The WP article has the old your blocking our ads--pay us a buck and unblock us or some such BS.

The park, a 184.5-mile sliver of land that runs along the Potomac River from Georgetown to Cumberland, Md., has one of the largest volunteer programs in the national park system. Last year, more than 3,400 people clocked nearly 65,000 hours of service on the C&O park. That labor, had it been by paid staff, would have cost taxpayers about $1.6 million, according to the Park Service.

As the agency’s budget has shrunk and staff positions remain unfilled, volunteers and the Park Service said it has become increasingly necessary to rely on a robust network of volunteers to perform tasks such as trail upkeep and running certain programs.

But in recent months, those programs have lost key leaders and participants because of tension between the park and some of its most active volunteers. These departures have hurt programs and made the park less safe for visitors, several volunteers said.

“If we run into a difficult rescue or run into an issue out on the trail, a lot of people are really concerned about being out there and getting no help from the park,” said Kevin Murphy, a retired federal worker who has volunteered with the Billy Goat Trail Steward program for five years. “It’s getting unsafe for visitors, too, because there are less of us out there who are fully trained, experienced and who can help in an emergency.”

An internal study conducted this year that surveyed about 100 volunteers and employees is expected to make recommendations for reforming volunteer programs and addressing management issues.

“As the number of volunteers goes up, our ability to manage them has gone down,” said C&O Superintendent Kevin Brandt. “We’re looking at what we can do to ensure our volunteers are working safely, are trained properly and are led properly and thanked properly.”

The report, a draft of which was submitted to Brandt on July 31, will probably be finalized by next month, said Einar Olsen, the Park Service’s assistant regional director for inspections and evaluations. But volunteers, who have been eager to see the findings, have heard little about its progress or expected delivery date.

For several current and former volunteers, it has felt like the latest in a series of slights.

“I’ve heard some staff say to a number of people things like, ‘You’re a volunteer; if you don’t like how we do things, just leave,’ and we’re out there to help park staff,” Murphy said. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to treat people that way.”

More than a half-dozen volunteers recalled being demeaned or belittled by park staff and made to feel as if their contributions weren’t important.

One volunteer, who had been on the trail picking up bags of dog droppings, was mocked by staff as he returned to the trailhead, volunteers said. After that, they said, several rangers called volunteers “the poop patrol” and “garbage collectors.

. . .

Training has lapsed, and debates over uniforms, water bottles and other details have prevented some volunteers from performing basic duties, several said.

“Training has effectively stopped,” said Kevin Scallan, a volunteer with the Bike Patrol and Billy Goat Trail Steward programs. “And it’s not isolated to this group or that group. Quite a number of people are upset across all the programs in the park.”

A tipping point many volunteers point to was in February, when C&O leaders asked volunteers to respond to a survey about “issues and experiences that happened within the last 5 years” for the purpose of improving programs and “the volunteer experience.” The survey, which asked participants for their full names and contact information, caused many to question its intent because it was not anonymous.

Soon after, Bob King, coordinator of the Billy Goat Trail Steward program — a legion of volunteers who patrol one of the park’s most challenging trails — was forced out.

King, who was named a volunteer of the year in 2012 and had led the Billy Goat Trail Steward program since 2013, said he was blindsided by the dismissal.

He blamed his removal, in part, on his candor when answering the Park Service’s survey in which, he said, he highlighted problems with the program and how volunteers were treated.

Responding to an email accepting his “verbal resignation” on Feb. 21, King wrote that he had never, in fact, resigned.

In communications with King obtained by The Washington Post, Park Service officials wrote that King had been rude to visitors and behaved inappropriately when dealing with C&O staff. Volunteers who worked with King bristled at the accusations, calling him loyal, dedicated and widely revered.”