Superintendent’s Message Welcome! I am so grateful to have you here to help caretake Yosemite during these unprecedented circumstances. Thank you for your commitment to public service and public land during this challenging time. On behalf of the leadership team, we are deeply honored to have you as part of our world-class team. While not new to the park, I began here as the Acting Superintendent this past January. I’ve spent my career in the park service and most recently came from Point Reyes National Seashore where I’ve been superintendent since 2010. I have always been inspired at every opportunity to work with Yosemite’s passionate and talented staff and my experience since January has only underscored this sentiment. My vision for Yosemite in Summer 2020 is first and foremost to ensure the safety of our staff and visitors. Our physical and mental health are Commented [KN1]: I would say here something like, “I critical to our success as a park. We live closely with each other and with the dynamic natural landscape, both of have been impressed by the speak up culture here at which require us to be uniquely aware and resilient. I fully encourage each and every one of you to take Yosemite. If you ever feel unsafe in the task you are given, advantage of the support services available to you as an employee with the understanding that daily peer support please be sure to speak up and let your supervisor know.” is the most effective strategy benefitting us at individual and organizational levels. I’m confident that our inclusive and safety-oriented park culture in combination with our therapeutic natural surroundings will bring us all the solace and healing we need. The extended park closure this spring affected each of us in different ways and I commend everyone for their unwavering efforts to cope with the shifting sands. Nearly all staff have stepped out of their regular roles to assist in managing the COVID-19 incident on some level. In addition to the disruption to on-site operations, there were project delays and diminished revenue that has shuffled the park’s priorities. As far as summer operations, the seasonal workforce has been reduced to accommodate safe housing and working conditions. As a result, some programs and projects will not happen as planned. For the foreseeable future, employees who can telework are encouraged to continue teleworking. Field operations will implement required measures ad described in the COVID employee readiness and cleaning and disinfecting documents. Despite the changes and continued uncertainty, we will best serve this park by prioritizing what we can do and honing our skills to do it with excellence. Our professionalism as federal employees in a high-profile national park has never been more important. With divisive tensions running high, we must consider the consequences of mixing our professional roles and political views on and off duty. If you are approached by the media to provide a statement as a park employee, please direct them to Scott Gediman in the Office of Public Affairs. Please take personal responsibility to fact check rumors before sharing them. Finally, the unresolved legacy of systemic racial injustice and violence is unfolding in and around us. As professionals and stewards of our nation’s stories and values, we MUST be leaders holding ourselves to the highest standards of civil behavior. Critical projects and developments this year include the following: o The Pacific Fisher has been listed on the Endangered Species List o Mission 66 properties have been determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places o Duty-time wellness pilot program began in March, talk to your supervisor for details o Bridalveil Fall Parking Lot and Trail Rehabilitation o Camp 4 Campground Expansion o Village Parking Lot Shuttle Shelter and Interpretive Plaza o Tioga Road Rehabilitation and Parking o Big Oak Flat Road Rehabilitation o Curry Village Pavilion Remodel o Wawona Wastewater Treatment Rehabilitation and Wawona Campground Sewer Living in Yosemite Park Communication Alerts: https://go.nps.gov/alert Park General Info: Employee Hotline: https://local.nixle.com/register/ 209-379-0200 209-379-1186 Yosemite Daily Report Inside NPS Communication Roundtable Meeting notes emailed weekly Yosemite National Park Employees YOScommunity.com Yosemite Incident Feed (Facebook) (Facebook) Yosemite Fire and Aviation (Facebook) Community Bulletin Boards Yosemite Exchange System (Facebook) Swap Mariposa (Facebook) Mountain Swap (Facebook) Recreation Camping Wilderness Travel Yosemite Hospitality Recreation Balanced Rock Pools - El Portal County Pool Wellness Centers – Online Yoga and Wellness Classes EP Warehouse, YV Curry Village, Wawona Public Transit and Ride Sharing YARTS Yosemite Rideshare (Facebook) Ask your supervisor to get a park employee sticker for your vehicle Cell Coverage YV – Verizon/AT&T EP – Verizon Wawona – Verizon Hodgdon and Tuolumne – very spotty regardless of carrier US Mail - General Delivery or rent a PO Box in YV, EP, Tuolumne, Wawona Libraries (free internet) EP - School YV Girls Club Wawona – Bassett Memorial Groveland Lee Vining Park ATMs EP – YV - Wawona – EP Market Yosemite Lodge Market View Lodge Degnan’s Village Store Ahwahnee Hotel Curry Village Market Religious Services Yosemite Valley Chapel Medical Services Yosemite Valley Medical Clinic Concession Operations – • Lodging - Ahwahnee Hotel and Yosemite Lodge will honor reservations at full capacity when the park reopens. Curry Village will be reduced to half of its normal capacity. Housekeeping Camp, White Wolf, Wawona Hotel, Tuolumne Lodge and the High Sierra Camps will remain closed. • Recreation and Transportation - Bike rentals and rafting will be available. Emergency vehicles and the Village Garage will be open. The Ahwahnee Pool will be available to hotel guests only. Valley and interpretive tours will remain closed. The Curry Village and Yosemite Lodge Pools will be closed. Bus and shuttle services have been discontinued for the foreseeable future. • Retail – Most stores will be operational with social distance restrictions and some with limited hours. Crane Flat and Tuolumne Gift, Grill, and Post Office retail will remain closed. • Dining - Basecamp, Starbucks, Yosemite Lodge Mountain Room Bar, Degnan’s Deli, Village Grill, Curry Village Meadow Grill, and Curry Food Trucks will be open. The Ahwahnee Dining Room will be available to guests of the hotel. Yosemite Lodge Mountain Room, Degnan’s Loft, Curry Pavilion, and Tuolumne Grill will remain closed. Park Partner Operations – • YARTS summer routes to Fresno Hwy 41, Sonora Hwy 120 and Mammoth Lakes Hwy 395/120 routes have been cancelled for the summer. The Merced Hwy 140 route is the only service being operated, on a limited schedule at this time. • NatureBridge has cancelled all summer programs. • Yosemite Conservancy programs have been cancelled through the end of June and all volunteer work programs have been cancelled through the summer. • Yosemite Schools have been engaged in distance learning mid-March and have yet to determine fall operations. • YNP Child Care Center has reopened with limited capacity to address required safety measures. Park Access There will be four color-coded passes that will be issued to (and displayed in) each vehicle upon arrival. This documents why and for how long a vehicle is allowed into the park. This system will begin June 5 and extend during the full park opening. The categories are: • Day-use visitors (this includes Half Dome permit holders) • Overnight visitors (those staying in vacation rentals, Yosemite West, park campgrounds, park lodging, and wilderness permit holders) • Administrative users (researchers, contractors, guests of residents, etc.) • Pass-through program (residents of certain local ZIP Codes who can enter without a fee or reservation to pass through the park in a limited amount of time) • Employee stickers will get any Yosemite employee entry into the park for recreational purposes. Wilderness Safety On and Off the Clock • Designate multiple reliable emergency contacts: choose at least one local (a roommate or co-worker) and at least one person outside of Yosemite. Give your contacts multiple ways to reach you (cell number, email, social media) Tell them WHERE you are going and WHEN you plan to be back. • Do not count on your cell phone—service is spotty and unreliable. • Evaluate the risks, consider your own abilities and the worst possible outcome, then take steps to mitigate those risks (for example, find a bridge instead of fording a swift-flowing creek). • Prepare now for emergencies (wildfire, flood, rockfall, road closure) • Sign up for emergency alerts: o Text your LOCAL zip code to 888777 o Or go to https://local.nixle.com/register/ • Talk to your supervisor now about emergency preparedness. Know how to reach them even on days off. Living with Bears • REMOVE ALL ATTRACTANTS AROUND YOUR HOME –Recycling, pet food, bird feeders, compost piles containing kitchen scraps, and dirty BBQ grills are all attractants. • REMOVE ALL ATTRACTANTS FROM YOUR VEHICLE – An attractant is anything with calories or a potential scent. This includes food, drinks, trash, recycling, chap stick, gum. • SECURE YOUR HOME WHEN YOU ARE NOT IN IT – When you are at work or on vacation, make sure all windows and doors are closed and securely latched. • WHEN YOU ARE ASLEEP, CLOSE THE WINDOWS IN UNOCCUPIED ROOMS – A bear can enter a kitchen and obtain food faster than you can crawl out of bed to chase it away. • CLIP DUMPSTERS – Put all food trash in animal–resistant dumpsters and clip the dumpster so bears cannot get inside. Only non-food items should be placed in open top dumpsters. • GIVE WILDLIFE SPACE – Never approach a bear or other wild animal. You must be at least 50 yards from a bear. Approaching a bear for a picture can put you and the bear in danger. • REPORT BEAR SIGHTINGS AND INCIDENTS – We can’t help with bears we don’t hear about.