Daily Report - Yosemite National Park
Friday, September 9, 2011
WEATHER
Yosemite Valley
Today: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83.
Tonight: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54.
Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80.
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76.
To plan your Yosemite vacation, visit www.YosemiteThisYear.com
El Portal
Today: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Partly sunny and hot, with a high near 104.
Tonight: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63.
Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy and hot, with a high near 101.
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny and hot, with a high near 97.
Wawona
Today: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 92.
Tonight: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45.
Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 88.
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84.
Tuolumne Meadows
Today: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70.
Tonight: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38.
Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62.
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CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
Yosemite National Park to Rehabilitate Sewer Main under Northside Drive this Fall The NPS has hired Erick Ammon Inc., (Anderson, CA) to rehabilitate approximately 2 miles of the main sewer under Northside Drive, between Bridalveil Falls View and the Big Oak Flat Road/El Portal Road
intersection. Nighttime construction work starts this week and will
consist of sewer main cleaning and video inspection between the hours of
midnight and 6:00 a.m. (M. Wichmann 9/7)
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PARK AND PARK PARTNER NEWS
Update: Current Status of all Fires Burning in the Park Avalanche Fire: A lightning caused fire in congressionally designated Wilderness near the vicinity of Chinquapin. 1068 acres and controlled and in patrol status. Within the confines of Glacier Point, Wawona, and Old Glacier Point Roads. Light smoke continues to be visible at the top of Avalanche Creek.
Hodgdon Fire Prescribed Fire: Light smoke continues to be visible as the fire continues to smolder within the fire perimeter. This fire is in patrol status.
New Fires: Helicopter 551 discovered two new fires in Mariposa County on September 2, 2011, while searching for a missing hiker between Vogelsang and Merced High Sierra camps. They are remote lighting caused hold over fires that started on Friday August 26, 2011. The strike trees have been identified. Yosemite Fire Crew 6 has hiked into the fire areas and is monitoring both fires.
Quartzite Fire: Approximately 1 mile south of Merced Lake is smoldering in one log, surrounded by granite and has low potential for growth.
Adair Fire: Approximately 2 miles west of Washburn Lake, 3 acres in size, and burning and smoldering in red fir needle cast and forest duff.
Moderate potential for growth, in a pocket of forest surrounded by granite.
Fall Prescribed Fires: Three prescribed fire burn projects are being prepared for the fall: Two Yosemite Valley projects and one large landscape project Soupbowl, Wawona NW or Bishop Creek are being considered by park fire managers.
Bishop Creek: This is the preferred fall project and is a follow-up to the Avalanche Wildfire. Objective of proposed 5,200 acre project is Wildland Urban Interface protection to buffer the communities of Yosemite West, the Glacier Point Historic District, Yosemite Valley and Wawona from uncontrolled wildfires. It will build off recent hazardous fuels reduction treatments in Yosemite’s suppression management unit.
Yosemite Valley: The two proposed projects are both between El Capitan Meadow and Sentinel Beach along Southside Drive. “Taft Toe” is a narrow 50 acre burn, and the “Southside” is approximately 60 acres. Each would be a one day burn project.
Park fire managers and firefighters are sensitive to smoke, visitation, and human health concerns. The park is collaborating with the Mariposa and Tuolumne County’s Air Pollution Control Districts by communicating daily concerning potential air quality impacts, mitigations, and to support each agency’s responsibility to public health.
For additional Information, contact Gary_Wuchner@nps.gov; (209) 375-9574 or
(209) 372-0480, or visit the Yosemite Fire Management Website, p://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/current_fire.htm
(G. Wuchner - 9/9)
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Scott Gediman and Kari Cobb (NPS) 209-372-0248 Peter Bartelme (Yosemite Conservancy) 415-664-1503 Jennifer Miller (Yosemite Conservancy) 415-434-1782
Campaign Improves Popular Trails in Yosemite National Park - News Release Yosemite Conservancy and National Park Service Celebrate Completion of
$13.5 Million in Upgrades to 75 Miles of Trails and Habitat in the Park Yosemite Conservancy and the National Park Service announced the completion of a $13.5 million campaign to restore popular hiking trails in Yosemite National Park from Yosemite Valley to the rugged backcountry of the High Sierra.
“Our goal was elegant in its simplicity – improve the condition of Yosemite’s most treasured, high-profile trails in order to protect irreplaceable natural resources,” said Mike Tollefson, president, Yosemite Conservancy. “Yosemite’s spectacular trails are a mirror of the democratic notion of the National Park Service’s founding – they exist for all people for all time.”
The six-year Campaign for Yosemite Trails involved 75 miles of trails and is the largest ever trail repair and restoration program undertaken in Yosemite National Park. The milestone was celebrated on Wednesday with a ceremonial dedication of the East Valley Loop Trail, and recognition of generous donations and the skilled work of Yosemite trail crews.
“Yosemite’s trails are pathways to discovery and inspiration. Some of the park’s most important trails were improved to reverse years of degradation to benefit visitors for decades,” said Superintendent Don Neubacher. “The result is better trails, restored habitats and greater education opportunities for visitors.”
In the front country, repairs were made to the John Muir Trailhead in the Valley and to the east and west ends of the Yosemite Valley Loop Trail with heavily impacted areas being resurfaced with a natural looking asphalt alternative, repairs to foot bridges and new way finding signs. Near the park’s southern entrance, trail improvements in parts of the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias now protect the big tree’s root systems.
On 33 miles of the world-renowned John Muir Trail work addressed parts of the trail from Tuolumne Meadows through Little Yosemite Valley to Yosemite Valley. There are new stone walls, rock staircases, and drainage structures, plus habitat restoration, to improve safety and protect areas bordering the trail.
At the May Lake trailhead accessed from Tioga Road, hikers will find a more well-defined route to the summit of Mount Hoffmann, which will protect habitat. Based on the successful work at Mount Hoffmann, additional trail improvements and restoration are being made on the route to Cathedral Peak and the summit to Mount Dana. Also along Tioga Road, improvements were made to trailheads at Tamarack Flat, May Lake, Yosemite Creek/Ten Lakes, Snow Creek, and at Gaylor Lakes. The work is different at each, and hikers may find habitat-friendly and safer parking and access, food storage lockers, or wilderness education exhibits. Major portions of the spectacular 12-mile Red Peak Pass, the Sierra’s highest trail at 11,000 feet in southeastern Yosemite, were repaired and rebuilt.
Eight hundred miles of trails wind their way through Yosemite’s valleys, meadows, streams, forests and across polished granite. Trail degradation compromises the visitor experience and habitat tremendously. Poor drainage erodes trail surfaces leading hikers to go off-trail, creating multiple social trails that divert water flow and destroy habitat animals depend on.
The Campaign was a collaborative effort between Yosemite Conservancy and the park, with Conservancy donors contributing $10.5 million, and the National Park Service providing $3 million to the trails campaign projects.
The Campaign’s lead gifts were from David and Dana Dornsife, John and Leslie Dorman, Bell-Carter Foods, Inc., Diane and Bill Zuendt, HEDCO Foundation, Cliff Walker, Bill and Cynthia Floyd, The Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund, Jon and Lillian Lovelace, and Jim and Anahita Lovelace.
“Improvements were made to trails for every type of visitor from families with small children to ardent backcountry enthusiasts,” said John Dorman, Yosemite Conservancy board chairman. “These arteries provide access to unimaginable beauty and a life-time of memories.”
Royal Robbins, legendary climber and a Yosemite Conservancy council member, said, “Yosemite’s landscape harbors an unforgettable grand collection of peaks, domes, high waterfalls and alpine meadows. The best way to see these natural wonders is by trail.”
In the last 15 years alone, Yosemite Conservancy supporters have provided more than $35 million to help the National Park Service restore trails throughout the park.
About Yosemite Conservancy
Yosemite Conservancy is the only philanthropic organization dedicated exclusively to the protection and preservation of Yosemite National Park and enhancement of the visitor experience. The Conservancy works to restore trails, protect wildlife through scientific research and habitat restoration, and offers outdoor programs that provide visitors with unique ways to connect with the park. It has funded over 300 projects through $60 million in grants in areas including trail and habitat restoration, wildlife protection, education, volunteering, and the production of award winning books and DVDs. Learn more at www.yosemiteconservancy.org or call 1-800-469-7275. (K.Cobb - 9/9) ______________________________________________________
Seasonal Campground Closures
White Wolf and Bridalveil Creek Campgrounds close for the season at noon on Monday, September 12. Yosemite Creek will also close at noon on Monday, but will be open for campers every Friday and Saturday night through October 8. (J. Modrak-Killian - 9/9) ______________________________________________________
Sharepoint Site Unavailable on Saturday, Sept 10 The park SharePoint site will be unavailable Saturday, September 10th, from 08:30 a.m. to approximately 1:00 p.m. so that maintenance can be performed on the site. If the proposed date/time of this service outage is particularly bad for you, please contact Paul Gallez at 209-372-0250 as soon as possible. (P. Gallez - 9/8) ______________________________________________________
Updates on The Sierra Nevada Network Summer Monitoring Projects The Sierra Nevada Network has been busy with the following projects this
season:
Bird Monitoring - The bird monitoring field crews were surveyed 27 of 30 transects at Yosemite. The bird monitoring began in mid-May and ended July 24, to coincide with the time frame that birds are breeding and nesting in Sierra Nevada parks. The Institute for Bird Populations (IBP) conducted the field monitoring. Stay tuned for some bird highlights from this first season in The Sierra Nevada Monitor fall newsletter. If you have questions about this project, please contact Program Manager Alice Chung-MacCoubrey (559-565-3788).
Lake Monitoring - 2011 is the fourth season of the lake monitoring project.
Lake crews started monitoring the last week of July and their season will extend through late September. They collect and filter water chemistry samples and do shoreline amphibian surveys at each site. Crews are visiting
25 randomly selected lakes scattered throughout the high country in SEKI and YOSE.
High-elevation Forest Monitoring - This is the first season of monitoring for high-elevation whitebark and foxtail pine forests in SEKI and YOSE, and the first of three years for plot installations. Crews installed 11 whitebark pine plots in Yosemite and seven foxtail pine plots in Sequoia.
For more information, contact SIEN Ecologist Shawn McKinney at 209-379-3291. (L. Mutch - 9/8)
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ACTING DESIGNATIONS
John Barton will be Acting El Portal Utilities Supervisor Sept. 9 thru Sept.18. His number is 379-1828.
Mike Yochim will be the Acting Division Chief Friday, September 9th for the Planning Division. Mike may be reached in his El Portal office at 379-1441.
Jun Kinoshita is Acting Anthropology Branch Chief for the week of September 5. Jun can be reached at 379-1317.
Kristin Ramsey will be the Acting Branch Chief of Interpretive Services from Sept. 1 to Sept. 19.
Dale St. Vincent has been selected as the acting Administrative Officer until the AO position is permanently filled.
Karen Kolbeck has been selected as the acting Supervisory General Supply Specialist. Karen can be reached at 379-1028.
Ron Watson has been selected as the acting, Supervisory IT Specialist until the position is permanently filled. Ron can 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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COMMUNITY NEWS
19th Annual Golf Tournament in Wawona
It isn't too late to join the Yosemite Lions Club at their 19th Annual Golf Tournament at Wawona this Saturday, September 10th, 2011. Shotgun Start time is 1:00 Check in: 9:30 AM. Refreshments served on the course. BBQ Dinner is at
5:00 PM. Great Raffle to Follow. $85.00 per person includes Cart, Green fees, Polo, BBQ Dinner, Goodie bag and a whole lot of fun. Please Make Payment to: Yosemite Lions Club, C/O Yolanda Cheley, P.O. Box 6, Yosemite CA, 95389. Please contact Kym Wright @ 209.372.1221 for questions regarding this event.
(S. Bardeaux - 9/9)
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