has been involved with a number of projects here at Bark including creating creating educational materials about logging in Mt. Hood, updating Bark's online Timber Sale Database, updating our office library, researching the impacts of a proposed biomass plant and writing letters to the Forest Service regarding their misuse of Categorical Exculsions under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Paula has also helped Bark stay ahead of the curve on increased Off Road Vehicle and snowmobile trails in Mt. Hood and challenging the Eight Mile Meadow and Clear Dodger Timber Sales. Over the summer Paula took her volunteering to the next level by joining our Timber Sale Committee.

Paula spends her free time making music, hanging out with her daughter, playing with her dog, gardening or going camping and hiking.

When asked why she choose to volunteer with Bark she stated,
"I've always admired Bark's mission, the quality of work from everyone at Bark, and the unyielding spirit with which everyone is commited to true forest restoration. I also appreciate how Bark focuses its energy and the ways in which Bark goes about its mission statement."

When asked why she thought Bark was so successful she stated: "There's a place for everyone, at their own pace or level."

Paula's life motto reflects in her dedication to Bark and the quality of work she does, "Keep an open mind and heart, don't be judgmental, be kind, be brave and stand up for what you believe in joyously and passionately."

If Paula had the American public's attention for 1 minute she would tell us:

"Our memory, as a country, has largely been erased. What is taught in schools and shown in the mainstream media is only a small sliver of history and current events. This small sliver is not only an incomplete picture, but the fact that is incomplete also makes it inaccurate. It is not as hard as it might seem to learn more about our society, how our past has affected us or what's really going on around us. It is also not as hard as it seems to get invovled, even in a small way. Exercise your voice in society. Speak up! We all need to participate or the option to participate will disappear."

Bark is happy to help everyone speak up for Mt. Hood National Forest...

Thanks Paula!!!