Winter weather advistory for Yosemite - Daily Report for March 27

Don't forget, you can plan your entire Yosemite vacation at www.YosemiteThisYear.com 

Daily Report - Yosemite National Park
Tuesday, March 27, 2012

WEATHER
Winter Weather Advisory
A Winter Weather Advisory for snow above 6000 feet remains in effect from 11pm this evening to 5pm PDT Wednesday for the southern Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Kings Canyon. Snow accumulations: up to a foot above 7500 feet and 4 to 8 inches near 6500 feet. Timing: light snow will begin this evening, becoming heavy at times late tonight and Wednesday morning. Snow will decrease during the afternoon Wednesday, and mostly end by evening.
Yosemite Valley
Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49. 
Tonight: Rain, mainly after 11pm. Low around 37. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
Wednesday: Rain. High near 44. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 53.
El Portal 
Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67. 
Tonight: Rain, mainly after 11pm. Low around 47. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
Wednesday: Rain. High near 65. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. 

Wawona
Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 58.
Tonight: Rain, mainly after 11pm. Low around 37. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Wednesday: Rain. High near 50. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. 

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NEW AND HAPPENING TODAY
Power Outage Today
The High Voltage Shop will be performing a scheduled power outage of the FM offices/cubbies on Tuesday March 27, 2012 from 5-9 PM to fix power distribution to this area of the building. Any questions should be routed to Dan Raspotnik, High Voltage Supervisor, at 379-1236. (D. Raspotnik)
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DNC Openings and Closings
The Wawona Hotel is excited to announce they will open for the 2012 season on Friday, March 30th. The Front Desk will open at noon on Friday for arriving guests. The Dining Room will open at 5:30 for Dinner service on Friday the 30th.  Thereafter regular dining hours will be available as follows:  Breakfast from 7:30 - 10 AM, Lunch from 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM and Dinner service from 5:30 - 9 PM.
Yosemite Mountaineering School is opening Friday, March 30, 2012, weather and conditions permitting. 
The Bike Stand at Yosemite Lodge will be opening on Friday, March 30, 2012, weather and conditions permitting. 
Badger Pass Ski Area closes for the season on Sunday, April 1, 2012. (W. Kearns)
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Yosemite in the News
EDITORIAL: Public must get involved in developing plan for Yosemite
Park Service is shaping rules that will change visitor access to Yosemite.
By: Fresno Bee"As the crown jewel of the nation's park system, Yosemite National Park has many challenges because of its popularity. Yosemite needs to be as accessible as possible without allowing that "human footprint" to overwhelm the park......."
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/03/21/2770285/editorial-public-must-get-involved.html
Yosemite Releases Five Preliminary Management Plans
By: Sabrina Ambler, MML News Reporter
“Yosemite National Park announced the release of a workbook that details the five Preliminary Alternative Concepts for the Comprehensive Management Plan for the Merced Wild and Scenic River…….”
http://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/1555841/Yosemite-Releases-Five-Preliminary-Management-Plans.html
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Mariposa Office Move - Workplace Enrichment Improvements
Moving our Strategic Plan Forward
We wanted to provide an update on the office move to Mariposa. Foremost, we want to acknowledge and thank the Administration Division who have really stepped up and helped the park as we take this step tor providing additional office space. The decision to move only the Administration Division to Mariposa came after much careful deliberation by the ELT. We wanted to keep the entire division together for an efficient work flow. Opening an NPS office in Mariposa has been identified as an important objective in our 2020 strategic plan and has been a long-term goal of Yosemite for more than 30 years. We also want to thank Tom Darcy, Ron Gaunt, David Thorpe, and Ron Watson, and their work groups for their expertise and support as we map out this project and make the Stroming Building in Mariposa a great place for our employees to work.
As part of gaining new office space, Yosemite has agreed to remove a number of rented trailers in the park. We have already removed the Project Management Construction Trailer from Yosemite Valley. We now are looking to remove the "SPU Trailer" complex in El Portal, that houses parts of our Wilderness, LEO, Volunteer, Special Park Use, Fee Management and Concession Management operations. Later, we will look to remove the Planning Division trailer, but only after the completion of the MRP, TRP and other major plans. There may be other trailer reductions to provide upgraded office space as we move forward, depending on the amount of space in the main building. 
Our projected time-line to occupy the Mariposa Stroming Building will be in mid-May 2012, and we have a lot of pressing work to accomplish in order to meet this schedule. After we successfully complete this part of the move, the park will then fully evaluate the vacated office space in El Portal. During this process, the ELT will look closely at how this space can be re-allocated most appropriately and effectively. The first priority will be to accommodate those workgroups that will be displaced by the removal of the rented trailers. Afterward, any remaining space will be reviewed and considered for either redistribution as office space, or for other purposes such as training or meeting spaces. We hope to share with you our plans in the near future. If you have concerns, please pass them on to your supervisor.
Finally, we wanted to apologize for any confusion about how this move was organized. Acquiring new offices outside of the park and orchestrating a move such as this does not come with a road map, and we are learning and adjusting as we move forward. The new space became available much sooner than we anticipated. Mariposa County was extremely helpful in securing the space.
We sincerely appreciate your patience and support during this time of positive change. In the end, an NPS office in Mariposa will be a great thing for the park, our employees, the community, our partners, and our visitors. We hope to have an open house sometime this summer to celebrate this success story!
On behalf of the ELT, thank you for working with us.
Don Neubacher
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Yosemite Rotary Easter Egg Hunt
Save the Date! Yosemite Rotary invites you to hop on over to the Yosemite Valley School for a fun-tastic Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 7th, at 10am.  This year we'll also feature a fabulous bake sale to help raise funds to support local and regional youth programs. (T. Marshall)
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Music update for El Portal Spring Fling on April 28th, 2012
We are excited to announce The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit will be headlining this year's event on the outdoor stage. For information on our other great artists, general information and to purchase advance tickets, please go to www.elportalca.org. (T. Newburger)
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Yosemite National Park Child Care Center Updates
We have received permission from the park superintendent for NPS employees to serve on the YNPCCC Board of Directors. If you are an NPS employee and are interested in being on the board, please submit your name via e-mail to Jill Killian at jillmodrak@yahoo.com, by close of business, Thursday, March 29. If you are a parent in El Portal, please submit your name to Echo Davenport at echo_esp@hotmail.com. In addition to submitting your name to the either Echo or Jill, please send an email to lauriecyu@hotmail.com expressing your interest in being on the board of directors. All applicants will be voted on at the April 5 board meeting.
The Yosemite National Park Child Care Center is looking for an energetic, creative, and loving person to be a Teacher at the El Portal center. We are committed to providing the highest quality child care and preschool education to the children of Yosemite Valley and would love to have you as part of our team! Position is part time at $10.00 per hour. Please send resumes to ynpchildcare@gmail.com  or contact (209)372-4819 for more information. (L. Yu)
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For Rent
Three bedroom, one and half bath 960 sq-ft. mobile-home at $675/mo.  Includes appliances and an option of partial furnishing.  Refrigerator, propane furnace and stove, front-loading washer and dryer, propane water heater, and swamp cooler.  Located just off of Highway 140 on Colorado Rd, Midpines.  No pets.  Available beginning of April 2012.  510-915-0404  OK till 10:30 pm, if VM leave a good time to call back. ofer@kadima.us. (Y. Radanovich)
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Badger Pass Daily Snow Report - 3/27
Coverage: Conditions on the slopes are excellent
New snow: 16" from last storm
Snow Conditions: Powder and Packed Powder
Forecast: Mostly cloudy
Temperature: High 47, Low 31
Runs Groomed: Bruin, Eagle, Rabbit, Turtle, Badger
Lifts Open: Bruin, Eagle, Badger, Turtle
Runs Open: All
XC trail snow conditions: New snow - excellent conditions! Groomed tracks to Glacier Point on Monday morning, March 26th. Old Badger Summit and Teaching Area groomed Tuesday morning, March 27th.
Tubing Hill: Two sessions: 11:30 – 1:30 & 2:00 – 4:00. One tubing lane. (E. Fraley)
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RECENT NEWS 

Attend March 28 MRP Preliminary Alternative Concepts Workshop in Yosemite Valley
Join us on March 28 from 9-11:30 a.m. in the Yosemite Valley Auditorium to preview the Merced River Plan preliminary alternative concepts. This is the first of four public workshops that present the MRP’s five preliminary alternative concepts. Once finalized, the Merced River Plan will guide management of the corridor’s restoration, user capacity, and land use for the next 20 years. At the workshop, you’ll receive the 30-page Preliminary Alternative Concepts Workbook (available online at http://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/mrp_documents.htm) accompanied by presentations and poster displays. The March 28 workshop includes an optional 1-3 p.m. site visit to tour pertinent locations addressed in the alternative concepts. To join the site visit, meet outside the Yosemite Valley East Auditorium at 1 p.m. The MRP comment period is open through April 20 on PEPC at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/MRPAlternatives. Public comment and internal review will be incorporated into the draft alternatives that will be analyzed in the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) due to be released in fall 2012. Call Yosemite’s Planning Division at (209) 379-1110 with questions.

Additional workshops:
5:30-8 p.m. April 4 in the Golden Gate Room at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco
5:30-8 p.m. April 12 in the El Portal Community Hall
1-3:30 p.m. April 13 in the Wawona Community Hall
Additional site visits:
2-4 p.m. April 12. Meet at the El Portal Community Hall
10-Noon April 13. Meet at the Wawona Community Hall
Webinars (log on to yose.webex.com):
10 a.m.-noon March 27
6:30-8:30 p.m. April 11 (J. Friesen McCabe)
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EPC Internship This Summer
The Environmental Planning and Compliance Branch of Project Management has an internship opportunity this summer for a current college/graduate student through the Student Conservation Association. The intern will revise the standard operating procedures that guide environmental compliance in the park. A background in environmental planning, policy, or similar discipline is preferred along with strong writing/communication skills. Internship must be a minimum of 12 weeks to receive a weekly $75 stipend and $1,500 award for tuition/student loans. For more details or to apply, send a cover letter and resume preferably by March 30 to Madelyn Ruffner, Acting Environmental Planning and Compliance Program Manager, madelyn_ruffner@nps.gov, 209-379-1226. Selection will be made on first-come basis to use the SCA program so apply soon!
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Attention Yosemite Military Veterans - "YOSE VETS"
I am continuing to update our email list to provide park military vets (and any employee with an interest) with information regarding detailed benefit updates, links and other helpful specialized information concerning benefits and other current issues of interest to veterans. If you are a military veteran (any branch, active, reserve or national guard) or an interested Yosemite employee and would like to be included on our email list but have not done so please respond to me directly with your name, former branch of service and veteran status. Dave Henderson, SEPM - Veterans Affairs - EOC; Office phone: (372-0600) - david_henderson@nps.gov. (D. Henderson)
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Job Posting – Yosemite Conservancy – Seasonal Sales Information Assistants
Sales Information Assistants report to the Sales Supervisor for their assigned duty station(s) and perform sales and cashiering tasks. The positions are responsible for selling books, maps and other products; operating a cash register and handling transactions; processing and reconciling cash banks; providing superior customer service and information to National Park visitors; promoting the Yosemite Conservancy; assisting with maintenance and care of the duty station(s). For more information about Yosemite Conservancy, the position and how to apply, see www.YosemiteConservancy.org/Employment. (T.King)
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ACTING DESIGNATIONS

Sean McCabe will be the acting Chief of Staff while Mike Gauthier is out of the office on Monday March 26 to Wednesday March 28th. If you have any questions, please contact him. He can be reached via email or at: 209-372-0459.
Ethan McKinley will be acting Chief of the Business Revenue & Management division through mid-June. He can be reached at 372-0333.
Gus Smith will be the acting Chief of Fire and Aviation Management from March 23rd - April 0. He can be reached at 209-375-9596.
Jeffrey Trust will be Acting Deputy Chief of Interpretive Operations, Acting Yosemite Valley Field Interpretation Supervisor, and Acting Web Manager until April 2. He may be reached at 372-0307.
Madelyn Ruffner (379-1226) is on a 120-day detail as Acting Environmental Planning and Compliance Program Manager. Please contact Jessica Zeek (379-1002), Administrative Support Assistant for Environmental Planning and Compliance with questions.
Jack Hoeflich will be acting Valley District Ranger until further notice.
Ron Watson will be the Acting Supervisory Information Technology Specialist until further notice. He may be reached at 379-1173.
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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For submissions, please email yose_daily_report@nps.gov (there's no need to email anyone else). Submission guidelines and Daily Report FAQs can be found here: http://go.nps.gov/dailyreport. Yosemite's Daily Report is an internal memorandum of long standing intended to provide timely administrative information needed for daily park operations. The primary purpose of the report is to serve as a communication tool for park management to pass specific operational information to field employees of Yosemite National Park, park partners, concessioners, and related government agencies in a fast and efficient manner and offer a format for interdivisional, interagency, and general intra-park notifications.

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