Success Stories in Yosemite

Youth in Yosemite

Combining the best in youth development with park preservation.

Youth of all ages participate in Conservancy-funded programs designed to build the skills and experience needed to pursue their dreams for the future.  From young children getting their Junior Ranger Badge during a day visit, to high school students embarking on their first multi-day backpacking trip, these programs make it possible for youth to experience nature while learning environmental stewardship and personal development skills.  

Junior Rangers

By completing ranger-led nature walks, finishing workbooks, and engaging in hands-on activities, kids can earn their Junior Ranger Badge.  This program encourages a love of the outdoors, national parks, and a healthy lifestyle from an early age.

Education and Leadership

Students are paired with college mentors through a range of academic and physical activities designed to improve literacy and leadership skills in the Adventure Risk Challenge (ARC) program.  Thanks to Conservancy funding, in 2011 ARC reached almost 80 students in Yosemite who came away with valuable leadership, environmental stewardship and community building skills that will help them achieve their goals and dreams for the future.     

Read poems from ARC participants.

Career Building

Through WildLink, underserved high school aged youth are provided that crucial first introduction to Yosemite and the opportunity to consider careers in the park service by shadowing park rangers and participating in workshops led by Conservancy naturalists.

For older students, the Yosemite Leadership Program (YLP) provides opportunities for University of California, Merced undergraduates to work alongside park staff, gaining practical, field-based experience.  The two-year internship culminates in a symposium held in Yosemite Valley where students present their projects to the visiting public and park managers.

Restoration and Conservation

The Youth Conservation Corps (YCC), provides youth ages 15-18 the opportunity to spend eight weeks living in the park where they restore campgrounds, install bear-proof lockers, remove invasive plants, and restore backcountry trails.  Along the way, participants gain invaluable environmental and life skills that mark the beginning of a life-long commitment to protecting natural places. 

As the oldest and largest state conservation corp program in the country, the California Conservation Corps (CCC) has been training young adults (ages 18-25) in trail restoration while developing life skills in Yosemite since 1976.  In addition to comprehensive training in dry-stone masonry techniques, youth also learn about ecology, resource management, sustainability, wilderness survival training and career development.  

The Student Conservation Association (SCA) provides college interns the opportunity to live and work in Yosemite during a 35 day wilderness program where crews remove invasive plants, restore abandoned or “social” trails and remove inappropriate campsites.  SCA crews generally survey over 15 square miles (9,600 acres), walking over 40 miles in about 30 days.  Thanks to Conservancy funding, students come away with self-confidence and skills for the future.  

Click here for more information and photos.

Meadow Restorations

Meadow restoration efforts improve habitat and the visitor experience.

Although meadows only make up 2% of Yosemite’s landscape, they are extremely valuable habitats for plants and animals.  One acre of meadow can produce up to two tons of food and nutrients per year – which means a lot of productive areas for animals such as raptors, deer and songbirds.

Meadows are not just beautiful places – they are vital for properly functioning ecosystems.  Meadows act as natural water purifiers, filtering sediment from runoff so that nearby streams run clean and aquatic life thrives.  A large percentage of Yosemite’s plant and animal species depend on these relatively small areas, making restoration efforts crucial to maintaining the park’s biodiversity.

Stoneman Meadow

Located between the Merced River and Curry Village, Stoneman Meadow plays an instrumental role in the Valley’s ecological health by providing habitat and regulating water flow.  A 250-meter abandoned asphalt path was removed in 2006, allowing natural hydrologic processes to resume while promoting biological health and aesthetic value.

Wawona Meadow

Thanks to Conservancy support, deep channels that once drained the wet meadow for grazing were filled, allowing natural hydrological processes to resume. With the return of natural hydrology, a more diverse and native plant community has taken root, thus improving habitat for native wildlife species.

Carlon Meadow

With Conservancy support, old asphalt roads, parking pads, and exposed pipes and concrete footings were removed and natural contours re-established.  As a result, the river can move more within its natural floodplain, allowing for the expansion of sensitive wetland habitat.

Crane Flat Meadow

Volunteer groups removed 400 cubic yards of asphalt along an old railroad grade between Tuolumne Grove and Big Oak Flat Road, improving wildlife habitat and eliminating an unnecessary human footprint from the park.  Work crews re-contoured the meadow to match the surrounding topography which allowed for the restoration of natural hydrological processes and the return of wetland plant species. 

Lukens Meadow

Completed in 2008, this Conservancy-funded project restored approximately 2,000 square feet of impacted wet meadow at Lukens Lake, a popular hiking destination about a mile off the Tioga Road.  Wilderness character was enhanced and hydrological processes restored by removing human-caused impacts, such as social trails. 

Click here for more information and photos of meadow restorations.

Pacific Fisher Mammal Research

Camera study sheds light on Pacific fishers in Yosemite.

The Pacific fisher, a member of the weasel family, is a medium-sized forest mammal that lives in mature and old growth forests. Its diet ranges from birds to small mammals to fruit and fungi, and it is one of the only animals clever enough to prey on porcupines.

Endangered in California

Due to habitat degradation and other threatening factors including a low reproductive rate, reduced genetic diversity, predators, disease, and more recently, negative interactions with road traffic and exposure to rodenticide, the Pacific fisher has disappeared from more than half its former range in California and is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act, with official federal listing predicted for 2014.

Protecting the Species

To help save this key forest dweller, Yosemite Conservancy in partnership with the National Park Service,the California Department of Fish and Game, U.C. Berkeley and the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center, funded a multi-year study designed to collect data to document the fisher’s distribution, abundance, and range in Yosemite in order to better understand the factors limiting the fisher’s comeback.

Highly advanced remote motion-sensing camera stations were placed in suitable habitat throughout the park to determine fisher presence. These sites included areas both north and south of the Merced River.

Unprecedented Findings

The first survey year documented more fisher detections in Yosemite National Park than any previous study, with fisher activity concentrated in the southern portion of the park. The second survey year brought the unprecedented finding of the first documented den tree of a female Pacific fisher with kits (young) in the park. Thanks to Conservancy funding, this study has shed light on the Pacific fisher’s population distribution within Yosemite and played a major role in regional fisher recovery efforts.

Photo courtesy of U.C. Berkeley.

Campground Amphitheaters Renovated

A place for campers to gather and learn.

An enduring part of the Yosemite camping experience is sitting around a campfire at night sharing stories, making new friends or learning something through one of the many educational programs offered by rangers and others in the park. Yosemite’s campground amphitheaters are places for campers and visitors to gather and hear a ranger talk or simply enjoy an afternoon picnic.  But heavy wear and tear over time had left many amphitheaters badly in need of upgrades.

In popular Yosemite Valley, amphitheaters are important educational and recreational hubs.  At Lower Pines and Lower River Amphitheaters, worn benches and broken lighting made these spaces unsafe and uncomfortable for visitors. Major renovations included repairing splintering benches and fixing broken walkway lights. These amphitheaters now comfortably host visitors and campers for ranger educational talks, as well as group picnic gatherings.

The amphitheaters at Bridalveil Creek, Wawona and Crane Flat Campgrounds were also badly deteriorated, unsafe and uncomfortable for visitors.  Yosemite Conservancy funded rehabilitation of these amphitheaters – visitors now enjoy new comfortable seats built from sustainable building products and upgraded stone fire rings.

With your support, these areas once again serve as a welcoming gathering place for campers to learn something new from a ranger or start their own fireside camping tradition with family and friends. 

Valley Visitor Center Exhibit Hall

Enhancing the visitor experience in Yosemite Valley.

Visitors come to Yosemite to see its world-famous scenic wonders, such as Half Dome and El Capitan, or to marvel at Yosemite Falls, the highest waterfall in North America. Once a visitor has a chance to take in the breathtaking scenery the next question is, how can I learn more and what should I do next?

A Portal to the Park

An inquisitive visitor can walk into the Valley Visitor Center Exhibit Hall where interactive displays and detailed interpretive panels offer a comprehensive education in the geological, natural, and cultural histories of Yosemite.  The Conservancy funded a three-year redesign and renovation of the exhibit hall that allows visitors to gain historical insight and enthusiasm for exploring the park.  In addition to providing information about the natural forces that shaped Yosemite’s landscape, the renovated exhibit includes a section showing how Yosemite is linked to the world and how people play a critical role in its future.  Interactive, hands-on exhibits entice kids to learn more about Yosemite and nature.

Major Visitor Attraction

Located in the heart of Yosemite Valley, the Visitors Center may be the first stop for people wanting to learn more about the park or how to plan their visit.  The renovated exhibit hall draws people in so that they not only learn about the natural and cultural features but also how they are connected to Yosemite, no matter where they live. 

Yosemite Creek Bridge Replacement

Rebuilding the bridge to Yosemite Falls.

The Yosemite Creek Bridge near Yosemite Falls receives heavy pedestrian traffic eager to catch a glimpse of one of Yosemite’s most accessible and well-known wonders.

Bridge Failure

This vital bridge is the primary conduit for foot and bicycle traffic between Yosemite Lodge and Yosemite Village.  When it failed during the January 1997 floods, visitors were directed to take a circuitous detour over two bridges not designed for bikes.  As a result, many visitors chose to use the adjacent extremely narrow vehicle bridge, putting themselves and drivers in serious danger. 

Rebuilding

In 2008, the Conservancy helped fund construction of a new bridge thanks in part to a generous donor contribution of custom-engineered steel bridge beams from Herrick Steel.  The new bridge blends well with the adjacent stone and wood footbridges and is designed for improved access and better accommodation of high water runoff.  Thanks to this important restoration, easy and safe access has been restored to popular Yosemite Falls while improving overall pedestrian traffic in the Valley.

Cosmopolitan Register

Preserving a window into Yosemite’s past

“People who think it ‘don’t pay’ to visit Yosemite had better not travel,” wrote Joseph Moore of Richmond, Indiana in 1875 in the guest register of the Cosmopolitan Bathhouse and Saloon.  In the late 1800s, visitors to Yosemite could sign and browse through the tourist entries in the grand Cosmopolitan Register, including the entries of several historic American figures. By preserving this beautiful register, the early spirit of Yosemite remains alive.

Historical Guest Entries

Also known as the “Grand Register of Yo-Semite Valley”, the Cosmopolitan Register contains over 800 pages of guest entries from 1873 to 1884 written at the Cosmopolitan Bathhouse and Saloon.  It weighs over 100 pounds and contains more than 18,000 signatures, including four U.S. presidents: Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Rutherford B. Hayes, and James Garfield.  By the late 1800s, thousands of people were flocking to Yosemite to take in the scenic wonders and many entered their names and comments in the Cosmopolitan’s register. 

Preserving a Window to the Past

The Conservancy donated the register to Yosemite National Park in 2007 where it was displayed through Fall 2012 in an interactive exhibit at the Yosemite Museum Gallery entitled “View & Visitors: The Yosemite Experience in the 19th Century.”  By donating the register to the park, an important part of the early visitor experience in Yosemite has been preserved for future generations.     

Bear-Proof Lockers and Canisters

Lockers and canisters keep bears healthy and people safe.

Typical Bear Diet

A typical diet for most bears ranges from 4,000 to 20,000 calories a day consisting of grasses, berries, acorns and grubs.  They have an incredible sense of smell that allows them to detect things to eat up to three miles away.  For bears, picnic hampers, iceboxes, snacks and even scented toiletries left in your car, tent or cabin are very tempting, but also very dangerous.

Keeping Bears Healthy

Becoming accustomed to human food is not only bad for bears’ health but it also encourages them to approach visitors.  Keeping bears wild while protecting visitors and their property is why Yosemite Conservancy has funded construction and installation of over 2,000 bear-proof food storage lockers throughout the park since 1994.  A generous donation from Herrick Steel allowed for the development of a prototype bear box for Yosemite National Park in the early 1990s. The Herrick model is still in use in Yosemite and has since been adopted by many other national parks.

Renting Bear Proof Canisters

For hikers heading out on overnight backpacking trips, the Conservancy provides bear-proof canister rentals so that both bears and visitors stay safe.  These canisters are required for overnight backpackers and can be conveniently rented at several permit stations throughout the park, including Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne Meadows and Wawona.  Fees collected from canister rentals are put to work in the park, for projects ranging from wildlife protection to educational programs.  Click here for more information on bear-proof canisters.

Protecting Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep

Protecting bighorn sheep for over 20 years

Providing for Bighorn Sheep

For over 20 years, Yosemite Conservancy has provided funds to Yosemite National Park to protect Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, one of the rarest of large mammals in North America.  Thanks to Conservancy support, wildlife managers have re-introduced this endangered species back into their Yosemite habitat and continue to monitor the population expansion.

Herds Getting Bigger

The bighorn population has increased to over 400 individuals since they were granted federally endangered status in 1999, but they continue to face many challenges. For example, the Yosemite herd, which inhabits the eastern portions of Yosemite National Park, continues to tackle problems associated with the spread of disease from domestic sheep in neighboring herds.

GPS Collaring and Online Tracking

In recent years Yosemite Conservancy has helped protect bighorn sheep by funding GPS collars to track sheep movements.  The Conservancy is also funding the creation and management of website elements that allows for the online tracking of individual sheep.  By closely following sheep travels as well as lambing sites, wildlife managers have been able to quickly intervene to protect them from potential threats, such as when they wander too close to domestic herds, putting them at risk for exposure to deadly diseases.  Close tracking has allowed scientists to easily collect samples in areas where the sheep have spent time; these samples were used to run nutritional and genetic tests to learn more about bighorn sheep behavior in Yosemite. 

Wawona Hotel and Thomas Hill Studio Fountain Restoration

Historic fountains spring to life.

The Wawona Hotel and Thomas Hill Studio

The Wawona Hotel, which opened in 1879, is the largest existing Victorian hotel complex within the boundaries of a national park and is designated as a National Historic Landmark.  The Thomas Hill Studio, built in 1883, was an artist’s studio, and is now a place to find information and obtain wilderness permits in Wawona.  The historic fountains at both locations were in disrepair until Conservancy-funded restoration efforts revived these celebrated landmarks.

In Need of Repair

For much of the 20th century, the historic Wawona Hotel fountain has provided a welcome sight to travelers arriving after a long journey.  For modern travelers, this experience was lost as the historic fountain became dilapidated over time. Along with the fountain at the entrance of the adjacent Thomas Hill Studio, these signature icons provided a way to connect people to the park through its history and these remain important features of Yosemite’s cultural landscape.

The Past Springs Back to Life

The rehabilitation work, completed in 2011, utilized appropriate historic preservation techniques.  The project not only brought back each fountain’s most recent appearance but also incorporated contemporary water-saving plumbing features.  These historic treasures contribute to Yosemite’s charm and complement its natural wonders.

Providing for Yosemite's Future
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