Crawlies That Aren't Creepy

Volunteer Spotlight: Bob Stoltz

VIP Bob Stoltz proudly holds up his President's Volunteer Service Award for completing 2000 volunteer hours with the National Park Service.

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Join Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area in celebrating our very important volunteer, VIP Bob Stoltz! Bob recently received the President’s Volunteer Service Award for completing over 2000 volunteer service hours. During his 19 years of service, Bob has also volunteered at Yellowstone National Park and Saguaro National Park. He plans to continue to volunteer at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area for his 20th year in 2025.

VIP Bob Stoltz shows off a cockroach at one of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area's community programs at Chewelah Library. The program was called "Crawlies That Aren't Creepy."

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After retiring from a career in entomology (the study of bugs), Bob saw an advertisement in the West Yellowstone newspaper. Yellowstone National Park was looking for volunteers to help direct traffic around an eagle’s nest along the main road. Bob pursued the opportunity, and it didn’t take long for him to become hooked on volunteering.

“I volunteer to give back,” says Bob. “I have used public lands for hunting and recreation, and the parks for recreation. So, I wanted to help people enjoy parks.” Bob enjoys spending his time as a volunteer at National Park units. The Volunteers-In-Parks program allows him to get out and engage with others recreating on public lands.

Junior Rangers use magnifying glasses to inspect bug collections. VIP Bob Stoltz spend much of his time volunteering at Lake Roosevelt creating these bug displays for the park.

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Bob believes there are two main rewards to volunteering. The first is working with rangers, staff, and other volunteers. He has made many friends through his volunteering. Bob sees that park staff and volunteers are dedicated to their profession. The second is seeing the looks of gratitude and thanks on people’s faces when he helps them with questions about the park that will enhance their experience. “I value making them feel the park is a friendly place that wants them to have a good visit.”

Bob's wife, Vikie Stoltz, also spent time volunteering at Yellowstone on the insect phenology project. Both Bob and Vikie spent hours in the field collecting data on insects within pit fall traps.

NPS / Matt Ludin

One of his favorite VIP memories was working with the Yellowstone National Park Biologist in developing and executing a three-year study on insect phenology. The study involved setting up pitfall traps at various elevations and life zones throughout Yellowstone. The sites were adjacent to seven climate change sites already established within the park. The goal of the project was to collect specimens for base line data; the project would then be replicated in 10 years to determine if there were any differences. Bob trekked out into the field to collect specimens all season long, but not alone! He was joined by his wife, Vikie, also a volunteer on the project. Not only did Bob get to participate in the study, but he also got to teach other volunteers how to identify insects, making it a very rewarding time at Yellowstone.

A collection of scorpions, centipedes, mites, and spiders, preserved in a display box. This was part of Bob Stoltz volunteer work at Saguaro National Park.

Photo courtesy Bob Stoltz

A collection of butterflies found at Saguaro National Park. This is part of the bug display collection that VIP Bob Stoltz created while volunteering for the park.

Photo courtesy Bob Stoltz

Another favorite memory of his is assembling a representative arthropod collection for display at Saguaro National Park. Saguaro is one of the most diverse desert ecosystems in the world. This inspired Bob to create a collection of insects, spiders, and other arthropods to teach the public about how diverse the ecosystem at Saguaro is and break down misconceptions about critters that crawl around in the park. He even had some preserved tarantulas that visitors could take photos with—a moment visitors thoroughly enjoyed. Bob’s collections are still being used at Saguaro National Park today!

VIP Bob Stoltz's famous cockroach on a leash!

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While at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, he has created even more memories. Bob spent most of his volunteer hours the summer of 2024 collecting over 50 insects and creating displays for the park to keep. Those displays were then used for presentations at the Libraries of Stevens County in the fall of 2024. Along with Rangers Norveig and Brekyn, Bob traveled to libraries in nearby communities to Lake Roosevelt and presented the program “Crawlies that Aren’t Creepy” to children and adults alike to show that insects don’t have to be scary! If you were lucky enough to attend one of these programs, you probably saw Bob with his infamous leashed cockroach! Bob also assisted with multiple Kettle Falls district programs and assisted with trail maintenance.

VIP Bob Stoltz demonstrates how to use a bug net at a Library Program in Kettle Falls, WA.

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Let’s give a huge thanks for all of Bob’s time volunteering and sharing his joy of the park’s crawliest of critters. A worthy list of accomplishments for a wonderful VIP. Thank you so much, Bob!