April 2011
Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine
Raiload ready for operation
by Max Stauffer
After receiving over eight feet of snow in March, over a week without power, the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Raiload is ready for operation. It was quite a challenge to plow the two miles of track with numerous trees down and snow banks left from the late Febuary storm. Our 59 ton diesel electric locomotive snow plow combined with the Bobcat tracked loader managed to clear the right of way. Our engine house was damaged when a large cedar tree was broken at the stump and fell on the roof. Branches penetrated the roof, but luckily neither steam locomotive sustained any damage. We are hopeful as I am sure most residents are that winter is finally winding down. Unfortunatlely, I think we all know better. Click here for more pictures.
After receiving over eight feet of snow in March, over a week without power, the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Raiload is ready for operation. It was quite a challenge to plow the two miles of track with numerous trees down and snow banks left from the late Febuary storm. Our 59 ton diesel electric locomotive snow plow combined with the Bobcat tracked loader managed to clear the right of way. Our engine house was damaged when a large cedar tree was broken at the stump and fell on the roof. Branches penetrated the roof, but luckily neither steam locomotive sustained any damage. We are hopeful as I am sure most residents are that winter is finally winding down. Unfortunatlely, I think we all know better. Click here for more pictures.
MRP Draft Baseline Condition Report Available
April 12, 2011
The Merced Wild and Scenic River Values Draft Baseline Condition Report is now available for public review. The report summarizes research and information about the conditions of the Merced River values in 1987 (the year the river was designated Wild and Scenic) and 2010. Free-flowing condition, water quality, and outstandingly remarkable values (ORVs) form the three pillars of protection under the Wild and Scenic River Act. more
The Merced Wild and Scenic River Values Draft Baseline Condition Report is now available for public review. The report summarizes research and information about the conditions of the Merced River values in 1987 (the year the river was designated Wild and Scenic) and 2010. Free-flowing condition, water quality, and outstandingly remarkable values (ORVs) form the three pillars of protection under the Wild and Scenic River Act. more
Pioneer Yosemite History Center, Summer of 2011
The National Park Service and the staff of the Pioneer
Yosemite History Center would like to alert all members of the Wawona community
to a number of activities we have planned for the Summer of 2011.
School children from throughout California will be learning about the history of Yosemite and will gain firsthand knowledge about the life of pioneers May 9 through May 27 as they participate in our Environmental Living Program.
Burrel “Buckshot” Maier will again be offering Stage Rides beginning Memorial Day Weekend. Details will be posted in the park newspaper “The Yosemite Guide.” Stop by for a stage ride and to meet our new horses that were donated by the Yosemite Conservancy.
Please join us for our annual “Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration” from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm on Monday, July 4 at the Pioneer Yosemite History Center. Speeches, games, fun, and prizes!
The Wawona Barn Dances will continue this summer due to donations collected at the dances as well as through the continuing generous support of The Redwoods in Yosemite, W.A.P.O.A. and D.N.C. Parks and Resorts of Yosemite. As always, these dances will be at the Pioneer Yosemite History Center in the Grey Barn near the Covered Bridge on the evening of Monday, July 4 as well as the following Saturday nights: July 16, July 30, August 6, August 13, August 20, and September 3. Most dances will begin at 8:00 pm will conclude at 10:00 pm and will be accompanied by our live band, “The Wawona Philharmonic.” The night of August 6 from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm the local dance group, the Gold Dust Dancers, invites you to join them with their caller / instructor and recorded music. As always, at all of these dances, beginners are welcome and instruction will be provided.
Junior Ranger Programs in the Wawona Campground again this summer.
Again this summer, on Saturdays, from 9:00 am to 10:30 am the National Park Service will be offering a “Junior Ranger Program” especially for children 7 through 13 years old. These programs will be offered June 25 through September 3 and will meet at the Amphitheater in the Wawona Campground. Learn about nature and earn a Junior Ranger badge. Advance reservations are not necessary; simply meet us at 9:00 am on any of these Saturdays.
School children from throughout California will be learning about the history of Yosemite and will gain firsthand knowledge about the life of pioneers May 9 through May 27 as they participate in our Environmental Living Program.
Burrel “Buckshot” Maier will again be offering Stage Rides beginning Memorial Day Weekend. Details will be posted in the park newspaper “The Yosemite Guide.” Stop by for a stage ride and to meet our new horses that were donated by the Yosemite Conservancy.
Please join us for our annual “Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration” from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm on Monday, July 4 at the Pioneer Yosemite History Center. Speeches, games, fun, and prizes!
The Wawona Barn Dances will continue this summer due to donations collected at the dances as well as through the continuing generous support of The Redwoods in Yosemite, W.A.P.O.A. and D.N.C. Parks and Resorts of Yosemite. As always, these dances will be at the Pioneer Yosemite History Center in the Grey Barn near the Covered Bridge on the evening of Monday, July 4 as well as the following Saturday nights: July 16, July 30, August 6, August 13, August 20, and September 3. Most dances will begin at 8:00 pm will conclude at 10:00 pm and will be accompanied by our live band, “The Wawona Philharmonic.” The night of August 6 from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm the local dance group, the Gold Dust Dancers, invites you to join them with their caller / instructor and recorded music. As always, at all of these dances, beginners are welcome and instruction will be provided.
Junior Ranger Programs in the Wawona Campground again this summer.
Again this summer, on Saturdays, from 9:00 am to 10:30 am the National Park Service will be offering a “Junior Ranger Program” especially for children 7 through 13 years old. These programs will be offered June 25 through September 3 and will meet at the Amphitheater in the Wawona Campground. Learn about nature and earn a Junior Ranger badge. Advance reservations are not necessary; simply meet us at 9:00 am on any of these Saturdays.
Pine Needle Pile Pick Up
Thanks to
our District 5 Supervisor Jim Allen and Mariposa County Public Works,
Mariposa County will again pick up our piles of pine needles. Your pile must be ready by Monday, June 6. Remember, one pile per
property along the road in front of your property, in an unobstructed area where the equipment can easily access your needle pile. Tree limbs and branches must be cut to a maximum of 3 feet in length to be picked up. Only green material will be picked up – no construction debris or household waste will be picked up.
Prescribed fire and
mechanical thinning
by Taro Pusina, Deputy Fire Chief - Fuels
Prescribed
fire and mechanical thinning are two useful tools that Yosemite
utilizes to mimic natural fire processes, restore forest systems, andprotect values at risk from catastrophic wildfire including structures and
natural and cultural resources. One prescribed fire and one mechanical
thinning project are funded in Yosemite for fiscal year 2011. A 260 acre
prescribed fire is slated this spring in Hodgdon between Highway 120 and
Hodgdon. A small mechanical thinning project is slated for the Yosemite
Valley Village Store mall area as well. Two projects may occur in Wawona
if funding becomes available. 400 acres remains in the Wawona Northwest
burn unit between Section 35 and the 2007 Jack wildfire. Soupbowl is the
second proposed Wawona project at 500 acres and sits below (west) of Wawona
Rd. between South Entrance and Wawona Meadow. Wawona Northwest would
likely occur this spring with Soupbowl in the fall. Please contact Fire
Information Officer Gary Wuchner @ 209-375-9574 or 209-372-0480 or Taro
Pusina @ 209-375-9576 for more information.
Taro Pusina
Deputy Fire Chief - Fuels
Yosemite National Park
209-375-9576 W
209-770-5247 C
[email protected]
utilizes to mimic natural fire processes, restore forest systems, andprotect values at risk from catastrophic wildfire including structures and
natural and cultural resources. One prescribed fire and one mechanical
thinning project are funded in Yosemite for fiscal year 2011. A 260 acre
prescribed fire is slated this spring in Hodgdon between Highway 120 and
Hodgdon. A small mechanical thinning project is slated for the Yosemite
Valley Village Store mall area as well. Two projects may occur in Wawona
if funding becomes available. 400 acres remains in the Wawona Northwest
burn unit between Section 35 and the 2007 Jack wildfire. Soupbowl is the
second proposed Wawona project at 500 acres and sits below (west) of Wawona
Rd. between South Entrance and Wawona Meadow. Wawona Northwest would
likely occur this spring with Soupbowl in the fall. Please contact Fire
Information Officer Gary Wuchner @ 209-375-9574 or 209-372-0480 or Taro
Pusina @ 209-375-9576 for more information.
Taro Pusina
Deputy Fire Chief - Fuels
Yosemite National Park
209-375-9576 W
209-770-5247 C
[email protected]
Mariposa Grove Road to Open in Yosemite National Park
Scott Gediman 209-372-0248
Kari Cobb 209-372-0529
The Mariposa Grove Road in Yosemite National Park will open for the season Friday, April 15, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. The road provides visitor access to the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, the largest grove of Giant Sequoia in Yosemite National Park. The road is located near the park’s South Entrance, on Highway 41. Some commercial services within the Mariposa Grove will open later in the day. Additionally, tram tours are slated to begin operating over the next several weeks. There are vault toilets available in the parking area. Visitors are urged to drive with caution as snow and ice may still be present on the road. The Mariposa Grove Road may intermittently close due to weather conditions. (S. Gediman - 4/15)
Art in the Library ~ “Art for the Guys”
Evening with the Artist ~ Larry Duke We are pleased to announce that Wawona’s Larry Duke is displaying his artwork in the Wawona Bassett Memorial Library. “Art for the Guys” at the library showcases “sporting art” for the Remington Arms Company that shows Bullet Knives ‘saving the day’. There will be an Evening with the Artist on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the Wawona Bassett Memorial Library. These posters were highly successful and have become very collectible. Come see them and enjoy, in some cases, the humor of the harrowing situations. Larry’s professional career started in 1964 at McCann Erickson advertising as an Art Director. In 1970 he left McCann and traveled to Europe. Upon returning, he began a career in illustration by setting up his own studio. His work has received awards from CA Magazine; Art Director's Clubs of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York; and American Museum Association. His approach to illustration is realism achieved through a variety of techniques including pencil, pen and ink, scratchboard, and acrylic painting. He is equally comfortable drawing the human form as well as animal and plant forms. This has enabled him to create distinctive solutions for a number of clients, among them the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Seattle Aquarium, Washington State Department of Ecology, Nature Company, Yosemite Association, Remington Arms Company, and the National Park Service. Larry's recent work for the National Park Service includes projects for Yosemite National Park and Chesapeake and Ohio National Park. On both of these projects he illustrated critically important safety problems to create clear warnings for park visitors. Join us on April 27 for an enjoyable evening learning the history and stories behind Larry’s posters. There is no charge, and refreshments will be served. |
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Terry Bill's Yosemite Photography
Terry Bill is a 74 year retired radio/TV announcer living in Jonesboro, Arkansas with his wife of 50 years, Carolyn. In 1981 the couple went to San Francisco to visit with Carolyn's sister and her husband...vineyard keepers in Fairfield, Ca. They were taken to Yosemite National Park for a three day visit and the visit created a "Yosemite Monster"! Bill was overwhelmed and absolutely fell in love with the place. The couple has tried to go to Yosemite annually since that time.
Bill worked thirteen years after his retirement from broadcasting as a videographer for the Arkansas State University football team where he sharpened his photography abilities. He has shot a large number of digital photographs and hours of video over the years creating a library of more than five thousand pictures of Yosemite.
Bill says "I count the days from year to year waiting for summer when it's time to once again to go to my beloved Yosemite". Click here to see some of Terry's Yosemite Images
Wawona Comes Together In Time Of Need
by Eric Scott- Wawona District Ranger
During the week of March 18th- March 26th, a series of strong winter storms struck Yosemite and the majority of Mariposa County. Heavy snowfall accompanied by tree failures and downed power lines paralyzed much of area. All communities in Yosemite were digging out, removing trees blocking highways and dodging downed power lines.
With the possibility of extended power outages, all park visitors and residents not wanting to remain were provided escorts out of the area. The Wawona community had downed power lines, tree failures blocking roadways and about three feet of snow.
However, even in these challenging conditions, the community came together to help each other. Those NPS, DNC, and Redwoods employees compelled to stay by nature of their jobs or because they were unable to leave due to highway closures outside the park on Hwy. 41, buckled down and did what had to be done.
I wanted to thank Ed Mee and Michelle Stauffer who opened up the Wawona School as a warming center where folks could go and warm up, take a hot shower and cook if they needed to. I also want to thank Wawona DNC Manager Joe Alfano for also extending his hospitality for those needing a place to sleep at the Wawona Hotel Annex. A thanks also to Pat Sischo who informed property owners thru her contact mailing list. NPS employees also worked long hours maintain basic infrastructure within the park. Wawona went without electricity for eight days and needless to say, we were all thankful with the lights came back on.
There are a number of upcoming events I’d like to mention. There will be construction for approximately 2 weeks in the Wawona Hotel Parking Lot, and 2-Weeks for the Store Parking Lot. This will be a paving project to improve those areas. In addition, Granite Construction will be completing their Hwy. 41 rehabilitation project. This will start as soon as the weather allows and will continue for up to a month. There will be some minor traffic delays. Please look at the park’s website for specific information about this project (nps.gov/yose/planourvisit/roadwork/htm).
Finally, NPS Roads & Trails will be plowing out the Mariposa Grove Road to the parking lot in an attempt to get It open earlier than last year. In fact, the crew had it already plowed out until the recent storm event. The goal is to let the roadbed dry out enough to where vehicles could be allowed on it.
I would like to encourage you contact me at the Wawona Ranger Office if you have any questions or comments regarding our recent storm recovery operations. I can be reached at (209) 375-9520.
STORMS MESSAGE: If you are a residential customer and
have gone without power for at least 48 hours due to severe storm
conditions, you may qualify for a payment under PG&E’s Safety Net Program. This program provides for the automatic payment of $25-$100, which is paid about 60 days following the storm outage. Click here for more info.
