DEGRAY LAKE — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Volunteer Program helps the Corps save money while providing camping enthusiasts with a free place to live in their RVs at DeGray Lake, Lake Ouachita or other Corps recreation facilities for an extended period of time, Corps personnel say.
Renea Guin, a Corps Natural Resource Specialist at DeGray Lake, said “We utilize the volunteers to help supplement our budget.”
Volunteers receive a free campsite in exchange for 20 hours of work each week. According to the DeGray Lake Web site, campsites cost $17 to rent each day during the summer and $8.50 in December, January and February.
“During the summer when they’re doing their light training duties, it lets us alternate days with the operations and maintenance contractors to where volunteers will do light cleaning on certain days and then the contractors will come in and they’ll do the heavy cleaning on the other days,” Guin said.
The volunteers also work as campground hosts, Guin said. She said campground host duties include monitoring the recreation sites for vandalism and “keeping up with campers as they come in.” Guin said cleaning volunteers perform light maintenance duties such as picking up litter and sweeping out bathrooms.
“A lot of times they’ll answer questions from the campers,” Guin said. “If they can’t, they contact us. A lot of times those that volunteer with us know what our local policies are here at DeGray.”
She said some of the volunteers return year after year.
“We have a lot of people that like to come back to their favorite lake and their favorite spot, so they request to come back,” she said.
Guin said the volunteers are fully trained regarding their job requirements.
“We go over with them what their duty is and what they can and can’t do,” Guin said.
She said the volunteers do not perform law-enforcement duties.
“If they run into problems, they know to call us or they call 911,” Guin said.
Guin said there are five volunteer winter hosts currently living at DeGray campgrounds. She said two volunteers already have been lined up for the summer season.
Guin said most of the campground volunteers are retired with recreational vehicles.
“They’re looking for a place to come out and enjoy,” Guin said. “Most of the volunteers that we get are individuals that have camped before. They love camping. That’s what they did for recreation before they retired, and they’ve learned about what we offer by camping with us.”
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 12/21/2009