Association members meet in Wawona for the 34^th Annual Fall Gathering.

We owe special thanks to each and every volunteer, NPS, and DNC staff for the many hours of help to create another memorable gathering of Yosemite stewards, and thanks to every member who attended. We look forward to seeing you again at the Spring Forum on March 27!

 

 

Yosemite Association Honors Extraordinary Volunteers

 

Chairperson Christy Holloway presented Tom Shephard an outstanding achievement award for his 30 years of service to the Yosemite Association as a board member and 10 years as its chair. “In his tenure this organization has done so much for the park and its visitors and no one has offered more thought, humanity, creativity or good humor to our collective contribution than Tom.” She added that “Tom’s love of the park and devotion to education and our wonderful publications plus his skillful, cheerful manner in dealing with the many parties within the park and the community at large were enhanced by his passion and moved the Association forward in wonderful ways.” Tom and his wife Irene make their home in Stockton, where Tom is the senior partner in Neumiller and Beardslee, which last year provided more than $20,000 in pro bono services to the Association.

 

Chief Executive Officer David Guy presented Mary Jane Johnson an outstanding volunteerism award. “Mary Jane has volunteered in Yosemite for the past fourteen years during the summer season providing visitor services for anywhere from 1 to 5 months at a time. Additionally, she has worked in the Visitor Center as a cashier; ran the Happy Isles Nature Center; helped with book sales at the Tuolumne Poetry Festival for the past six years; worked in the Visitor Center at Thanksgiving so National Park Service Employees could be with their families; she has tirelessly worked at the Association’s Spring Forums and Fall Gatherings; and she answered phones during fires and helped out in the Association’s El Portal office. Most notably, this year Mary Jane stepped in and ran the Yosemite Art and Education Center for the summer.” Mary Jane and her husband Vern are familiar sights throughout Yosemite.  

 

Two other outstanding volunteers, Julie Schuller and Tony DeMaio, were acknowledged as recipients of volunteer awards given the previous Saturday, on National Public Lands Day, the first park-wide volunteer recognition event in Yosemite Valley occurred in conjunction with Facelift, a 5 day event in which volunteers worked to clean up the park.

 

In appreciation for The Yosemite Fund’s generous support of the volunteer program this summer and the recognition event and to commemorate the fantastic job its volunteers did, the Association Board also presented its Chairman, Hal Cranston, with a poster created for Chevron’s corporate headquarters. 

 

Congratulations Bracebridge Winner! 

We are pleased to announce this year's winner of the Bracebridge Dinner Package. The lucky winners are longtime Yosemite Association members Carol Blair-Taheny and Michael Taheny. The Taheny's will receive two tickets to the famed Bracebridge feast and Christmas pageant and a one night stay at the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls on December 14, 2009.

The Bracebridge Raffle raised over $6,000 in support for Yosemite Association. Thank you to all of our members and friends who participated this year. The raffle package was generously donated from our friends at Delaware North Parks & Resorts at Yosemite.

 

 

Merced River Settlement

 

The Friends of Yosemite Valley (FOYV), Mariposans for the Environment and Responsible Government (MERG), and the Department of the Interior /National Park Service (NPS), Yosemite National Park jointly announce the completion of a formal Settlement Agreement in the lawsuits concerning the Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP). The settlement resolves litigation on Merced River planning begun in 2000, and also resolves the complaint challenging the Yosemite Valley Plan.

According to the parties, the settlement marks the beginning of a new planning process, which will lead to a Comprehensive Management Plan for the Merced River in Yosemite National Park. "With this Settlement complete, the National Park Service is looking to the future and will move forward with preparing a new CMP that will continue to protect and enhance the Merced River for the enjoyment of future generations" stated Acting Superintendent Dave Uberuaga.

"We are optimistic. We are hopeful that the new Merced plan will be focused on protection, putting the River and its values first," stated Julia Olson, attorney for plaintiffs FOYV and MERG. "We now have a new opportunity to bring people together, to finally discuss how to optimize a natural Yosemite experience for the most people possible, while recognizing that Yosemite is finite" said Greg Adair, Director of Friends of Yosemite Valley."

 

The Settlement: initiates a new process for the creation of a Merced River Plan, pursuant to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA); provides guidance on procedures, process, and content for a new Merced River Plan; rescinds the Yosemite Valley Plan; rescinds plans for Yosemite Lodge, Curry Village, Valley Campgrounds; begins a new public dialogue on the question of user capacity; and encourages ongoing maintenance and safety activities.

 

The National Park planning website at http://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/newmrp.htm contains more information about meeting locations and how to get involved in the planning process. The Settlement Agreement can be viewed in its entirety at: http://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/litigation.htm.

 

 

Secretary of Interior Visits Yosemite

 

Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis toured Yosemite National Park this past weekend.  This was Salazar’s first official visit to Yosemite National Park and Jarvis’ first visit as the Director of the National Park Service.

 

While in Yosemite, Salazar and Jarvis toured American Recovery and Reinvestment Act projects ongoing in the park.  Additionally, they joined school age children on a hike through Cook’s Meadow and were joined by Park Ranger Shelton Johnson, who presented his award winning Buffalo Soldier program. 

 

The Association participated in a small reception that was held in the park to honor and welcome Jarvis in his new position as NPS Director.  David Guy presented Salazar and Jarvis with a copy of the new reprint of the Olmsted report on “Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove” with a forward by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns. Jarvis was previously the Regional Director in Oakland, where he has been a tremendous supporter of Yosemite. Salazar also recognized Acting Superintendent Dave Uberuaga for his outstanding work in Yosemite since January of this year, when he assumed his role as Acting Superintendent for the park.

 

Association Members build excitement for “America’s Best Idea” 

More than 50 Yosemite Association members and supporters responded enthusiastically to the invitation to host parties featuring a preview of the spectacular new series by Ken Burns, “National Parks: America’s Best Idea.”

  The Association sponsored several events throughout California with the support of local media, including a preview on at the Autry National Center of the American West in Los Angeles, held in conjunction with KCET and the Autry, and the McHenry Museum in Modesto in conjunction with the City of Modesto and KVIE, and an event at the KJWL/KYNO Art Gallery in Fresno. The event in Fresno featured special guest Yosemite Ranger Shelton Johnson who captivated an audience of 100+ with his stories of involvement with Ken Burns film, while making a passionate plea for deeper engagement with Yosemite and our National Parks. Shelton’s new book, Gloryland, flew off the Association sales table after his talk. 

 

Gatherings were also held by individuals at community centers and homes throughout California including Chabot Center in Oakland, Murphys, and Newman. The event in Murphys featured John Muir’s Legacy wines and proceeds were generously donated to the Association.

Gloryland

$25.00 Members Price $21.25

Born on Emancipation Day, 1863, to a sharecropping family of black and Indian blood, Elijah Yancy never lived as a slave — but his self-image as a free person is at war with his surroundings: Spartanburg, South Carolina, in the Reconstructed South. Exiled for his own survival as a teenager, Elijah walks west to the Nebraska plains — and, like other rootless young African-American men of that era, joins up with the U.S. cavalry.

The trajectory of Elijah’s army career parallels the nation’s imperial adventures in the late 19th century: subduing Native Americans in the West, quelling rebellion in the Philippines. Haunted by the terrors endured by black Americans and by his part in persecuting other people of color, Elijah is sustained only by visions, memories, prayers, and his questing spirit — which ultimately finds a home when his troop is posted to the newly created Yosemite National Park in 1903. Here, living with little beyond mountain light, running water, campfires, and stars, he becomes a man who owns himself completely, while knowing he’s left pieces of himself scattered along his life’s path like pebbles on a creek bed.

Shelton Johnson, a native of Detroit, Michigan, currently serves as a ranger in Yosemite National Park. He has worked for the National Park Service since 1987, also serving in Great Basin National Park and Yellowstone National Park, as well as in parks in and around Washington, D.C. He served with the Peace Corps in Liberia and attended graduate school at the University of Michigan, where he won several awards, including a Hopwood Award in poetry. Johnson has presented his original living-history program about a buffalo soldier at venues around the country and has received many honors and awards for this work, which has also been widely covered in the media; and he is featured in the Ken Burns documentary film, The National Parks: America's Best Idea. Johnson and his wife and son live just outside Yosemite National Park.

Published by Sierra Club Books hardcover, 256 pages

The Wonders of Yosemite in Winter  

Join us this winter for our outstanding Outdoor Adventures. Imagine the luster of the full moon on new snow while snowshoeing in Yosemite. Or explore Yosemite’s winter wonderland with your camera under the guidance of Yosemite Naturalist John Senser. Discover the winter adaptations of sierra life, following animal tracks to the season’s happenings with Badger Pass area Naturalist Dick Ewart. It is all possible with us.  Get the details at, or by picking up a catalog at the visitor center or calling 209-379-2321. Courses include free park entry and free camping.  Yosemite Association members get a 15% tuition discount.

Yosemite Association is on Facebook.

Find out about upcoming events, see and post photos, participate in discussions about your experiences in the park, and learn how you deepen your connection with and support of Yosemite. Just type “Yosemite Association” in the Facebook search bar.