Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Yosemite Daily Report for Feb 7

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Daily Report - Yosemite National Park
Tuesday, February 07, 2012

WEATHER

Yosemite Valley
Today: Rain likely, mainly between 10am and 4pm. Cloudy, with a high near 43. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Tonight: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. 
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 49. 
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 55.

El Portal
Today: Rain likely, mainly between 10am and 4pm. Cloudy, with a high near 57. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Tonight: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. 
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. 
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 73.

Wawona
Today: Rain likely, mainly between 10am and 4pm. Cloudy, with a high near 49. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Tonight: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. 
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 55. 
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 63.

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HAPPENING TODAY
All Supervisors Meeting
Reminder: There will be an All-Supervisors meeting today, Feb. 7th in the El Portal large breakroom from 10:00-12:00. The planning division is hosting. (K. Kosick - 2/6)
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El Portal Travel Series
Don’t miss the next EPTS! The El Portal Travel Series features amazing slide presentations, Tuesday nights, 7:00pm, El Portal Community Hall. February 7 – Katie Wallace - “Go With the Flow: Walking the Length of the Merced River.” Ever wonder what happens to the Merced after it goes beyond the bend below Briceburg? Katie set out to hike every mile of the Merced River, from its source on Mt. Lyell, to its confluence with the San Joaquin River. Join her in adventures with hitchhiking and trespassing, the discovery of a body, fights with mosquitoes and poison oak, and one wildly scenic river. (P. Amstutz - 1/30)

 
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PARK AND PARTNER NEWS

Snow Survey Results
Park Rangers recently completed the February 1 snow surveys. The water content in the Merced drainage is 29% of average while the Tuolumne drainage is 32% of average. (M. Fincher - 2/7)
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Badger Pass Daily Snow Report - 2/7
Base Depth: 12” – 24”
Temperature: High 39, Low 29
Runs Groomed: Bruin, Eagle, Rabbit, Turtle
Lifts Open: Turtle, Bruin, Eagle, Badger
Runs open: All, except Beaver
XC trail snow conditions: Good coverage from Badger Pass to Glacier Point. However, there are some small, bare spots with asphalt showing. (E. Fraley - 2/7)

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EMPLOYEE NEWS
Employee Email Unavailable This Weekend
The Reston data center, including all of the Notes mail servers (which includes Yosemite's Email), will be shut down this weekend, starting 4am PST on Saturday, February 11th, through 4pm PST on Sunday, February 12th.  The reason for the shutdown is to perform routine preventive maintenance & testing.  Everything should be back up & ready for action by Monday, February 13th. (R. Watson - 2/7)
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If You Have Purchase Authority
Short notice training opportunity/some space still available at the Regional Office in San Francisco on Micro-Purchase Procedures. If you make purchases for your work unit on a regular basis you can benefit from this training. The course is designed for students who are authorized to make open-market purchases of $3,000 or less ($2,500 or less for services and $2,000 or less for construction). It provides “A-to-Z” coverage of what individuals who have been granted micro-purchase authority need to know in order to make purchases in accordance with current law and regulations. This training course is ideal for students in technical or program fields who are authorized to make purchases under these thresholds. (L. Schafer - 2/7)
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Upcoming Servicewide Radon Testing for NPS Residential Units - Update
The quality of indoor air in NPS owned housing units will be tested to determine the average annual radon level. The NPS commitment under this plan includes radon testing at approximately 3,500 existing housing units across the Service.

The placement of a radon testing kits within NPS residential units should not  be interpreted as a cause for alarm. Testing will enable screening for problem areas or locations and serve as the basis for follow up actions, including additional testing and mitigation measures if necessary. If radon is discovered and remediation is necessary, radon remediation techniques are available and highly effective.
 
The radon test kits for Yosemite NPS housing are expected to arrive in the park by February 10. You will be notified by park staff when your test kit will actually be installed.

Park staff will be responsible for placement of the test kits, as well as collection and delivery to designated laboratory facilities following the three day sampling period. The Housing Office will relay any questions or concerns regarding radon that are raised by residents to the regional office. 
With your cooperation and participation, we can ensure a safer and healthier environment for our families living in NPS housing. 
For additional information regarding Radon, click on the EPA Citizen Guide to Radon link: http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/citguide.html  or visit the Housing SharePoint site @ http://sharepoint.yose.nps.gov/admn/housing/default.aspx. (C. Baker - 2/7) 
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CONSTRUCTION UPDATE


Fire Management to Resume Debris Pile Burning in El Portal and Foresta
Yosemite fire management may resume hand pile burning in El Portal and Foresta with help from the forecasted rain. Localized flames and smoke will be visible but impacts should be negligible and short lived. In an ongoing effort, park, state and private fire crews have created forest debris hand piles in and around the communities of Foresta and El Portal. These piles are being made to reduce biomass and create a 'defensible space' fuel break around Yosemite's vulnerable Wildland Urban Interface communities. Additionally, thinning, piling and burning can restore fire dependant ecosystems and set the stage for the progressive management of future natural or prescribed fires. Please contact Kelly Singer @ 372-0413 or Taro Pusina @ 375-9576 with any questions. (T. Pusina - 1/20)
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Village Store Closed
The Village Store will be closed for remodeling beginning Tuesday, January 17th and will reopen on Thursday, February 16th @ Noon. (1/18)
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UPDATE - Foresta Road Closure thru 2/29/12 - Slide Repair Between Rancheria and Old El Portal

The current road closure along Foresta Road will continue thru the end of February 2012. Due to the unseasonably dry weather crews made good progress on the upper (cut) slope stabilization and it is nearly complete, however the steep slopes required much of the work to occur with hand labor, so they were not able to make as much progress as planned. The remaining work includes the final seeding and mulching along the upper slope, then installation of a retaining wall along the lower (fill) slope, and then the final curb and pavement repairs. (M. Pieper - 1/6)

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ACTING DESIGNATIONS
Tom Tobin will be the Acting, Contacting Officer from 2/6 thru 2/21. Jody Auerbach is out to the office and will return on 2/22. Jody will periodically be checking her email. Tom can be reached at 379-1040.

Madelyn Ruffner (379-1226) is on a 120-day detail as Acting Environmental Planning and Compliance Program Manager. Madelyn may be found at her regular desk location in the EPC Trailer. Elexis Mayer (379-1377) has temporarily moved to the Planning Trailer to continue her work on the Merced River Plan. For further assistance, you may also contact Jessica Zeek (379-1002), Administrative Support Assistant for Environmental Planning and Compliance.

Jack Hoeflich will be acting Valley District Ranger until further notice.
Andy Fristensky will be Acting Deputy Chief of Interpretive Operations until further notice. He may be reached at 372-0599.

Jeffrey Trust
will be Acting Yosemite Valley Field Interpretation Supervisor until further notice. He may be reached at 372-0307.

Ron Watson
will be the Acting Supervisory Information Technology Specialist until further notice. He may be reached at 379-1074.

Brenna Lissoway
(379-1283) is on a detail as the Park Archivist. If you have need to access the Archives, or have archive related questions, you can call 379-1282 or 379-1104.

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