Yosemite Photos, Video and News

Daily Report - Yosemite National Park
Thursday, June 3, 2010

Weather

Yosemite Valley
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 79. West northwest wind between 5 and
11 mph.
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around
48. West wind between 7 and 10 mph becoming calm.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 82.
Calm wind becoming west southwest between 5 and 8 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. West wind at 10 mph
becoming east.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. East wind 5 to 13 mph becoming
west southwest.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 51.

El Portal
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 83. West northwest wind between 6 and
11 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. North wind between 3 and 9
mph.
Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 86. Calm wind becoming west between
6 and 9 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 52. West northwest wind 5 to
9 mph becoming east northeast.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 89. East northeast wind between 7 and 10
mph becoming calm.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 52.

Wawona
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 81. Northwest wind between 8 and 13
mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. North wind between 3 and 10
mph.
Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 85. North northwest wind between 3
and 11 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 52. North northwest wind
between 3 and 8 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 88. Northeast wind at 10 mph becoming
west southwest.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 53.

Happening Today (see Community News below for other current events)
CLOSES TODAY - NEW - DETAIL/TEMPORARY PROMOTION OPPORTUNITY – Permanent NPS
YOSE employees -

In addition to the Superintendent's Office having an exciting opportunity
for a detail/temporary promotion (if qualified) to Administrative Support
Assistant (OA), GS-0303-06/07.

The Division of Facilities Management also has an exciting opportunity for
a detail/temporary promotion (if qualified) to Secretary (OA), GS-318-06/07
. This position works directly for the Chief of Maintenance.

These opportunities require you type a minimum of 40 words per minute.

Applicants selected for these detail/temporary promotion(s) would provide
administrative support to the Deputy Superintendent/Chief of Maintenance.
Assignments will provide an opportunity to work with a broad range of
people in support of park/facility operations. Skill in written and verbal
communication is essential. Primary tasks include preparing and
coordinating correspondence, including documents prepared for the signature
of the Superintendent. You will also answer the phone, respond to email,
maintain the office filing system, maintain adequate office supplies and
organization, and other administrative duties as assigned.

If interested in being considered for detail or temporary promotion (if
qualified) for either of these positions, please annotate your preference
(or both) on your resume and submit your resume to Irma Keheley in the
Human Resources Office no later than Thursday, 06/03/10. Please make sure
to have your supervisor’s approval. (Don't forget to indicate your typing
speed on your resume).

Questions about the position(s)? Call Don Neubacher, Superintendent, at
(209) 372-0301 regarding the Administrative Support Assistant (OA); call Ed
Walls, Chief of Facilities Management, at (209) 379-1063 regarding the
Secretary (OA), GS-0318-06/07. Questions about how to apply, call Irma
Keheley at (209) 379-1814. (I. Keheley - 5/28/10)
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Admin. Office Closure: All Admin. Offices will be closed from 8:30-10 am
today, June 3, for an all division staff meeting. Please note: the IT Help
Desk will be open by phone. (P. Lendvay-Humphrey - 5/28/10)
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Tioga Bike Access: The Tioga road is open to bicycles from the east and the
west sides but not through Olmsted avalanche zone. It is clearly posted
with no bicycle signs indicating the closure. Cyclists should keep in mind
that rock fall due to the snow melting is a good possibility and also that
equipment and administrative vehicles are on the road. (S. Sprouse -
6/3/10)
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YARTS - The YARTS stop at The Ahwahnee hotel is back in service again. (W.
Malone - 6/2/10)
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TIOGA ROAD - ADMINISTRATIVE ACCESS
Beginning yesterday, Wednesday, June 2, 2010, Tioga Road opened for
travel to all essential avalanche trained administrative traffic between
Crane Flat and Tioga Pass. There is currently 1 signed, mandatory radio
call through zone at Olmsted Point. All personnel entering the designated
mandatory radio call through zone will contact another vehicle in their
convoy (partner vehicle) prior to and when exiting the mandatory radio call
through zone.
All authorized, avalanche trained, personnel entering the gate at Walker
Party will contact the access coordinator or their designee. Ed Appling
(radio #360) or his designee will be the access coordinator Monday thru
Wednesday. Bob Brantley (radio #261) or his designee will be the access
coordinator Thursday thru Saturday. For Sunday, the access coordinator
will be designated by the Tuolumne Subdistrict Ranger, Sally Sprouse (radio
# Tango 1). Park dispatch will be informed of who is the designated access
coordinator each day. Any authorized personnel should call in to the access
coordinator by 8:00 AM from the point at which the road is gated on the
west end and also when exiting the road at the gate on the west end.

Conditions may change. All employees passing through any Mandatory Radio
Call Through Zone must monitor their radio all day and be prepared to leave
the Tioga Road corridor if conditions change. All drivers should also
expect to encounter bicycle traffic as the road is currently open to
cyclists from Walker Party to Olmsted. Drivers should be aware of rocks
which continuously slide onto the roadway during the melt. Blasting
activity will be occurring at Olmsted on Wednesday June 2. The avalanche
team will reassess Olmsted on Thursday to determine if radio call through
is still necessary. When Olmsted drops to a "no stopping zone", I will
consult with roads personnel and advise the superintendent on possible
dates the road could open to the public. At that point, a press release
will go out through the PIO. Updates on opening Tuolumne and the Tioga road
are available at http://sharepoint.yose.nps.gov/prot/Ops/2010/default.aspx.
(S. Sprouse - 6/2/10)
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Construction Update:
Wawona Road Rehabilitation (June 1 - November 2010)
**June 3 locations of work: Today, contractors are working in the area from
the Wawona Tunnel to Bridalveil Fall, on removing the telecommunications
line. In addition, delays may be longer along the Glacier Point Road and at
Chinquapin due to striping operations.

Crews will be working at multiple locations along the Wawona Road with the
following delays Sunday night 11:00 pm through Friday night at 4:30 pm:
For daily traffic control updates, call the park information line at (209)
372-0200 (then press 1, and 1 again).

Glacier Point Road Rehabilitation (June 1 - 11, 2010) - CORRECTION (6/2)
Crews will be working at multiple locations along the Glacier Point Road as
well as on the Wawona Road at the Chinquapin Intersection with the
following delays Monday morning 6:00 am through Friday night at 4:30 pm.
Weather permitting, construction is anticipated to be completed by June
11th.

6:00 AM to 7:30 AM 15-Minute Delays {These delays refer only to the
Glacier Point - Wawona Road Intersection/Chinquapin}
7:30 AM to 3:30 AM 30-Minute Delays
3:30 PM to 4:30 PM 15-Minute Delays {These delays refer only to the
Glacier Point - Wawona Road Intersection/Chinquapin}
4:30 PM to 11:00 PM 30-Minute Delays

Tioga Road Pavement Borings(June 7 - July 1, 2010) [Weather and conditions
permitting]
Beginning June 7 crews will be completing pavement borings on the Tioga
Road between Crane Flat and Tuolumne Campground with up to 15-minute
traffic delays, Monday through Friday with no weekend delays. This work is
being conducted in preparation for a future rehabilitation project.

For all road construction information and updates, visit the park's
website: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/roadwork.htm

Integrated Utility Master Plan [IUMP] (ongoing)
Mozingo Construction will continue work at the new Ahwahnee Hotel sewer
lift station.

Wawona Tunnel
Candelaria Construction will continue work on the Wawona Tunnel fire alarm
and new phone systems.

Tecoya Housing
Allison Sierra will continue with the replacement of old failing utilities
(water, power, sewer) in the Lower Tecoya area. (M. Ortiz - 6/2/10)

Park and Partner News
Attention volunteer supervisors! We have updated all of our volunteer forms
for 2010 and have made them available on sharepoint:
http://sharepoint.yose.nps.gov/brm/vip/Volunteer%20Forms/Forms/AllItems.aspx
. There you'll find copies of updated policies and a Volunteer Handbook
to give to your incoming volunteers. We also have an abundance of volunteer
welcome goodies and recognition items... pins, first aid kits, bandanas
etc. Please call the VIP office if you would like recognition items for
your volunteers or if you have any questions regarding the new paperwork or
policies. 379-1850. (L. Prell - 6/3/10)
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Attention river watchers! The River Forecast Center of the National Weather
Service produces a daily forecast of river stage at Pohono Bridge. This
forecast is updated daily, and can be viewed at:
http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/graphicalRVF.php?id=POHC1 (J. Meyer - 6/2/10)
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The General Services Administration
will be conducting an internet auction of Yosemite personal property
consisting of one Melroe Bobcat. For further information regarding the
sale item or to register to bid, visit the website gsaauctions.gov. Sale
number 91QSI10188 lot 318. The sale started on May 28, 2010 and closes
June 4, 2010. An appointment must be made with Don Ramsey (379-1024) prior
to inspection, no exceptions (serious bidders only). Park employees must
view the items and bid on their own time. Park employees are allowed to
participate in the sale, with the exception of any employee with unfair
(nonpublic) detailed knowledge or prior use of an item offered for sale.
Such employees are prohibited from bidding on that item, and the
prohibition includes their immediate family as well. (D. Ramsey - 6/2/10)
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Yosemite Fund Proposals
The time has come for this year's cycle of The Yosemite Fund's grant
proposal process!
As you know, the Yosemite Association and The Yosemite Fund have merged.
By combining the best elements of both organizations and 100 years of
experience, the new merged organization will do more than ever to protect
Yosemite and inspire enduring connections for current and future
generations. During this transition year, the process and format of the
forms will be the same as in the past. With regards to this process, until
the merged organization's new identity has been launched, we'll still be
referring to The Yosemite Fund.

The park has benefitted enormously from our partnerships with YA and YF.
The Yosemite Fund has donated over $40 million to Yosemite since 1988.
This process is the mechanism by which Yosemite National Park requests
funding from The Fund and its donors to further the park's mission and
accomplish important work for which other funding sources may not be
available. The grants for approved proposals from this process will go
into effect in January 2011.

Anyone affiliated with Yosemite, including non-NPS employees such as a
concessioner, can submit a proposal, although it must be submitted through
a Division Chief. The first deadline is several weeks away to allow for
collaboration in developing proposals. Notifying and working with the
appropriate division chief well in advance of the deadline is strongly
encouraged.

Four files are necessary to guide you in this process. The first is a
timeline and explanation of the steps from here.

The next is a copy of The Fund's "Guidelines for Project Selection." These
newly revised guidelines and policies have two purposes: to assist park
employees in preparing Fund project proposals, and to assist The Fund's
Project Review Committee in assessing those proposals for recommendation to
the Board of Trustees for funding. Please utilize these guidelines when
writing your proposals as it will certainly make them stronger.

The last two files are the proposal and budget forms, which need to be
fully completed for each proposal. The forms are very similar to last
year. Please remember if you are submitting a multi-year proposal the
budget form must have a completed tab for each year. Please utilize the
"sum" function built into the spreadsheets to tabulate totals rather than
adding the numbers yourself and typing the total in. To check a box on the
Word form, right-click the box, select Properties, and select "checked."
If graphics or maps are available, it is recommended you include them with
the proposal - such visuals are helpful to the Project Review Committee in
evaluating the proposals. Lastly, be sure to save a copy of both files
locally prior to submitting them to your division chief. Last year, some
forms had to be re-typed because only hard copies were retained.

Proposals are due to Division Chiefs by July 6th, 2010.

To get the aforementioned files, or if you have any questions, please
contact me at Jennifer_Treutelaar@nps.gov. I can also be reached at (510)
817-1345 through June 11th and (209) 372-0238 after that.

Two last notes:
Schuyler Greenleaf and I will be hosting a Proposal Writing Tutorial in the
near future and notice will be sent out shortly with the date and location.
The Yosemite Fund and Yosemite Association will celebrate their merger on
Friday, June 4 at 10:45 am at the Visitor's Center in Yosemite Valley. All
are welcome to attend. (J. Treutelaar - 6/2/10)
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Property Management is again accepting government property for disposition
beginning Monday, June 7, 2010. An appointment with Don Ramsey (379-1024)
must be made prior to bringing any government property to the warehouse.
(D. Ramsey - 6/2/10)

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Merged Nonprofits Announce New Organization
The Yosemite Association and Yosemite Fund plan to launch our new
organization tomorrow, on Friday, June 4, at 10:45 am at the Visitor's
Center in Yosemite Valley. By combining our best elements and 100 years of
experience, we can do more than ever to protect Yosemite and inspire
enduring connections for current and future generations. We look forward to
celebrating this exciting moment with our partners and the Yosemite
community.

Please come join us for a celebration of our new organization.
When: Friday, June 4, 2010 – 10:45am
Where: Yosemite Valley Visitor Center (N. Morrison - 6/1/10)

Acting Designations
Sue Beatty (379-3290) will be acting Branch Chief for Vegetation and
Ecological Restoration June 3. (J. Weaser - 6/3/10)
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Historical Landscape Architect Daniel Schaible (379-1295) will be acting
Branch Chief for History, Architecture & Landscapes on Thursday, June 3 &
Friday, June 4, 2010. (D. Humphrey - 6/3/10)
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Until further notice, Brenna Lissoway (379-1283) will be the Acting Park
Archivist . If you have need to access the Archives, or have archive
related questions, you can also try calling at 379-1281 or 379-1104. (J.
Bayless - 6/3/10)
****************************************************
Jana Friesen McCabe (372-0288) will be the Acting Branch Chief of Public
Outreach and Engagement from June 2 - 11, 2010. (D. Sisson - 6/2/10)
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Until further notice, Lorene Schafer (379-1873) will be the Acting Chief
for Contracting and Procurement . If you have contracting related
questions and don't already have a point of contact, please call Helli
Tucker at 379-1368. Please continue to route purchase request (PR)
packages to Lorene for Acquisition Approval in IDEAS.
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Until further notice, Ed Dunlavey will be the acting Operations Branch
Chief and Deputy Chief Ranger.
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Until further notice, Cindy Whitten will be the acting Human Resources
Officer - 209/379-1878.

Employee News
Volunteer Opportunity: Have you ever wanted to staff a fire lookout tower?
Miami Mountain Fire Lookout, half way between Mariposa and Oakhurst on Hwy
49, is looking for volunteers to staff the tower a day or two at a time.
You can sign up at their website;
http://www.fire-lookouts.org/cali/miami_mtn/ For more information contact
David Vorous, 372-0207. (D. Vorous - 6/1/10)
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Weekend Employment Opportunity: Yosemite Association/Yosemite Fund in El
Portal is seeking temporary outreach workers for the weekend of June 5-6.
Work will involve interacting with the public outdoors, and will require
moderate physical activity. Employment is 6 hours per day (8:00 a.m. –
2:00 p.m.) at $11/hour. Contact John at 379-2646, x. 11 or
jfriedrich@yosemite.org (J. Friedrich - 6/1/10)

Community News
John Muir Hwy. Dedication: To honor the great preservationist John Muir,
Tuolumne and Mariposa Counties’ Boards of Supervisors have joined together
and designated Highway J132 from Coulterville to Highway 120 as the John
Muir Highway, a route he traveled on his first journey to Yosemite.

A formal dedication will take place on Saturday, June 5, 2010 at the
Coulterville Park, in Coulterville. The ceremony, which begins at 11:00
a.m., will feature Bill Hanna, great grandson of John Muir as well as a
special appearance by Lee Stetson, impressionist who portrays John Muir, as
seen in Ken Burn’s National Parks series on PBS. VIP speakers also include
Yosemite National Park staff. (M. Gendron - 6/3/10)
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Earthfest Event at Mountain Sage: Here is the link to our website (
http://www.mtnsage.com/events/earth_fest.html) noting the free workshops
and list of vendors participating at Sierra Earthfest at Mountain Sage
Nursery all day this Saturday, June 5th from 9am-7pm. Some highlights
include a larger artisan vendor section, 2 specialized yoga classes,
workshops ranging on the secret world of bird song all the way to learning
about locally grown beef. Come by the educational booths to learn about
tapping into rainwater from your roof tops or learn how to put natural clay
into action in your garden. Top off the day with some of the best
toe-tapping blues of San Francisco with highly acclaimed bay area
funk/blues band Tracorum and Mark Twain himself giving a performance on our
quaint stage. Check the website for further details, or contact us at
info@mtnsage.com. And remember, this day is FREE, just for you. Hope to
see you then! (R. Hirsch - 6/2/10)
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Coulterville/Don Pedro: June 5 starting at 5 PM - join us at the Don Pedro
Lumber Cafe to hear Tommy Warren, solo singer and country, jazz and rock
sax player from the Central Valley. No cover. As always great steaks,
jumbo burgers, Mexican cuisine beer and wine and more. For more
information and driving directions call Steve or Cyndi 209 852 0146. (M.
Tanner - 6/3/10)
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Groveland this weekend
6/5 Monthly Flea Market hosted by the Yosemite Chamber of Commerce at Upper
Mary Laveroni Community Park. $10 to sell www.Groveland.org, Laurie
209-962-0323 This monthly institution expands this year to 6 dates, the
first Saturday of every month April-September. Find a new treasure or sell
an old relic.
6/5 Earth Festival at Mountain Sage. Oodles of folks gather at Mountain
Sage to enjoy the day, the world and our place in it. Music, farmers
market, vendors, workshops and a whole bunch more. Very Earthy.
6/5 John Muir Festival & Wild Adventures of John Muir a Musical Play. From
Coulterville to Groveland Via J132 (John Muir Hwy) Free-$30
www.johnmuirhighway.net Jackie 209-962-0429 A miles long celebration of
John Muir's achievements recognized by the renaming of J132 to John Muir
Highway. An event packed day and evening with the play at Big Creek Meadow
Ranch.
6/5 Mark Twain & Bret Harte visit Coulterville Old School House and IOOF
$15 performance 209-878-3015 Enjoy a living history performance by these
two old west great!
6/5 Dyna-Mo at the Grill at Pine Mountain Lake The Grill at Pine Mountain
Lake Bambi/Jay 209-962-8638 Live dance music every Saturday night at the
Club, this is really becoming a place to "hang out" after dinner in
Groveland!
6/6 Where the Hell is Groveland Car Show at Mary Laveroni Community Park
www.Groveland.org Jackie 209-962-0429. This annual car show brings in over
150 unique and antique cars to our little park. The all day event includes
raffles, food, auctions and is a fund raiser for Groveland area schools.
Car buffs will love this one! Additional events and details online from
www.HotelCharlotte.com/events.html
(Hotel Charlotte - 6/3/10)