Daily Report - Yosemite National Park Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
WEATHER
Yosemite Valley
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 56.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 54.
Thursday: Rain/snow showers likely. Snow level 4100 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
El Portal
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 75.
Thursday: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 53. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Wawona
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62.
Thursday: Rain/snow showers likely. Snow level 4000 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
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CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
Foresta Road Closed Until Further Notice Between Barium Mine Road and Old El Portal
Due to safety concerns associated with the recent slide on the Foresta Road, it is now closed to all vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the intersection of the Barium Mine Road and Old El Portal. The road will remain closed until further notice. FHWA engineers will be onsite next week to assess the slide and the road stability. Middle Road will remain open between the intersection of the Foresta Road and CA State Highway 140 (Access to and from Middle Road will be limited to CA St. Hwy. 140). As further information becomes available, it will be updated in the Daily Report. If you have questions or concerns please contact Michael Pieper at (209) 379-1263 or (209) 742-8593. (M. Pieper - 3/30)
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Traffic Delays on the El Portal Road
Traffic delays are scheduled to begin next week on the El Portal Road to stabilize a rock slide area near Dog Rock (Approx. 0.25 miles east of the western park entrance). The contractor is scheduled to begin work next Monday, April 4, 2011 with up to 30-minute delays (Except during the commuter hours of 6:30 and 8:30 AM in the mornings and 4:00 to 6:00 PM in the afternoon, when there will be a maximum of 15 minute delays.) They are planning to work from sun-up to sun-down, Monday thru Friday. The contractor will have one lane traffic control with flaggers. This project includes rock scaling and bolting to help stabilize an area that slid during the December 30, 2010 storm and again during last weeks storm event. There may be less delays the first day as they mobilize onsite. The current schedule is to have the work completed in a few weeks and prior to Easter. (M. Pieper - 3/29)
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PARK AND PARK PARTNER NEWS
New Hetchy Hetchy Hours
The Hetch Hetchy day use hours are now 7am to 8pm. (C. Flores - 4/5)
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Crane Flat Store Opening
The Crane Flat Store will open for the season on Friday, April 8th. Store hours are 9am - 5pm daily, gas is available 24 hours a day with pay at the pump. (W. Kearns - 4/5)
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Yosemite Forum: Surveying Macrofungi - Tuesday, April 12
From Noon to 1:00 p.m.in the Yosemite Valley Auditorium, join Dr. Thomas Bruns, UC Berkeley Professor, presenting “Surveying the Macrofungi of Yosemite: Challenges, Progress, and the Way Forward.” Mushrooms and other macrofungi are an important, abundant, species rich, but poorly known part of Yosemite's biota. The ephemeral nature of mushrooms, their highly seasonal occurrence, and the limited number of mushroom taxonomists makes surveying the park's large mycoflora difficult. Last year a consortium of professional and amateur taxonomist started to survey the mycofungi of Yosemite National Park. Dr. Bruns will focus on their progress and the strategies they are adapting to the park's unique challenges. For more information about Yosemite Forums, please visit http://www.nps.gov/yose/
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EMPLOYEE NEWS
New Faces in the Superintendent's Office
You will be seeing a couple of changes in the Office of the Superintendent. You may already be aware that Alan Kunz has detailed into our office as our administrative support assistant. He's doing a fine job, and we are very happy he's here. The next change will come on Monday, April 4, when we welcome Kristen Kosick on a detail into the Executive Assistant position while Cyndi is on a 120-day detail in Human Resources. Kristen comes to us from the office of Don Hellman, AD for Legislative Affairs in WASO. We're very excited that she will be joining our team. If you have the opportunity, please stop by, introduce yourself and help us welcome Kristen to Yosemite. (C. Mattiuzzi - 4/4)
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Weekly Safety Topic
This week you have an opportunity to choose a topic that is appropriate to your employees' specific needs. Please conduct a walk through of you office space or shop, and be sure to put away tools and equipment, as well as check all electrical outlets and surge protectors that may have been used during last week's storm event. Happy Spring! (C. Ronay - 4/4)
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ACTING DESIGNATIONS
Shawn Zumbrunnen will be acting Backcountry Utilities Supervisor on April 5.
Ryan Leahy will be acting Chief of Wildlife Management on Tuesday, April 5th and Wednesday, April 6th.
Gus Smith will be acting Chief of Fire and Aviation Apr 4th and 5th.
Jay Shields
will be Acting Mather District Ranger until further notice.
Brenna Lissoway (379-1283) will be the Acting Park Archivist while Paul Rogers is on a detail as the Acting Regional Archivist (PWR). 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
Housing Needed: Homeless but Hopeful
Once again this responsible administrative assistant finds herself faced with living out of a truck! My 7 lb, well behaved, practically mute dog and I are looking for a small, clean place to call home. You can contact me at haleybercot@gmail.com. (H. Bercot - 4/5)
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6th Street Cinema
Located upstairs in the historic Old Masonic Lodge on 6th Street in downtown Mariposa ( www.sixthstreetcinema.org ). Entrance is $7 per film for non-members; non-member students pay $5. Monthly membership is $12 allowing film entry for $3 each. Recorded Information: (209) 966-1333. Staff: (209) 742-6666. This week, be part of the official rebirth of the passion for science in Mariposa: April 8-9, (Friday, Saturday) 7:30 p.m.: "Roving Mars," with discussion by JPL/NASA Mar's Rover Deputy Team Chief Nagin Cox. Not rated, 40 min. plus discussion; All ages...kids as young as 6 are enthralled. (T. Arfsten - 4/4)
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Easter Egg Hunt
Save the Date! Yosemite Rotary invites you to hop on over to the Yosemite Valley School for a fun-tastic Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday, April 24th at 11am. (T. Marshall - 4/4)
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Yosemite Institute’s Yosemite is Our Backyard
For ages 7-11 and 12-15. Day hikes will begin each day at 8:45 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. plus a cookout and campfire at Crane Flat for the 7-11 year olds and an overnight at the historic Crane Flat campus for the 12-15 year olds! Cost: $180.00, Dates: June 13-17, 2011. *To keep the cost of the program as low as we can, one volunteer parent chaperone is needed for each hiking group each day, plus one to spend the night at Crane Flat with the older student group. There is no cost for chaperones. Adults who chaperone 2-5 days can bring one child at 1/2 price for more information & registration forms, call Yosemite Institute at 209-379-9511. (A. Hutchings - 4/4)
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The Art of Writing for Children Class
Once more, local children’s book author Michael Elsohn Ross is presenting a writing class in El Portal. During the four evening sessions of this course you’ll discover the wide variety of styles and formats of current books, develop writing skills, get an inside look at publishing and have a chance to play with your writing. This entertaining and informative class for anyone with a love of children's literature and an interest in writing or illustrating books is offered through the Mariposa Arts Council. Michael Elsohn Ross is the award-winning author of over 40 books for young people including his young adult biography, Salvador Dali and the Surrealists. Snug as a Bug is a Bank Street College, Best Book of the Year, while Cricketology, a Scientific American Young Reader's award winner is one of his eight books in the popular Backyard Buddies series. His work as a naturalist and environmental educator in Yosemite National Park has inspired him to write books that invite kids to wonder and explore. He has taught writing workshops at several California State University Campuses and the University of Hawaii.
When: 6:30-8:00 PM Monday April 25, May 2, 9, and 16th. Space is limited.
Where: El Portal Library
Fee: $47, Call the Mariposa County Arts Council at 966-3155 to register and with a credit card or check. (M. Ross - 4/4)
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