3^IN REfLY REFER TO:

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United States Department of the InteriorNATIONAL PARK SERVICE

P.O. Box 577

Yosemite National Park, California 95389

TAKEPRIDE INAMERICA

A2621 (WR-RH) ftPR 2A •50Or

Memorandum

To: Regional Director, Western Region

From: Superintendent, Yosemite

Subject: Superintendent's Annual Report

Enclosed is Yosemite's Annual Report for 1994.

/$/ B. J. Griffin

B.J. Griffin

Enclosure

Yosemite National Park

Superintendent's

Annual Report

1994

Table of Contents

Highlights 1

Division of Administration 5

Division of Concessions Management 11

Division of Interpretation 15

Division of Maintenance 33

Division of Visitor Protection 46

Division of Resources Management 48

Safety Office 59

SUPERINTENDENT'S ANNUAL REPORTYOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

1994

HIGHLIGHTSJanuary

♦ January 6 - Superintendent Mike Finley met with Congressman Doolittle (R-Rocklin), Senator Tim Leslie (R-Roseville), Assemblyman David Knowles (R-Placerville), District 3 Supervisor Tim Alpers, Mammoth Lakes Mayor DavidWatson, Mammoth Mountain Inn Manager Tom Smith, and CalTrans officialsin Sacramento to discuss the opening of the Tioga Road.

♦ January 10 - Four day search began for Scott Kent, 23, of Sacramento. Initialevidence led the NPS to believe he was in the park. He later called his familyon February 16 and told them he was okay. Search cost the park approximately$60,000.

♦ January 31 - The park received $151,000 from the first Yosemite License Plateinstallment. A press conference was held in Sacramento to commemorate theevent. The State received $240,000.

March

♦ March 14 - Superintendent Finley took a two month detail as AssociateDirector for Operations in WASO.

♦ March 21 - The decision was made to allow rafting, but with specific time andlocation restrictions.

♦ March 26 - The body of Keita Chijiwa, 21, a Japanese National, was found justoff the Four-Mile Trail. He had been missing since early March.

♦ March 29 - Gregory Sholders, 19, Greeley, Colorado, drowned in the MercedRiver below the Vernal Fall foot bridge.

April

♦ April 4-5 - Secretary Bruce Babbitt visited the park.

♦ April 18 - Plowing began along the Tioga Road. Mono County started plowsfrom the east into the park and NPS crews began plowing from the west. NPScrews were able to plow as far as White Wolf on the first day. Twelve inches ofsnow was reported in Tuolumne.

♦ April 20 - NPS and Mono County plow crews met at Tenaya Lake on the Tioga Road.

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♦ April 25 - A press conference marking the distribution of the first YosemiteLicense Plates was held in Sacramento. Attendees were: Doug Wheeler, DMVrepresentatives, Mike Finley and Keith Schiller. An estimated $600,000 hadbeen received from the program to date.

May

♦ May 9 - "CBS This Morning" shot a 2-hour show with Harry Smith and PaulaZahn from the Ahwahnee Hotel - all stories focused on the park.

♦ May 11 - The Half Dome cables were put up.

♦ May 13 - Glacier Point Road opened.

♦ May 17 - A slide below Arch Rock closed Highway 140 for several hours.

♦ May 21 - The body of Gordon Douglas Gasnoda, 34, from Concord, Californiawas discovered at the base of Ribbon Fall. The cause and extent of the fallremain unknown.

♦ May 23 - WASO announced that Mike Finley was selected as the newSuperintendent of Yellowstone. He assumed the new post in October.

♦ May 25 - Tioga Road opened for the season.

♦ May 25 - A joint press conference with Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parkwas held at Chaffee Zoo in Fresno. The event promoted the bear resistant foodcanisters. It was a huge success with significant media coverage.

♦ May 27 - A cautionary flyer about mountain lions was distributed to all visitorsentering the park over the Memorial Day weekend. Reports indicated thatthree lions had been seen in the Valley during the previous week.

♦ May 31 - Tioga Road was closed from midnight to 7 a.m. due to a rock slide onthe east side and snow along the road.

June

♦ June 3-5 - Sir Edmond Hillary visited the park for the first time.

♦ June 11 - Wawona rangers reported four deer poached in the area. Severalindividuals were cited into court.

♦ June 13 - Three climbers were cited into court for using motorized bolting on ElCapitan.

July

♦ July 4 - Tioga Road was closed from approximately 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. due to asingle car accident which killed three people near Tamarack Flat Campground.

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August

♦ August 12 - The Horizon Fire, a PNF lightening strike fire which started May31 (approximately 1.5 miles south of Glacier Point), took a major run. Itcrossed the Illilouette Creek causing a precautionary evacuation ofapproximately 200 backpackers and hikers from Little Yosemite Valley andsurrounding areas. The fire was 100% contained on August 15.

♦ August 17 - Investigators and archeologists flew into Stubblefield Canyon to aplane crash site reported August 7 by trail workers. Human remains werefound. The crash was reported to have occurred in 1962.

♦ August 18 - During a meeting with CalTrans, PG&E, NPS, and CaliforniaEnergy Commission to discuss alternative fuel vehicles for the park, PG&Epresented a $95,000 check to the NPS to help purchase electric buses.

♦ August 20 - A memorial service was held in Lee Vining for Ferdinand Castillo,a long-time Tioga Pass ranger. His ashes were scattered at the pass.

♦ August 27 - Park entrance "Free Day" in honor of the NPS's 78th birthday.

♦ August 27 - September 3 - Tom Collier, Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt'sChief of Staff, visited the park.

September

♦ September 8-10 - Superintendent Finley hosted a Yosemite Fund function atMay Lake. Attendees were: Deputy Director John Reynolds; Secretary, TheResources Agency of California Doug Wheeler; Delaware North executives;Ambassador Bill Lane; Chevron and Texaco executives; and Transamerica andWells Fargo Bank executives.

♦ September 12 - Tioga Road closed in Lee Vining due to snow, remaining closedthrough the night and following day. The road reopened September 14.

♦ September 16-21 - Nat Reed and his wife visited the park.

October

♦ October 4 - Tioga Road closed due to snow - 16 inches reported at TuolumneMeadows. The road reopened on October 6.

♦ October 4 - Glacier Point Road closed due to snow. It reopened October 7.

♦ October 4 - A rockslide below Arch Rock on Highway 140 temporarily delayedtraffic on that road.

♦ October 5 - Thirteen people were rescued from El Capitan after being caughtoff guard in a cold storm. There were no major injuries.

♦ October 6-10 - Mike Finley's "Agenda 95" group visited the park.

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♦ October 11 - Superintendent decided to close the Ostrander Ski Hut due tofecal coliform in the lake.

♦ October 14 - The oldest ranger in the NPS, Carl Sharsmith, died in San Jose atthe age of 91. Carl, who worked seasonally in Yosemite since 1930, completedthe 1994 summer season in Tuolumne.

November

♦ November 1 - Senator Barbara Boxer met with Superintendent Finley todiscuss park issues. Local business owners and environmentalists were invitedto a round table discussion with the Senator.

♦ November 2 - Tioga Road closed due to snow. Road conditions were assessed ona daily basis.

♦ November 3 - Glacier Point Road closed for the season.

♦ November 7 - Kevin Cann, Chief of Maintenance, assumed ActingSuperintendent duties until Mike Finley's replacement came on-board.

♦ November 7 - B.J. Griffin was named new Superintendent for Yosemite.

♦ November 10 - Tioga Road officially closed for the season.

♦ November 28 - Mariposa Grove Road closed for the season due to deterioratingcondition of the road.

December

♦ December 1 - The decision was made to close Badger Pass Ski Area onweekdays between December 5 and 16.

♦ December 12 - Rockslides on Northside Drive at Three Brothers caused theclosure of one lane on Northside Drive. Traffic was convoyed around the slide.

♦ December 31 - The annual visitation for 1994 was: 4,105,755.

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DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT

Branch of Fiscal Management

The end of FY94 showed the park completed the fiscal year within its budget.

The park was 2.0 over FTE.

There was a significant reduction in purchase orders and blanket orders.

4,127 Bills for Collection were issued.

4,259 Third Party Drafts were processed.

880 Travel Authorizations were issued which generated over 2,640 associated traveldocuments.

Implementation of the new AFSII system was begun. Complete parkwideimplementation was expected for March 1995 once all network connections were inplace.

The following individuals joined the Administrative management team:

Sallie StansberryRobert (Bob) Johnson

Other positions filled were:

Nikyra CalcagnoMary Lou CantC. Marie DennCarmen FayJan GwynnCalvin LiuGerrit (Lou) LouwerenJody PhillipsPaula Sheehan

George StephensCindy Whitten

Supervisory Contract OfficerChief of Special Park Uses

ContractingFiscalHuman ResourcesAccounts PayableHuman ResourcesInformation ManagementSupervisory Voucher ExaminerHuman ResourcesLost and FoundAccounts PayableHuman Resources

The division acquired a new branch in order to consolidate and manage the specialuse permits system. This branch is known as Special Park Uses.

Housing Management

The Administrative Officer and the Housing Manager met with the County ofMariposa Tax Collector in order to establish better communications and to come to anunderstanding of supplemental property taxes and how they are applied togovernment quarters.

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The Housing Office worked closely with the General Accounting Office (GAO) andWASO in responding to the many inquiries on Yosemite housing. The GAO sent areport, "Re-examination of Employee Housing," to Congress in August 1994.

Rental rates continued under the congressional 10% cap limitation. This is the fourthyear the cap has been in place.

Unit #4186, located in Wawona, was added to the available housing units for thepark.

The park received 28 new apartment units in the Rancheria Flat area of El Portal.Each unit was inventoried, had rental rate set and was assigned. Completion of anadditional 12 new houses and six apartments is expected in March 1995.

The Housing Office continued working on the closure of the El Portal Trailer Courtsite. Complete closure is expected by the year 2000. The trailers still in use are beingassigned to seasonal employees as the permanent employees vacate.

The park's "bid policy" is being reviewed. The conversions of temporary employees topermanent status has created an even greater shortage of available governmenthousing than ever before. Current park policy does not allow permanent employees toremain in seasonal quarters.

Human Resources

Forty-three merit promotion vacancy announcements and 16 competitive registersthrough Delegated Examining Authority from the Office of Personnel Management(OPM) were issued for permanent positions. Over 25 applicant supply recruitmentswere issued to fill approximately 350 temporary positions. More than 2,800applications were processed to fill these positions. At the present time, the park has55 delegated examining authorities from the Office of Personnel Management. Werequested 19 OPM certificates of eligibles.

Yosemite has 419 established permanent positions, approximately 350 temporarypositions, 20 Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) positions, 50 California ConservationCorps (CCC) positions, and approximately 1,000 volunteers who contributed in excessof 80,000 hours.

The personnel office survived the implementation of the new FederalPersonnel/Payroll System (FPPS) and other "streamlining."

The office received over 7,000 inquiries for employment. These were processed eitherin person or by telephone.

Over 50 seasonal/temporary positions were converted to permanent-less-than-fulltime. This was done in order to implement the intent of OPM's temporary authoritieswhich the federal government abused by not providing the temporary/seasonalemployees with benefits.

The park received full authority to classify and staff positions up to, and including,the GS-14 level.

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Employee Relations

The Superintendent is now the "deciding official" for all suspensions of any length,demotions, and removals. Deciding official authority for all lesser disciplinary actionsmay be retained by the Superintendent, or re-delegated to subordinate levels ofsupervision.

On July 10, 1994, Ranger Careers positions were implemented. This actionestablished over 200 benchmark positions.

OWCP

A new position, Worker's Compensation Specialist, was created to manage worker'scompensation claims handled by the park. This position was filled by Cindy Whitten.

Two hundred and twenty-eight worker's compensation claims were filed. Many ofthese required technical advice and medical coordination.

Processing/Payroll

Eight hour orientation sessions were provided to over 200 temporary employees.Orientation was given to 75 new permanent, career-conditional/VRA employees.

Over 4,000 personnel actions were processed for 725 permanent and temporaryemployees.

The leave donation program was very active with Yosemite employees donating 1,121hours of leave.

Over 80 National Agency Check and Investigations were completed on new temporaryemployees. Over 120 requests were filed.

Payroll processed 15,553 T&A reports and over 5,500 supplemental/corrections for1994.

On-going training of FPPS was necessary due to problems with the system. FPPSgreatly increased the amount of time needed to process personnel actions. Theaverage time is now approximately 20 minutes.

Seven retirement applications were processed.

Over 50 Deposit for Military time for FERS retirement applications were processed.

Over 30 temporary time deposits were processed for FERS/CSRS retirement.

Over 10 redeposits for CSRS were processed.

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Awards Program

Monetary awards totaling $134,743 were given in FY94 as follows:

3 group awards22 Special Act or Service awards159 performance-based awards

Award certificates were printed and the correct award amounts were added to therecipient's pay during the appropriate pay period of FY94. In addition, Personnelprocessed 16 Quality Step Increases (QSIs) for nominated employees.

The non-monetary awards program, Excellence-in-Service, presented award gifts to 76employees during FY94. Excellence-in-Service award gifts included: reprinted andframed historical photographs, Yosemite belt buckles, watches with the NPS logo,clocks displaying the Excellence-in-Service logo, and commemorative Half Domeplates.

Forty-three "Time-Off awards, a newly implemented program, were awarded andsuccessfully processed.

Employee Development

On-site training

Supervisory Training

Two sessions of "Personnel Management for Supervisors" were held. The sessionswere followed with a workshop in Performance Management. (This was the first in aseries of workshops which the park will be providing to managers and supervisors.)

Safety Training

♦ Lead Abatement Procedures♦ Asbestos Abatement♦ Safety for First Line Supervisors♦ Avalanche Training♦ Hazardous Waste Handling and Management♦ Confined Spaces for Entrants and Attendants♦ Pre-hospital Trauma Life Support♦ Structural Fire Training

Contracting Officer's Technical Representative Training

The park scheduled a COTR class with 30 participants-all of whom successfullycompleted the course.

Mid-Career Retirement

The park held three separate training sessions on this topic.

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Orientation

Orientation to National Park Service Operations was held on-site.

Off-Site Training

The park arranged for 143 employees to obtain necessary training through the variousprograms provided by the National Park Service, FLETC, and private vendors. Suchtraining included ecology, revegetation, water and waste water treatment plantoperation, cave-in protection, basic blasting, basic law enforcement, basic firearmsinstruction, EMS education, trauma care, small purchases, water pollution controlsafety training, EPA refrigerants, and wildlife habitats. In addition, the park sent fiveemployees to Park Medic training.

Information Management

Designed a Supply Management System (SMS), Wilderness Permit System, medicalsurveillance database, wildlife observation database, public contact database, andcooperating association membership database.

Developed wilderness permit, public contact, and park carrying capacity modelapplications.

Documented Park Planning Clearinghouse and Capital ImprovementFund/Government Improvement Account processes.

Began the implementation of a parkwide area network (WAN), including conversionfrom ARCnet to Ethernet, extension of network busses, installation of a local areanetwork (LAN) in the El Portal Administrative offices, and installation of routers tomanage network traffic between El Portal and Yosemite Valley. Began local DOINETimplementation with installation of an SNA gateway.

Managed the contracts with GSA, Computer Sciences Corporation, and AppliedTechnology Associates to evaluate the SMS design and install portions of the parkWAN.

Improved the Help Desk functions by creating an additional position dedicated to enduser support and re-instating the park computer training program.

Managed a 20% increase in the number of personal computers, from 206 to 248, and acorresponding increase in the complexity of information system operations.

Procurement/Contracting/Property/General Services

The Small Purchasing Section was completely computerized.The pre-printed purchase order form was instituted and several procedural elementswere changed to eliminate duplication of effort. The turn-around time for DI-1requisitions was cut to 3-5 days.

Interest paid by the park declined markedly.

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The section was completely computerized and employees were trained in the basicprocedures necessary to perform their work duties. The quality of the work performedimproved substantially.

All orders were filled, packed, and ready to load while still procuring supplies withquality products at the best possible cost to the government.

The warehouse reduced inventory in anticipation of the move to the newWarehouse/Maintenance Complex in El Portal. The move is anticipated for March1995. A summer seasonal employee who assisted with current warehouse functionswill take over the commissary operation when the El Portal move occurs. The currentcommissary employee will be stationed at the covered storage area in El Portal.

Property management had a relatively normal year other than missing reportingdeadlines as park Divisions failed to meet inventory submittal dates. Excess propertybrought into the park exceeded one million dollars.

Lost and Found hired a temporary employee to assist with the program. The returnrate of lost items jumped to an all time high of 59%.

In order to establish a more efficient way of doing business, several positions wereevaluated by the Branch Chief and reassigned to other sections within the branch.

The Contracting section successfully awarded 36 contract actions in the amount of$876,423 and successfully defended a claim with the Contract Board of Appeals. The -

claim took many hours of the Contract Specialist's time, yet met all time frames forclosing out a very successful year.

The Small Purchasing section processed 4,097 actions for a total of $5,598,326. TheSmall Purchasing and Accounts Payable sections closed out FY94 on September 29.This was a first for the park and was done with minimal overtime. New proceduresand better morale among the employees played a major role in accomplishing thetasks at hand.

The Supervisory Contract Officer and the Contract Specialist attended a DOIManagement Conference in Washington, DC. The Property Specialist and PropertyTechnician attended a Property Management Conference in Washington sponsored byDOI.

Level III Warrants and Level II Warrants in the park were upgraded. Mandatorytraining for supervisors and COTRs was provided as well as other in-house training.

Special Park Uses

This branch was established in October to consolidate all special park uses. TheSpecial Park Uses Office will be housed in El Portal at the A-76 Building. BobJohnson was selected to manage the branch.

Staff wrote initial position descriptions, acquired office equipment and initiated aparkwide survey identifying the use of special use permits.

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DIVISION OF CONCESSIONS MANAGEMENT

Budget & Personnel

The FY94 Division budget was $286,800. An increase to base of $150,000 and threeadditional FTE were received as the result of a professionalization initiative. Two newpositions, a Financial Analyst GS-12 and a Construction Representative GS-12, wereintended to augment existing staff by providing specialized knowledge needed tomonitor concessioners' activities and to manage expenditures being authorized forcapital improvements funded by the Capital Improvement Fund and GovernmentImprovement Accounts authorized in various contracts. These positions were not filledin 1994 because of delays in developing, classifying and announcing the positiondescriptions. Lapsed money was used to fund existing positions, and purchase newoffice furniture and computer equipment.

A third new position located within the Concessions Management Division was a CivilEngineer position which was funded by, and detailed to, the Branch of ProfessionalServices within the Division of Maintenance. This position was responsible forconducting building inspections and working with concessioners to establish effectivemaintenance programs. Mike Wichmann was hired to fill the Civil Engineer position.

For 1994, the Division staff consisted of a Chief (GM-13), four ConcessionManagement Specialists (three GS-lls and one GS-9), a Concession Assistant (GS-6)and a temporary GS-3 Office Automation Clerk. During the year the Chiefs positionwas upgraded to a GS-14, as were the other Division Chiefs in the park. Thetemporary clerical position was discontinued near the end of the year.

Jackie Steuer, Concessions Assistant, continued to work half time as the result of awork related injury.

Concession Contracts and Other Authorizations

No significant contracting actions took place during 1994. Status quo Interim Lettersof Authorizations were issued by the Regional Office for The Ansel Adams Gallery, ElPortal Chevron, and, at the end of the year, Yosemite Medical Clinic.

Commercial Use Licenses (CUL)

Twenty-one CULs were issued to business entities for the following commercialactivities: saddle and horse pack trips, guided backpacking trips, guided day hiking,environmental education trips, and tow truck service.

Chain Installation Services

Twenty-one individuals were issued authorizations to provide snow chain serviceswithin the park. Authorized services included the installation, removal, and repair ofsnow chains at designated chain control points on roadways and parking lots withinYosemite.

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Tour Bus Program

The Letters of Authorization (LOA) program was replaced by a Special Use Permit(SUP) for Commercial Passenger Carrying Motor Vehicles. The SUPs were issued onlyto companies which own/operate the buses. There were 225 of these permits issued fora $250 fee (compared to 540 LOAs), including three SUPs for local small tour buseswhich were allowed to access Glacier Point in addition to the rest of the park. Termsof the SUP place a great deal of responsibility on the bus drivers for the behavior oftheir passengers.

Contract Administration

This was the first year of a fifteen year concession contract with Yosemite ConcessionServices Corp. (YCS), a subsidiary of Delaware North Companies.

The new concession contract is a departure from the past and was structured toincorporate change. YCS and the National Park Service (NPS) worked together toinitiate the first changes in service to park visitors and in the manner in whichbusiness was conducted. Some of these changes included closing the stables at WhiteWolf, the reduction in and scheduled removal of raft rentals, and the short termretention of the gift shop at Mariposa Grove. Other changes involved modification andexperimentation with food service concepts and menus. YCS and NPS entered intoagreements to utilize existing skills and established procedures relating to snowplowing and medical and ambulance service at Badger Pass, maintaining the park'strail system, and processing visitor property which had been lost and found.

Concessioner Construction Projects

One project, the replacement of the main hot water tank at the Wawona Hotel wasaccomplished utilizing the Government Improvement Account. The money in both theaccount and the fund had been accumulating, will continue to accumulate, and will befully utilized on projects in the future. To the frustration of YCS and NPS staffs, NPSapproval to proceed was given too late in the season for most of the sixteen projectswhich received approval to be initiated during this rating period.

This was the first year that Best's Studio, dba The Ansel Adams Gallery (TAAG),contributed to a Government Improvement Account ($10,000). The National ParkService expects the concessioner to contribute $20,000 plus interest to this account inFY95. The Ansel Adams Gallery completed an interior remodel and renovation of theStudio/Gallery which provided additional sales space and wheelchair accessibility tothe upper floor.

Concessioner Annual Overall Ratings

Each of the park's five concessioners, Best's Studio, Inc., dba The Ansel AdamsGallery, the El Portal Market, Yosemite Concession Services, Samaritan HealthServices, dba the Yosemite Medical Group, and the El Portal Chevron received"Satisfactory" Annual Overall Ratings for operational performance andcontract/permit compliance. Over 300 concession evaluations were conducted in FiscalYear 1994.

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Other

Hotel Operations

YCS initiated significant upgrades of lodging facilities, concentrating efforts atYosemite Lodge during the first year of the YCS contract.

Employee Housing

Two YCS employees committed suicide within seasonal housing facilities operated bythe concessioner during the month of July; a third YCS employee committed suicideout of the park during the same period. YCS was cited by OSHA for violations ofelectrical codes in seasonal housing facilities.

Food and Beverage

It was an exhausting first year for food and beverage operations with YCS. Many goodideas were initiated with a focus on customer satisfaction through improved foodquality and service. An emphasis on employee training was begun and is scheduled tobe enhanced during the next year. Establishment of a new chapter of the AmericanCulinary Federation will lead to enhanced employee growth and trainingopportunities.

Retail

Preliminary work was initiated this year for the conversion of the Indian Gift Shop tothe Environmental Shop at Yosemite Lodge. This action was in keeping with theConcession Services Plan. Both YCS and TAAG made concerted efforts to work in thegeneral direction of the draft gift shop mission statement, gift shop merchandise beingmore relevant to the park and the region. The Yosemite Concession Services staff hasbeen helpful in the development of the Yosemite National Park "Don't Be BearCareless" campaign.

Service Stations

The transition from "mini-service" to self service at the Crane Flat, TuolumneMeadows and Yosemite Lodge service stations was completed in February 1994.

Ski Operations

YCS and NPS entered into an agreement whereby YCS would lease NPS equipmentwith operators to fulfil their responsibilities relating to plowing snow and providingambulance service at Badger Pass. Initiation of a snow boarding lesson and rentalprogram was approved and was initiated during the '94/95 winter season.

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Shuttle Bus Program

The Visitor Transportation System(s) provided transportation services at the followinglevels during 1994:

The process that initiated the partnership in 1993 with the California EnergyCommission, CalTrans, PG&E, and the park for the purpose of acquiring up to fouralternatively fueled buses to be used as part of the Valley Shuttle System continuedthis year with agreements finalized between the project partners. The total amount offunding available for this project is $1,095,000. After a detailed evaluation process,two manufacturers were selected to provide one electric bus each for the initial phaseof this project. It is expected that the first bus will be delivered prior to May 1, 1995,with the second bus arriving prior to July 1, 1995.

In Tuolumne Meadows the "local shuttle" and the "Tenaya Lake Shuttle" werecombined into a single loop, which provided more efficient service.

The White Wolf stables were closed prior to the beginning of the 1994 operatingseason. No formal visitor complaints were received by the NPS relating to theelimination of this service. At Wawona, the concessioner was asked to move thelocation of the two hour horse rides from the Meadow Loop to the SDA loop. This wasdone because the Meadow Loop trail crossed Highway 41 in two locations. Theresulting horse crossings created a major safety concern. No visitor complaints werenoted from switching the location of this two hour horse ride. YCS and NPS enteredinto an agreement whereby YCS would augment the NPS trail maintenance operationto satisfy its trail maintenance responsibilities. In general, stable business was downfor the Wawona and Valley stables. However, business was up at the TuolumneMeadows stables.

Valley: 3,075,301175,31623,22115,738

Wawona:

Badger Pass:Tuolumne Meadows:

Stables

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DIVISION OF INTERPRETATION

Maureen Loughlin was Acting Chief of Interpretation from January to October. Rick Smithbecame the new Chief in November.

Valley District

Susan Gonshor was Acting Valley District Interpreter working under the supervisionof Acting Chief Park Interpreter Maureen Loughlin for the early part of the year.Several other positions were vacant at various times throughout the year, resulting infrequent adjustment of programming and direction.

Supervisors Jeff Samco and Valerie Pillsbury, interpreters Julia Parker and Bob Fry,and temporary A/V Technician Mary Beth Shenton were added to the permanentinterpretive staff. Supervisor Shelton Johnson and new Valley District InterpreterJim Corless arrived in April and Supervisory Interpreter Mary Kline came in August.

A new organization resulted from the Ranger Careers initiative assessment, aligningand consolidating the district's operation under three supervisors: the Valley DistrictInterpreter; the Natural Resource Programs Coordinator (Susan Gonshor); and theCultural Resource Programs Coordinator (Mary Kline). This realignment wasintended to provide parity between the natural and cultural interpretation programs,,as directed by Assistant Superintendent Jerry Belson, to increase coordination withpark resource managers, and to reduce the number of supervisors in the district.

Personnel

In FY94, the district had a reduction of paid staff of almost two full FTE (from 12.75to 10.8) since FY92. One FTE resulted when the education coordinator transferred tothe new Education Branch. This employee also conducted field programs. The secondFTE represents a direct loss of staff available for field programs.

The Ranger Careers program was implemented in the district with the promotion offour interpretive Park Rangers.

Volunteers, including Yosemite Association funded interns, contributed 4,782 hours todistrict programs, up from 4,080 hours in FY93. The district routinely turned awayvolunteer applicants due to the limited availability of housing, housing costs, andlimited Volunteer-In-Park funds.

The district coordinated a change of some duties for Park Ranger Jeff Samco toaccommodate his sight disability and division-wide needs. Jeff will assume duties ofdivision-wide training officer and accessibility coordinator (40%) while continuing toserve as an interpreter in the district (60%) in early 1995.

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Acting Assistant Valley District Interpreter Kim McLean developed a summerschedule which allowed for the use of a 5/4/9 flex schedule for all district fieldinterpreters; the schedule resulted in no unplanned work absences during the summerby any staff.

Due to the declining number of seasonal positions, the intern staff comprised 50% ofthe district field interpretive staff for the summer.

The Yosemite Association Visitor Center staff was invited to attend regular districtbriefings to help integrate the two visitor center staffs.

The district hosted Jonathan Wray, Press Officer from English Nature, for a one-month training assignment to observe Yosemite's interpretive program.

Susan Gonshor and Valerie Pillsbury contributed over 200 hours during the year inEMS and fire fighting duties.

Operations

The district staff made 2,498,000 personal visitor contacts, compared to 2,817,000 inFY93 and 2,811,000 in FY92. Visitor Center contacts (based on a percentage of parkvisitors) increased from 1.5 million to 1.7 million over the three years. Contacts in theIndian Cultural program decreased from 1.1 million in FY92 and FY93 to 650,000.Contacts from walks remained constant at about 7600 in FY94 and 93, but saw adrastic reduction from the 15,000 in 1992. Campfire program contacts fell almost20,000, from 63,000 to 44,000, while Orientation Show introductions increased from49,000 to 59,000. The district introduced one new program, the Naturalist's Knapsack,which proved to be popular in the area of the Visitor Center and Happy Isles NatureCenter.

The Deaf Services Program, operating during the summer season since 1979, wasreduced in size from two interpreters to one. Through the use of a reservation systemand a "first-40" work week, sign language interpreter Sarina Lambert contacted 337deaf visitors plus provided sign language interpretation services for park employees in30 instances. Forty-eight deaf visitors are known to have had their requests forservices turned down. The program served 345 visitors in 1993.

The Telephone Pioneers of America donated a second Telephonic Device for the Deaf(TDD) for Visitor Center use and this TDD has been made available to deaf employeesand visitors for outgoing calls.

The district used the services ofWawona VIP Claire D'Amelio to observe and evaluatefrom a visitors' perspective the variety of orientational and interpretive servicesprovided by the district and its partners. Her individual program and facilityassessments were very helpful as the district assessed all of its services over the year.

As a result of budget deficiencies division-wide, $18,000 in donations from visitors tothe Visitor Center, earmarked for improvement of interpretation in Yosemite Valley,was redirected to other accounts at the close of the fiscal year. This money had beenheld in reserve for several rehabilitation projects within the visitor center.

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Facilities and Media

Planning for the emergency electrical rehabilitation of the Visitor Center'sauditoriums was carried out by Professional Services with the assistance of districtElectronics Technician Mary Beth Shenton and other district staff. No funding wasavailable to complete the project.

Exhibits in the Happy Isles Nature Center were maintained by VIP Jack Phinney andhis group of volunteers. The volunteers also repaired the seriously failing outdoorcases enclosing exhibits in the Indian Cultural Village.

District staff worked with the Wilderness Branch on the design and development ofthe Wilderness Education Center.

Seasonal Park Ranger Jessica Daskal developed and produced, with the assistance ofPIO, the "Merced River Restoration in Yosemite Valley" site bulletin. District VIPMaryanne Harding worked with the Wilderness Branch and PIO in revising the"Winter Wilderness" site bulletin.

A commitment to restore integrity to the design and aesthetics of the Visitor Centerwas made by district staff and the initial steps were taken to rehabilitate or eliminateoutdated or poorly planned elements of the facility's exhibits and visitor servicesareas.

Education Department

Budget

For the second consecutive year, the Education Department remained a separatebranch within the Division of Interpretation. The 1994 Education Department budgetconsisted of both ONPS funds and soft funding as follows:

♦ $65,568 ONPS monies for personal services/supplies and travel♦ $15,050 Aid-to-NPS funds for the Teacher Intern Program♦ $9,944 National Park Foundation grant for the Teacher Guide♦ $9,056 Aid-to-NPS funds for the Commencement 2000 Program♦ $2,000 (approx) Western Region Office funding for the Commencement 2000

Program via National Park Foundation grant♦ $150 Aid-to-NPS funds for supplies and materials

Personnel

The GS-5/7 Education Coordinator position, occupied by Betsey Clopine, was movedfrom the Valley District interpretive staff.

A reorganization subsequent to the implementation of Ranger Careers resulted in aGS-7/9 Education Specialist position being created in July of 1994. Betsey Clopinewas promoted into this position.

The permanent Education Coordinator position was upgraded to a GS-7/9 position. Itwas filled in late fall by Sue Branch.

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GS-5 seasonal park ranger, Linda Estes, assisted the Education Specialist and theValley District interpretive staff during April and May in presenting the Parks asClassroom Programs.

GS-5 seasonal park ranger, Teddy Goodrich, assisted the Education Specialist duringthe summer by coordinating the Teacher Intern Program.

GS-5 seasonal park ranger, Sarina Lambert, provided computer support to theEducation Specialist for one month in the fall.

GS-5 permanent staff person, Nikyra Calcagno, was detailed into the EducationCoordinator position from mid-June through mid-July while the Education Specialistwas out on emergency sick leave.

GS-11 permanent staff person, Susan Gonshor, was detailed into the EducationSpecialist position from mid-December through mid-February while the EducationSpecialist position remained vacant and the Education Coordinator position wasfurloughed.

Volunteer Staff

Two Yosemite Association sponsored student interns provided administrative andfront-line help for the Education Department. Clark Mallam, from Chico State,participated in the intern program from January through May while Kayoko Kawai,from the Kiyosato Educational Experiment Project in Japan, participated in theprogram from June through August.

Kayoko provided roving interpretation to Japanese visitors, and translated severalsite bulletins from English to Japanese.

Kayoko also offered a slide presentation on environmental education programsavailable from the Kiyosato Educational Experiment Project in Japan.

Volunteer, Tom Kearney, assisted with the Teacher Intern program from mid-Julythrough Labor Day. Seven teacher interns participated in the Teacher InternProgram.

A total of nearly 2,000 VIP hours were donated to the Education Department thisyear.

Operations/Projects Highlights

Parks As Classroom

The spring program ran from April 20 through May 27. Thirty-four classes wereturned away while 29 classes with 1682 participants (1327 students and 355 adultchaperons) were accommodated.

The fall program ran October 13 through October 21 and from November 1 throughNovember 18. Twenty-five classes were accommodated with approximately 900students and adult chaperons being contacted.

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Teacher Guide

The target date for completion of this project is summer 1995.

Teacher Intern Program (TIP)

Three school districts were represented in the TIP, including the YosemiteElementary School which fostered a necessary partnership in education in Yosemite.

Commencement 2000

Yosemite's Education Department is an active member of the program's SteeringCommittee and the Education Subcommittee. This requires participation in monthlyor bi-monthly meetings in the Sacramento and/or the Oakland areas.

Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento and Castlemont High School in Oaklandwere target schools. Twice annually, students from these schools visited Yosemite fora week-long education program based on Yosemite's natural and cultural resourcesand on career options with the NPS.

On-going Outreach Projects

Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Kits (traveling trunks) were assembled. "Yosemite OutsideYour Classroom," a publication containing 30 lesson plans drafted by previous years'TIP participants, was designed to be used inside the classroom.

Partnerships Developed

Meetings throughout the year resulted in stronger partnerships with:

♦ Yosemite, El Portal and the Wawona Elementary Schools♦ LeConte Memorial staff (sponsored by the Sierra Club)♦ Yosemite Institute instructors and staff♦ Yosemite Association Seminar coordinator and staff♦ Sequoia National Park Education/Interpretive managers and staff with joint

work on the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem kits and on school programs♦ Yosemite's wilderness staff with joint work on the Wilderness Box, the

Wilderness Education Center planning and joint presentations at wildernesseducation conferences

♦ Fresno Unified School District with work on a joint project with the FresnoUnified School District, Roosevelt-South High School, Yosemite Institute andYosemite National Park

Miscellaneous

Two articles on Yosemite's Teacher Intern Program were published in Legacy (aNational Association of Interpreters national publication) and in Education Weekly.

An additional 1,000 students (from pre-K through university levels) were contactedvia special-request educational programs (not part of the Parks As Classroomprogram).

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Mather District

Filled 2 positions: Big Oak Flat Subdistrict Interpreter, Dean Shenk and 025 FieldRanger (Permanent, less than full-time) Margaret Eissler.

Increased campfire programs in District from 16 to 22; thereby doubling publiccontact.

Provided additional Tuolumne Grove programs: seven days a week in summer; oneday a week in winter/spring.

Served 400,000 visitors in Visitor Centers: Tuolumne Visitor Center high, 2,500 inone day; Big Oak Flat Visitor Center high, 1,300 in one day.

Staff contacted nearly 500,000 visitors.

Ranger Carl Sharsmith, 91, served his sixty-third season with the NPS at Tuolumneduring the summer. Carl died at home in San Jose, a few weeks after returning fromYosemite.

Wawona District

Staffing

A visitor information clerk position (K. Krisko) at the Ranger Station was vacated. .

The GS-07 history center supervisor position was filled by Laura Seager. The GS-06lead park ranger position at the Mariposa Grove was upgraded to GS-07 with thetransfer of Althea Roberson. Covered the Ranger Office with help from all the staffmembers which resulted in program loss.

Paul Pfenninger coordinated a 2-day YCS transportation drivers' interpretive training,two teacher environmental education workshops, and seasonal interpretation training.Paul was Acting Assistant Valley District Interpreter in the spring.

Dan Card initiated the Mariposa Grove Museum Project, the interactive video project,and the Mariposa Grove Resource protection project. The TIS was put into serviceproviding visitors with information as they entered South Entrance.

Resource Protection

Furnished assistance to visitor protection staff in mitigating deer feeding problems atthe Wawona golf course by providing roving interpretative contacts during the year.

Coordinated interpretive efforts during the Horizon Fire.

Started the resource protection plan for the Mariposa Grove which included trail signmaintenance, a new trailhead, realignment of fencing, and directional/managementsigning in the parking area.

Mapped, reported and eradicated mullein and thistle in the Mariposa Grove.

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Initiated the GPS mapping of giant sequoias in the Mariposa Grove.

Developed a mountain lion program which included a study skin prepared by staff.

Implemented "Zone" coverage for roving interpretation in the Mariposa Grove to makerangers more visible throughout the grove trail system. Rangers roved the parking lot,Lower Grove, Grizzly Giant area, and Upper Grove every hour.

Purchased reproductions for Pioneer Yosemite History Center allowing historicalartifacts to be placed in protective storage.

Reconstructed costume barn to allow working space for employees and offer betterprotection and tracking for historical costumes and VIP uniforms.

Visitation and Programming

Over 300,000 visitor contacts and 48 different programs were offered. Visitation at theinformation center increased. The operation expanded , increasing resource protectionthrough interpretation at the Mariposa Grove, Glacier Point, Pioneer History Center,and Badger Pass.

Mariposa Grove

Made over 100,000 roving visitor contacts and 20,006 program contacts, up from 1993(85,000 roving and 16,000 program contacts). Visitation increased dramatically inMarch, possibly because three more interpretive walks per week were offered.

Installed the Upper Grove interpretive trail.

Aligned fences in parking area and completed construction on new trailhead whichincluded new bulletin board, brochure box, and wayside exhibit.

Laura Seager developed a Mariposa Grove teacher curriculum guide including avocabulary, pre- and post-site activities, background information, on-site lesson plan,tree key, review questions, resources and references to be used by teachers attendingthe Environmental Living Program.

Initiated off-site programming with Camp Green Meadows outside the south entrancewhich reached 100 students per week.

Glacier Point

At Glacier Point there were thousands of visitor contacts. Campfire programs wereheld at Bridalveil Campground. Dick Ewart was involved in 26 medicals, four SARsand four MVAs as official first-response.

Pioneer Yosemite History Center

The history center used nine volunteers for a total of 3,804 hours, making 100,000visitor contacts. Several special programs were offered including the 4th of July

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celebration, Old Fashioned Christmas, barn dances, stage rides, and special groups.Total visitation for these special programs was 3,045 visitor contacts.

Terri Lopez was hired as the new stage driver.

Badger Pass

Seven-day-per-week interpretive programming was offered at Badger Pass resulting in12,000 roving contacts (11,000 in '92), and 1,700 program contacts (1,600 in '92).

Mobile Information Trailer

The mobile information trailer operated sporadically due to lack of staff. It was usedfor various special events and for recruitment in the fall. Over 3,000 visitor contactswere made at this station.

The Environmental Living Program

The program reached 900 students and over 600 roving contacts. The TeachersHandbook was rewritten and a new helper guide was developed. The program wasrevised to create authentic conditions for the young pioneers and to provide someresource protection to adjacent meadows which were being trampled.

The Yosemite Association Student Intern Program

Laura Seager coordinated the student intern program and reorganized the structureof the program.

Museum Services Branch

Museum

Ninety-nine accessions were recorded during 1994; over half of these were gifts to theNational Park Service (51), followed by field collections (33).

Cataloging efforts continued. Over 90,000 catalog records have now been submitted tothe National Catalog from Yosemite National Park.

Twenty-eight outgoing loans were made of over 250 objects in the collection for studyand exhibit outside Yosemite National Park. Included was a loan of a large ThomasHill piece to the Palace of Exhibitions in Rome, Italy, where it was displayed in thewinter of 1993/1994 as part of an exhibit of American landscape paintings. Over 300objects were exhibited in the park this year.

Significant progress was made in the computerization of collection records. To date, 4,179accession records, 38,329 cultural records and 10,347 natural history records have beenentered into the Automated National Catalog System (ANCS). In addition, the park'scomputerized inventory database now contains entries for 84,196 objects, representingover 90% of the cataloged museum collection. Extensive work was done on reconciling oldmuseum records with current inventory. A computerized inventory of books in the

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museum collection was made to compare with library holdings (1,970 entries) and majoradditions were made to the database of deaccessioned objects (2,554 entries).

Funding for research for museum collection materials potentially subject to NAGPRA(Native American Graves Protection and Reparation Act) action was secured.Specifications for object photography and analysis were written, and vendors wereselected for work on over 425 items from the museum's holdings.

The Museum Registrar position was established as a permanent, full-time position, andMartha Lee was hired in April after nine years as a seasonal employee working with themuseum collections.

Security Consultant William McManus from Lloyds of London came to the park toinspect museum exhibit and storage areas.

Reviewed activities for service-wide and regional projects included NPS MuseumHandbook Part 2, Chapters 5 and 6; WASO survey of ANCS inventory database;NAGPRA ANCS module.

A number of notable acquisitions were made during 1994. An unusually large orotone(glass transparency backed with gold) by Pillsbury and an Oliver Lippincott photographofMirror Lake were purchased for the collection by the Yosemite Association.

Museum staff assisted Walter Sydoriak, who is illustrating Stephen Botti's upcomingbook (to be published by the Yosemite Association) on Yosemite flora. He made extensiveuse of museum herbarium specimens to complete his painted illustrations.

Museum staff reviewed specifications for HVAC, security and electrical systems for themuseum storage "Bally" building in El Portal.

A new hands-on exhibit was designed and installed in the Indian Cultural Exhibit withthe support of the Yosemite Fund.

Craig Bates and Martha Lee traveled to Berlin and conducted two weeks of research atthe Museum fur Volkerkunde. They worked with the extensive, early Native Californiacollection, made research notes and took photographs. The trip was funded by theAlbright/Wirth Employee Development Fund and a research grant from the YosemiteAssociation.

Members of the museum staff completed a report on Native American traditional usesof the high country. This was completed in cooperation with the Division ofArcheology.

Wayside exhibit plan was completed for new signs for the Indian Cultural Village. Drafttext for the signs was completed and designer selected in conjunction with the YosemiteFund.

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Library, Archives and Historian

Research Library

Acquisitions:

Circulation:

Public Contacts:

Researchers:

Photo Orders:

Periodicals:

Accessioned 280 volumes, of which 151 were purchased. Catalogedand processed 346 volumes.

1,904 items, including 989 books, 321 periodicals, 283 photos, and169 volumes sent to the Tuolumne Meadows Branch Library.

The library was open to the public 201 days, with a staff of one.Averaged 276 visitors and 104 phone calls per month. Received 258information requests, 40 of which were photo related.

Assisted 46 researchers, in addition to working closely with the Landand Communities Associates & Brian Bibby on the culturallandscape study; Zehra Osman and Jim McLane on the Historichousing guidelines and the NPS Collections Management Team.

From January, 1994 to September, 1994, 51 orders were placed(which needed Research Library negatives), 11 internal orders withthe NPS photographer and 40 private orders. To fill orders, 228negatives were pulled from the library's files.

Maintained 95 periodical subscriptions (69 are purchased) and threenewspapers. Compiled a monthly newsclipping file.

Visuals Center

♦ 2,069 slides supplied to fill the 129 orders placed for images.♦ 320 images supplied to Communications North for the pilot interactive kiosk

program.♦ 3,000 slides accessioned.♦ 1,700 images added to the database.♦ First phase of the reorganization of the ethnographic slides completed.♦ Two exhibits in the museum gallery Artist-in-Residence exhibit, February to May,

and the Greg Kondos exhibit, May to September. Visitation total 59,401.♦ Kondos exhibit traveled to four other locations, including St. Mary's College,

Hearst Gallery, Kings Art Center, and CSU Stanislaus.♦ Five exhibits hung in the Visitor Center, including the Climbing History exhibit.♦ Slides from Resource Management were copied and incorporated into the library.♦ Two additional employees were trained on duplicating equipment.♦ 1,500 duplicates added to the collection.

History and Archives

Wilderness Historic Resources Survey (WHRS):

Successfully completed seventh season, surveyed the entire Merced River drainage aboveLittle Yosemite Valley.

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Supplied and managed a backcountry fundraising camp at Grant Lakes for the YosemiteFund during two weeks in August.

Completed more WHRS field data forms and added photographs to survey data files inthe Yosemite Research Library.

Yosemite Research Library and Archives

Worked extensively with Land and Community Associates on historical information forthe Cultural Landscape Report for Yosemite.

Continued work with the US Geological Survey on rockslides and completion of theglacial map for the park.

Worked with the interested public on donations to park collections and on additions tothe collections of reminiscences and historical information from knowledgeable old-timers.

Supplied historical information, checked for historical accuracy, and read manuscriptsfor NPS Concessions, for Yosemite Concession Services, Resources Management,Archaeology, the Wilderness Office, NPS attorneys, and for private writers aboutYosemite.

Worked with patrons doing research in the Yosemite Research Library, as well as dealingwith many research requests by phone and mail.

Supplied background information for the NPS archivist on Yosemite archival collections.

Worked with US Forest Service, Stanislaus National Forest, to protect historic blazesthere in prescribed fire situations.

Met Professor Jose Mallea, University of Nevada, Reno, Basque Studies Program, toexchange information on Basque carvings in the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin with theintention of adding Yosemite's WHRS data on carvings to Mallea's four-state databaseof Basque carvings.

Contributed to the park's part of the Annual Report to Congress on Wilderness.

Attended training presented by Great Circle Information Services and the StateDepartment of Forestry on development of a Sierra Nevada Catalog for historicalinformation on a database accessible by many agencies in California.

Completed most of a manuscript on the Half Dome cables to be used by The YosemiteFund to support Yosemite projects.

Contract and installation completed for electrical service and fire and intrusion alarmsfor the Archival Storage Building.

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Public Affairs/Public Information Offices

General

Lisa Dapprich was the Acting Assistant Regional Director for Public AffairsJuly 17-23, 1994.

Produced 103rd Congressional Briefing Statements.

Prepared the Superintendent's Annual Report.

Handled all Freedom of Information Requests.

Produced over 70 press releases.

Handled over 2,500 press contacts.

Responded to 25,000 phone calls and 17,000 (a record number) written informationrequests.

Produced 260 issues of the Daily Report and 52 issues of the Weekly Update.

Coordinated all media for the Presidio transfer event with Vice President A1 Gore.This involved all press logistics, satellite truck set-up, riser placement, press packets,etc arranging interviews with the Vice President and other elected officials at thededication (Senator Boxer, Congresswoman Pelosi, the base General andSuperintendent Chandler).

Lisa Dapprich coordinated all media for the Port Chicago event in Concord withCongressman George Miller, the Navy, survivors and Director Roger Kennedy. DebiDrake acted as information assistant at Port Chicago.

Assisted Grand Canyon National Park in developing a public affairs program for theirpark.

Government Visits

Coordinated all aspects of Secretary Bruce Babbitt's visit to the park April 4-5. Thisincluded logistics, working with the Department on scheduling, transportation,developing an itinerary, holding a press conference, developing media coverage beyondthe press conference, scheduling an all employees meeting and having a barbecuewith invited guests. The Secretary also invited 18 personal friends to join him at thepark.

Assisted the Superintendent with the visit of Tom Collier, Chief of Staff for SecretaryBruce Babbitt, August 27-September 3.

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Worked with the Superintendent, the Yosemite Fund and the Governor's Office (StateSecretary of Resources Agency, Doug Wheeler) to coordinate a press conference for theYosemite License Plate program in Yosemite.

Handled the logistics with the Resources Agency, Department ofMotor Vehicles, theYosemite Fund and the National Park Service for Yosemite License Plate press event,April 25, held on the State Capitol steps. Included were the Superintendent, Secretaryfor the Resources Agency Doug Wheeler, Keith Schiller-Yosemite Fund, and DMVrepresentatives.

Other

Coordinated the Agenda '95 group visit. The group consisted of 60 individuals, all verysuccessful in their respective fields - Presidents, Chairman of Boards of companies inthe private sector, attorneys, etc. The Superintendent hoped to interest the groupmembers in National Parks and possibly become prospective donors-October 6-10.

Worked with the Yosemite Fund and the PBN Company (a public relations firm inSan Francisco) on the possibility of producing billboards for the L.A. basin to promotethe Yosemite License Plates.

Contacted the California Outdoor Writers Association to have the Superintendent asthe key note speaker for their annual meeting. Worked with the Marriott to host thegroup.

Kris Fister was detailed to Alaska as the Alaska Region Public Affairs Officer fromFebruary 1 to April 15 to fill in for John Quinley who went to WASO as Acting Chiefof Public Affairs.

Worked with the Chief of Public Affairs for the National Park Service, Yellowstone,Denali and WRO Public Affairs on a public relations strategy concerning release ofthe controversial Transportation Plan.

Worked with the Management Assistant and the Superintendent to draft a letter tothe surrounding communities. The letter cautioned that the park would, in the future,limit park visitation and the communities should consider that fact when approvingnew hotels and developments in the area. The letter advised that the park would notbe responsible for any economic dislocation as a result of overbuilding.

Staff attended meetings with surrounding chambers and visitor bureaus regardingloss of revenues.

Worked with the YCS public affairs staff on visitation and soft business.

Worked with PG&E on an article for the Yosemite Guide about alternative fuelvehicles.

Set up fisheries public workshops for the Superintendent and resource staff inSacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Secured meeting facilities, edited letterto anglers and wrote and distributed news releases on the workshops.

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Worked with east side representatives on summer memorial service for FerdinandCastillo. A news release was sent out and plans for a plaque at the Tioga Passentrance station were begun.

Handled internal and external information on the Horizon Fire. Developed a publicrelations strategy with air quality staff to alert visitors about smoke and health risksduring periods of heavy smoke from a prescribed natural Fire.

Media

Regularly worked with Associated Press, Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee, San FranciscoChronicle, L.A Times, Sacramento Bee, etc. on stories ranging from plane crashes tofires to visitation.

Coordinated the CBS This Morning live two hour broadcast from the park with PaulaZahn and Harry Smith, May 9, at the Ahwahnee. Worked closely with the producer todevelop story lines, set-up interviews, deal with logistics and satellite feeds, multiplecrews from New York and Los Angeles, taping advance stories, etc.

Worked with NBC NOW with Tom Brokaw and Katie Courick on the changing role ofthe park ranger.

Coordinated with WASO and WRO about overflight issues and developed responsesfor the media.

Handled all press on Scott Kent SAR.

Worked with the National Park Foundation creating a photo opportunity (a checkpresentation of $250,000 for bear boxes) for the Superintendent and the Director.

Developed public relations strategy concerning "first amendment use" and securedmedia coverage of Earth Care and other entrepreneurial groups claiming to "exercisetheir rights" in parks.

Coordinated visit by writer Fran Smith of the San Jose Mercury News who featuredthe Superintendent as the cover story for West Magazine.

Provided information to the media and coordinated visits by press on: the death of aJapanese visitor, crime in the park, search and rescue operations, visitation increasesand problems with business in the surrounding communities, the draft transportationplan, fatalities, etc.

Some examples of media contacts were:

♦ Sunset Magazine, Ch. 30 ABC shoot on crime♦ New York Times Magazine on crime♦ Los Angeles Times syndicate on kids and parks♦ The CBS This Morning show♦ ABC News on Carl Sharsmith♦ Fox's Front Page on story about search and rescues♦ ABC News Day One out of New York on a story about poaching

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♦ National Geographic on a story about the park♦ Time Magazine on story about the park♦ The Crusaders♦ The Oprah Show♦ San Francisco Chronicle♦ McClatchy News service (Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee, Sacramento Bee) on

numerous stories including the 32 year old plane crash coverage♦ The Today Show♦ Travel and Leisure

Handled media for the announcement of senior personnel moves (SuperintendentFinley's assignment to Yellowstone) and release of the National Park andConservation Association survey on parks.

Coordinated visit by Outside Magazine writer working on behind the scenes look atthe park. Office staff set him up in several volunteer positions so he could experienceworking various jobs with NPS and YCS. The article is to be published summer, 1995.

Dealt with major attention from local media concerning "soft business" around thepark even though visitation had increased.

Handled media information and worked with investigators on the 32-year-old planecrash discovered in Stubblefield Canyon. Worked with Mike Lewis of the Modesto Beeand the Law Enforcement Office staff to work out problems with coverage of the planecrash.

Coordinated two hour radio show on Yosemite on KGO Radio in the Bay Area - "JohnHamilton on the Go on KGO" over Labor Day Weekend. Coordinated with YCS onindividuals to be interviewed.

Worked with Inside Edition on interviews for a story on funding and infrastructureneeds.

Responded to media calls regarding holiday weekend information.

Worked with The Crusaders on current issues facing the park and Centennialsongwriter Rick Erline.

Electric Bus/Transportation Issues

Developed a news release on the electric buses with the California EnergyCommission.

Worked with PG&E, California Energy Commission, the Governor's Office and theNPS on an event/symposium to discuss alternative fuel vehicles. PG&E donated$95,000 toward an electric bus for Yosemite.

Worked with Mariposa County and CalTrans on wording for signs and radio alerts onthe corridors leading to the park.

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Law Enforcement Office/ Chief Ranger

Worked with the Chief Ranger and Protection Division on public relations strategy formotorized bolting, poaching and Scott Kent indictment.

Worked with the U. S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento on a news release regardingthe Scott Kent indictment.

Yosemite Fund

Coordinated with Keith Schiller of the Yosemite Fund for a media event to dedicatethe Happy Isles project completion.

Worked with The PBN Company on coverage for the Chevron volunteer work weekendin September.

Assisted the Yosemite Fund by providing an interpreter for the May Lake retreatSeptember 8-10.

Office

Assumed the International Visitors function as of May, 1994. Met with 23 groups (265visitors) from over 12 countries (China, Germany, Israel, Central America, Caribbean,Australia, Korea, New Zealand, Japan, Austria, Chile, Thailand Brazil, etc.)

Worked with Information Management to streamline the office. Upgraded computers,programmed fax machines to automatically send news releases to the media,increased graphic and desk top capabilities to better meet the needs of the office.

Through Ranger Futures, Maria Shenk was promoted to a GS-11, and the permanentInformation Clerk positions were promoted to GS-7/9.

Bear Campaign Accomplishments

Added the "Don't Be Bear Careless" message with new logo to the Yosemite Guideand the Wilderness backcountry handout.

Developed the message for new Bear Encounter wayside exhibits (translated into fourlanguages - paid for by Harpers Ferry).

Designed new Lexan signs with bear messages, air quality regs and recycling tipswhich were affixed to 250 picnic tables.

Delaware North executives agreed to produce an informational video to educate parkvisitors about bears at no fee to the NPS. The film will be used in SEKI as well.

Developed new campground restroom signs displaying bear messages. Secured $1,700from the Denver Service Center to pay for the design and lay-out of bear signs.

Secured $10,000 from the Yosemite Fund for production of "Don't Be Bear Careless"

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restroom signs and reprint of updated bear brochures. Reprinted 75,000 bearbrochures.

Designed and produced "Don't Be Bear Careless" buttons for the Junior Rangerprograms and the education program. Design costs were discounted and 6,000 buttonswere ordered with money secured from the Yosemite Association.

Bear buttons were distributed with brochures to campers by campground hosts aswell as to each Yosemite Elementary School student following a bear awarenesspresentation.

Worked with the YCS staff to place 80,000 new bear brochures at HousekeepingCamp and Curry Village lodging facilities where the bear problems had been rising.Every guest received a bear brochure as they checked in.

Convinced CBS This Morning to talk about bears during their two hour show in thepark.

Enlisted cartoonist Phil Frank to design placemats and coloring sheets for children foruse in the concession restaurants.

Furnished Phil Frank with ideas on bear issues/canisters for his comic strip. He ran aseries of cartoon strips on the canisters.

Contacted the Director of the Chaffee Zoo in Fresno and coordinated a successfulmedia event at Chaffee Zoo on May 25 promoting the use of bear food canisters inYOSE and SEKI. Grizzly bears were used to test the strength and effectiveness of thecanisters. All Fresno media attended giving both the parks and the canisters excellentcoverage.

Worked with the Yosemite Fund, National Park Foundation and the YCC on an eventto promote the bear boxes and announce the installation of the last box in the Valleycampgrounds- a result of the funding received from the NPF. Participated in theYosemite Fund Bear Box dedication event.

Worked with YA staff on redesign of the Yosemite Guide. A new editor and designerwere hired in August.

Wrote cover article for Summer Guide. Edited cover article for the Fall Guide.

Created/edited flyers for mountain lion alert, Air Quality alerts and Valleycampground assignment changes.

Resolved issues relating to park map and bear brochure shipments (trucking, delivery,unloading responsibility, storage, etc.)

Edited and submitted major long term and minor short term revisions for the parkmap.

Prepared inventory of non-english literature, wayside exhibits, etc.

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Updated and upgraded a wide variety of park handouts.

♦ Redesigned short and expanded versions of park Fact Sheet.♦ Developed Tioga Road Fact Sheet and Merced River site bulletin.♦ Developed Visitation Statistics Summary handout for media and office use.♦ Worked with local Chambers of Commerce and park management to eliminate

Accommodations Outside the Park handout and replace it with a list ofgateway community chamber and information office phone numbers.

Completed revisions and updates of mailing label database. Reprogrammed printer toaccommodate mailing labels.

Developed emergency response kits for information officer callouts.

Edited and reviewed articles for guidebooks, travel guides, maps, etc. for generalpublication.

Worked with MISTIX to try to resolve information problems with our phone numberlisted as the "Hotline" for all parks and recreation areas in the USA.

Kris Fister became the alternate Information Officer on the WRO All-RiskManagement team.

Coordinated Sir Edmund Hillary's visit.

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DIVISION OF MAINTENANCE

Utility Management Branch

Position Management

Utilities Management worked to accomplish the goals of the Position ManagementPlan. To this end the Branch converted long time seasonals to permanent, reclassifiedthe secretary position to GS-5, reclassified the supervisors' position descriptions, andhired an instrument mechanic for the Branch.

Interagency Workshop

Directed an interagency backcountry human waste management workshop furtheringthe course set at the Mount Rainier symposium, while focusing on a single method ofbackcountry human waste management: composting toilets (an area of expertise forYosemite). Participants in the workshop came from other national parks, the USForest Service, Sandia National Labs, health agencies, universities, corporations, andother countries (Canada and Australia). It was an international event!

Energy Management and Conservation

The High Voltage Shop planned and executed the dismantling of three transformersthat had been generating significant electrical energy consumption. As a result, thepark will realize a potential cost savings of as much as $60,000 per annum.

An energy conservation program was initiated which saved money and theenvironment by retrofitting energy wasters with energy savers -- and received rebates.

Compliance

Installed coliform sampling stations on most of the 21 water systems to improvesample integrity.

Established a thorough cross-connection control program with ordinance.

Developed a chlorine handling manual.

Upgraded all surface water systems to comply with the EPA's Surface WaterTreatment Regulations (SWTR).

Conducted a sanitary survey of the Merced River watershed employing San Jose StateUniversity, the Professional Services Branch, the El Portal Water Laboratory, andUtilities Management. This survey is a requirement of the SWTR.

Removed abandoned water pipe, sewer pipe, chemical toilet sumps, pit toilets, andseptic tanks from Yosemite's wilderness.

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Removed 1,068.7 tons of sludge for land application in Fresno and Merced counties.Yosemite's yield is growing cotton, corn and silage crops. This was the First completeyear of sludge removal.

Fuel Management/UST

Removed an underground diesel fuel tank at Crane Flat and replaced it with anabove-ground fuel storage tank.

Removed an antiquated above-ground fuel tank at White Wolf and replaced it with a

propane system which saved money and the environment.

Training

Conducted two water certification review courses. The courses were attended byoperators from other parks as well: Joshua Tree NP, Point Reyes NS, Sequoia NP,Kings Canyon NP, Kalaupapa NHP, Great Basin NP, and the Presidio, San Francisco.

Conducted a course entitled Chemistry for Wastewater Treatment Plant Operators.Participants also included employees from the cities of Oakdale, Willits, and SouthSan Francisco.

Partnerships

Partnered with the Denver Service Center in a $35,000 design project for theYosemite Creek lift station and a survey for design for the Glen Aulin water system.

Partnered with the City of San Francisco in an attempt to maintain the pristinequality of the Tuolumne watershed. The intent of this Cooperative Agreement is toallow the City to participate in the upgrade and construction of the wastewatertreatment plant and the slip lining or replacement of the existing wastewatercollection system.

Wawona Branch Utilities

Wawona Water Treatment Facility

♦ Installed phone lines, repaired alarm panel and installed new automatic dialer.♦ Installed low chlorine and high turbidity chart recorders with plant shutdown

capabilities.

Glacier Point Water System

♦ Rewrote specifications and purchased water pumps for the Union Point waterintake system. Low bid on previous pumps was $27,000. Purchase price of newpumps was $11,750 - a savings of $15,250 in NPS funding.

♦ Erected new 10,000 gallon water tank.

Wawona Wastewater Treatment Facility

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♦ Performed complete rebuild and major overhaul of both #1 and #2 secondaryand final clarifiers.

♦ Negotiated with California State Water Resources Control Board on reducingthe National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) annual fee froma IB rating to a 2B rating. A yearly savings of $5,000.

High Voltage Electric Shop

Yosemite

♦ Dismantled three transformers.♦ Installed two new tank monitoring systems to upgrade existing fuel tanks.

White Wolf

♦ Replaced the diesel generator and fuel tank with a propane powered unit. Theinitial cost was lower to install propane than to upgrade the existing dieseltank and monitoring equipment.

Tuolumne Meadows

♦ Installed six new services for tents.♦ Moved primary electric service to the Visitor Center to facilitate the new

parking lot.

Backcountry Utilities

May Lake High Sierra Camp

♦ Began water system upgrade to bring the system up to state compliance andeliminate the daily use of a gasoline powered generator.

Merced Lake High Sierra Camp/Ranger Station

♦ Put new sand filter online. Before installation on the sand filter, bag filters hadto be replaced every three to seven days at a cost of $100 each time. This yearthe bags were replaced once. The system now meets state compliance.

Sunrise High Sierra Camp

♦ Completed wastewater system.

Vernal Fall Water System/Septic

♦ Upgraded water system and brought system into compliance.♦ Removed abandoned septic tank.

Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp

♦ Pumped septic tanks.

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Little Yosemite Valley/Nevada Fall

♦ Removed abandoned chemical toilet sumps.♦ Removed abandoned pit toilet from Casa Nevada.

Yosemite Valley/Mather Utilities

Initiated lockout/tagout and confined space entry programs.

Yosemite Valley Utilities

Yosemite Valley

♦ Began oil/water separator project.♦ Removed and replaced well #4.♦ Removed abandoned manholes in Leidig Meadow.

Cascades

♦ Installed control valve from lift station to force main.

Mather Utilities

Crane Flat

♦ Rehabilitated leach field in campground (B loop).

Hodgdon Meadow

♦ Installed oil/water separator at wash rack.

Tuolumne Meadows

♦ Sealed winter septic system from exfiltration.♦ Replumbed valving in campground (A loop).♦ Installed sewer lines for Bug Camp tent cabins.

White Wolf

♦ Installed sewer lines from Ranger Camp cabins.

El Portal Utilities

El Portal Wastewater Treatment Plant

♦ Installed Trav-Vac.♦ Installed new lime dust collectors.♦ Installed main plant flow chart recorder.♦ Installed ultrasonic flow meter for final effluent.♦ Screened junction structure from moss (plugging pumps).♦ Overhauled fourteen six-inch primary sludge valves.

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♦ Hydro washed all sewer lines.♦ Overhauled main exhaust fan in chemical room.♦ Removed 1068.7 tons of sludge for land application.

El Portal Water System

♦ Relocated water and sewer lines behind Clark Hall.♦ Upgraded well #5.♦ Installed generator at well #3.♦ Installed water line/overhead fill for Fire Department.♦ Installed shut off valve to isolate trailer village.

Tuolumne Meadows Wastewater Treatment Facility

♦ Repaired pond leak.♦ Rebuilt suction pipe and staff gauge.♦ Installed generator diesel tank.

White WolfWastewater System

♦ Installed fuel tank.

Buildings And Grounds Maintenance

Organizational Changes

♦ Re-established the Mather District as a separate district.♦ Converted the vacant General Foreman position to the District Supervisor.♦ Abolished the Paint Shop as an individual shop. Reassigned the painters to

district shops. Abolished the Painter Supervisor position.♦ Abolished the Project Shop as an individual shop. Reassigned all employees,

leader, and supervisor to district shops.♦ Converted the remaining four long term (longer than six months) seasonal

positions in custodial operations to permanent subject to furlough. Thiscompleted the conversion of these types of positions; a process that has beenongoing for several years.

Employee Safety Improvements

♦ Twenty-seven employees were placed on a medical monitoring program todetermine if they are being exposed to hazardous conditions.

♦ Began the conversion of lift-and-twist bear proof garbage can lids to flip-back,in an effort to lessen the likelihood of back injuries. Repair/rehab funds wereused for this project.

♦ Sent two supervisors to Lead Paint Monitor Training so the park can utilize anew meter to test for lead paints.

♦ Sent 16 employees to training to become certified to deal with limitedexposures to asbestos.

♦ Sent 16 employees to training to become more aware of the hazards of leadpaint.

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Housing Improvements

♦ Re-roofed five cabins and toilets at Tuolumne Road Camp and two El PortalMotor Inn cabins.

♦ Completed rehabilitation of nine housing units.♦ Completed upgrade of 15 HVAC systems.♦ Installed new windows in seven houses.♦ Replaced wood stoves/liners in five houses.♦ Replaced decks on four houses.♦ Abated asbestos in six houses.♦ Constructed five cabins in place of tents at White Wolf.♦ Constructed retaining walls in Hodgdon Meadows for

residences: 6119, 6120, 6140A & B.♦ Constructed three double tent cabins in Tuolumne Meadows and three half-

cabins.♦ Installed cement garage floors in six Valley houses.♦ Installed lawn sprinkler systems to 15 Valley houses and 13 El Portal Houses.

Buildings Improvements

♦ Upgraded Lower River Campground restrooms with new plumbing andpartitions.

♦ Repaired exterior of El Portal Chapel.♦ Upgraded electrical service to five locations in Valley.♦ Installed solar lighting in the Wawona Campground A-Loop restrooms.♦ Replaced nine unsatisfactory toilets with new vault toilets.♦ Continued replacement of 32-gallon trash cans with retrofit.

Grounds Improvements

♦ Replaced 150 fire rings in various campgrounds using YCC crews.♦ Replaced ten picnic tables with plastic boards using VIP crews.♦ Installed two handicapped drinking fountains.

Buildings And Grounds - Historic Preservation/Restoration

Ranger Club

Preservation maintenance work was completed on the following elements of theRanger Club:

♦ Ridge cap shingles replaced on all roof elevations.♦ Completed window frame and sash repairs to 20% of windows and

repaired/replaced glazing putty on 80% of the window frames.♦ Repaired nine vertical log members at the masonry bearing points on the

north, east and south elevations.♦ Replaced redwood wall shingles on the south terrace and deck facades.♦ Replaced horizontal log framing at the north entrance porch.

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Henness Ridge Fire Lookout

Following partial exterior stabilization work in 1992, restoration of the structure'sarchitectural features was completed this year:

♦ Vertical redwood siding replaced on the south elevation.♦ Second floor cat walk, railings and stair case reconstructed to the third story.♦ Third story balustrade replaced on the south elevation and partial repairs to

the west and east balustrades.♦ False deck installed over the third story deck with new water-proof canvasing.♦ Exterior stain applied on all new wood.

Meyer Barns (Timber Barn)

Stabilization work was begun this year to shore the foundation and replace the timbersills on this structure. The remaining structural work is expected to be completed inFY95:

♦ Structure lifted and placed on temporary shoring. All deteriorated sills wereremoved except for the south elevation.

♦ A new sill was hand hewn and installed on the east main bay wall.♦ New pole rafters were fabricated for the east roof and three vertical

replacement timbers were hand hewn for replacement on the west main baywall.

Administration Building

♦ Exterior painting was contracted and executed on this structure.

Roads And Trails Branch

Federal Highway Administration completed reconstruction of 6.5 miles of the TiogaRoad from the east entrance to the approach to Tuolumne Meadows.

Park crews blade-patched, crack-sealed, cleaned drainage features and brushed 7.5miles of the Wawona Road from the south park boundary to north ofWawona toprepare for a chip seal in FY95.

For the first time in 20 years, park trail crews were able to clear all trails of logs.

Mather Road crew began the Tuolumne Visitor Center Parking lot expansion project.

Jim Cyr, Sign Shop Foreman, planned, organized, and performed alterations to theSign Shop to give each employee their own work space, created a computer room,break room, new office, and removed the spray booth allowing for more work room forthe computerized router.

Between a forestry contract and the park forestry crews, the backlog of hazard treesto be cut was reduced to an acceptable level.

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Park forestry crews assisted Sierra National Forest for one week with mitigatinghazardous trees within Forest Service developed zones.

Steve Ybarra, Animal Packer Foreman, successfully organized and instructed theHorse School for six weeks.

El Portal Roads/Solid Waste employees moved into the new maintenance warehousefacility in El Portal.

Approximately 98% of all primary roads centerline were painted including the TiogaPass Road.

Professional Services Branch

The Branch of Professional Services provided technical support and projectmanagement services for the planning, design, construction, operation, andmaintenance of Yosemite National Park facilities and telecommunications.

Technical services included architecture, landscape architecture, civil engineering,structural engineering, electrical engineering, electronic design and maintenance,telecommunications design, procurement, installation and maintenance, constructiondocument preparation, construction supervision and inspection, special studies andanalyses, estimating, surveying, drafting services, and project management. Technicalservices were directly provided by branch staff or by contracted professional serviceswith branch contract management.

The branch coordinated and reviewed Denver Service Center and contractedprofessional services planning, design and construction activities for compliance withregulatory standards and park management objectives.

May Lake Water System

Upgraded potable water system to meet State and Federal Drinking WaterRegulations. Included were: new water intake, filtration, chlorination, distributionlines, photovoltaic power, contact tank, demolition of obsolete infrastructure, and siterestoration. Services included project management, analysis, design, survey/layout,construction support, and environmental compliance documentation.

Hodgdon Retaining Walls

Construction of 700 linear feet of retaining walls for new residences. Services includedconstruction support for 1993 design.

Hodgdon Oil/Water Separator

Installation of oil/water separator for Hodgdon Meadows vehicle maintenance facility,as mandated by RCRA remediation plan. Services included analysis, design, andconstruction support.

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Wawona School

Classroom addition and site improvements for existing Wawona school. Servicesincluded design review.

Sanitary Survey

In accordance with CFR 40, Title 104, Clean Drinking Water Act, surveyed waterquality parameter for Upper Merced River Watershed (300,000 acres). ProfessionalServices recruited and developed cooperative agreement with San Jose StateUniversity for student/faculty conduct of survey. Services included projectdevelopment and management.

Tuolumne Visitor Center

Modified access to Tuolumne Visitor Center for improved vehicular access andparking. Services included project management, analysis, design, survey/layout, andconstruction support.

Administration Building Fire Escape

As mandated by OSHA citation, installed new exterior fire escapes for ValleyAdministration Building. Services included analysis, design, and construction support.

Little Yosemite Valley Ranger Station

Preliminary design development for ranger cabin to support resource management atLittle Yosemite Valley. Services included analysis.

DSC-Pkg. 504BB

Upgraded sewage treatment plant at El Portal to improve sludge process. Servicesincluded DSC design review.

Backcountry Compost Conference

Hosted international Backcountry Compost Conference to develop compost technology.Services included planning, Guidance Document development, and engineeringpresentation.

Historic Architecture Guidelines

Developed historic district architecture guidelines for management and maintenanceof historic district structures and landscape. Services included archive/informationsupport and design support.

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Valley Child Care Center

Retrofitted Child Care Center to improve child safety and expand storage. Servicesincluded analysis and design.

Mirror Lake

Rehabilitated Mirror Lake area, including pavement demolition, revegetation, trailimprovement and comfort station construction. Services included preliminary analysis.

Valley Child Care Cul-de-sac

Modified child care center road to eliminate drive-through. Modification consists ofdemolition and revegetation of road and construction of cul-de-sac. Services includedanalysis, design and EA.

Sentinel Beach Pkg/Picnic Area

Constructed parking area, shuttle bus loading area, and picnic sites at Sentinel Beachfor Yosemite Fund. Services included analysis and design.

El Capitan Picnic Area

Completed 1993 construction of picnic area, roads and parking lot at El Capitan.Services included construction support.

El Portal Administration Building

Three-building complex at El Portal Administration site, for joint usage and fundingby DSC and Yosemite. DSC usage will replace construction trailers for ProjectSupervisors. Included are two office buildings and a conference room/restroombuilding. Services included analysis, and preliminary and final design.

DSC-Pkg. 504DD and 504ED

Line Item construction of 15 houses at Rancheria in El Portal. Services included

design review.

Jail OSHA Corrections

Retrofits of Valley jail as mandated by OSHA citations. Improvements included fireegress, sprinklers and fire wall construction. Services included A/E Management,reviews, construction contract negotiation

Valley Visitor Center/Auditorium/Administration HVAC

Replaced obsolete heating and cooling equipment for Visitor Center, Auditorium and

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Administration Building in the Valley. Services included A/E management, surveyingand reviews.

Valley Visitor Center Rewire & A.V.

Replaced deficient wiring at Visitor Center and Auditoriums in the Valley. Servicesincluded A/E management, surveying and reviews.

Glacier Point Water System VA

Evaluated existing water system for adequacy and regulatory compliance, withrecommendations for improvements. Services included analysis and projectmanagement.

Ostrander Value Analysis

Evaluated existing sewage system at Ostrander Lake for regulatory compliance, andanalyzed system improvements. Services included analysis and project managementanalysis.

Utility Rates Analysis

Evaluated Utility Rate structure for El Portal. Services included analysis andpresentation documentation.

Electrical Conservation

Pursued electrical conservation alternatives, including photovoltaics and PG&Eenergy supply alternatives. Services included PG&E design development and economicanalysis.

Glacier Point Concession Development

Replaced existing comfort station and concession facilities. Services includedconsultation and design review.

Wawona Point Power

Evaluated electrical power alternatives for Wawona Point. Services included designcoordination and analysis.

Crane Flat/White Wolf PV

Analyzed energy alternatives for Crane Flat and White Wolf, including photovoltaics.Services included analysis coordination.

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Substation Acquisition

Evaluated economic feasibility of acquisition of PG&E substation at Cascades.Services included A/E Management, PG&E coordination and analysis.

Co-composting Investigation

Analyzed co-composting technology and feasibility for NPS solid waste operations.Services included A/E Management and Mariposa County coordination.

Mariposa Solid Waste Representative

Represented park interests at Mariposa County Solid Waste Board meetings. Servicesincluded park representative and technical consultation.

Telecommunications

Yosemite Communication Plan

Five year plan for Yosemite communications, including documentation of existingsystems and analysis of future needs. Services included plan development anddocumentation.

Fire Radio System

Installation of new Fire Radio System. Services included technical consultation andreprogramming of over 656 mobile and hand-held radios.

Dispatch Consoles

Five new Public Safety Dispatch consoles, two in Fire Dispatch, two in Park Dispatch,and a remote compact console. Services included design and installation of theconsoles, integrated electronics, 911 logging recorders, and upgrades to the dispatchcenters.

Crane Flat/Wawona Repeaters

Upgrade of radio system infrastructure. Services included supervision andmanagement.

CDF Radio Service

Implementation of CDF radio connection between Henness Ridge and Mt. Bullion forState of California.

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Sentinel Dome Radio Upgrade

Design of the radio site at Sentinel Dome and installation of equipment toaccommodate narrow band communications. Services include design and installation.

Digital/Analog Phone Systems

Upgraded phone systems, including the Superintendent's Office, Chief ofMaintenance, Fire Department, High Voltage Shop, Wawona WWTP, and ResourceDivisions. Services included design and installation supervision.

Communication Guidelines

Development of an Electronic Communication site management guideline for theimplementation and authorization of cellular phone sites and equipment on ParkService property.

GGNRA Communication System

Assisted the Western Region in writing and reviewing a three million dollarcommunication system specification for GGNRA and the Presidio. Participated on thecommittee which evaluated the contracts and bids.

Electronics Support

Provided assistance to all Divisions for engineering guidance, systems evaluation,contracting and installation of electronics and telecommunication systems.

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DIVISION OF VISITOR PROTECTION

General

The shrinking budget and reduced staff without a corresponding reduction in theworkload has been a problem. Ranger Careers impacted the division through thecreation of the GS-9 level journeyman Ranger with automatic 6c retirement coverage.This could cost the division over $130,000 in FY95.

Strides were made in increasing the importance placed upon resource relatedprotection activities. An increase in backcountry patrol activity occurred throughpersonnel exchanges between backcountry and frontcountry operations. Backcountryresource protection activities improved through major rehabilitation efforts (seeBackcountry Management) aimed at protecting resources while still allowing access.

Protection/Law Enforcement

Law enforcement related incidents remained relatively stable compared to 1993. Newstatistical programs showed a significant increase in Part II activity, but the actualincrease in the numbers of incidents remained static.

A total of 1,399 criminal incidents (non-citation) occurred- 408 were Part I- 845 werpcleared. This occured with 103 commissioned Rangers as compared to 149 in 1993.

A total of $300,000 was obligated to rehabilitate the corrections facility to meet OSHAand fire codes. The work was completed in early 1995 and the process has begun toseek Bureau of Prisons certification as a 30-day holding facility. This will bringincome to the operation and will allow the local Magistrate-Judge to more effectivelysentence defendants.

In conjunction with the Magistrate Court, a "Drug Court" was established to try andreduce the number of repeat offenders on alcohol and drug related activities. Theprogram involved the Federal Probation Office, the Offices of the U.S. Attorney andFederal Defender, Yosemite Concession Services, Corp. and the National Park Service.

Fire Management

Park staff were involved in a total of 148 fire related incidents, of which 67 wereeither mutual aid or support actions for other agencies. A total of 5000 acres wasburned with 3500 of that being prescribed fire. The most significant prescribednatural fire was the Horizon Fire in the Horizon Ridge area. This fire was authorizedon May 31, declared a wildfire in August, and managed as such until late fall.Acreage burned was 2,143. Significant wide area interest evolved because of airquality concerns.

Fire Management was reorganized. Two district FMOs were changed to a singlewildfire manager and a structural fire manager in order to place increased emphasison the structural fire program and to try to seek expertise into that position.

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There were 237 structural fire callouts made, 92 of which related to in-park helicopteruse, such as medical evacuations or administrative flights. The total cost exceeded$27,000, a record for in-park incurred expenses.

Backcountry Management

The backcountry operation showed progress in developing a complete resourcemonitoring system that will enable sound management decisions in the future.Campsite monitoring reached new levels and progress was made in developing amonitoring program for stock use. Assistance was received from Dr. David Cole in thisprogram.

A rehab of Kibbe Lake area was coordinated with Resources Management and long-term damage was corrected. Plans for similar efforts are evolving for Rancheria,Chain Lakes, and Cathedral Lakes.

Development of a computerized reservation/permit issuing system was begun with aproposed completion date of early Spring, 1995. This will facilitate permit issuanceand trailhead quota compliance and will be the basis for an eventual multi-agencycentral Sierra permit system. The basic program is being supported by Sequoia NPand the Inyo NF and they appear willing to adopt it as soon as the program iscompleted.

Plans were finalized for the Wilderness Education Center, to be located in the formerArt Activity Center. This will provide visitors with a small interpretive centerfocussed on wilderness and will enable moving the existing permit office to thatlocation. Yosemite Association will be a partner in its development and operation andwill eventually manage the wilderness reservation program for the park.

Search and Rescue

This was the second highest year on record for SAR operations. A total of 230incidents took place at an in-park cost of $15,000. Expenses born by WASO exceeded$370,000. Nine fatalities occurred and at least 50 people were legitimate, recordedsaves. The most significant single event was the rescue of 13 climbers from ElCapitan after a severe storm hit with little warning.

Other

The Protection Division inherited a Resource Management Specialist as the result of achange in RM division. The position has been dedicated to assisting in fire ecologyrelated research, development of a parkwide resource protection program, interagencyecosystem management programs, and the development of resource protection andrehabilitation programs throughout the park. This person will also author theparkwide Vegetation Management Plan due for completion in late 1995.

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DIVISION OF RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Wildlife Management

Black Bear Management

A milestone was reached with the installation of 315 bear-proof food lockers inYosemite Valley campsites that previously had no lockers. Another 186 lockers wereplaced in park campsites where old, smaller lockers were irreparable. Bear activity inthe park continued at a high level with a total of 445 incidents resulting in $138,015in property damage. No human injuries were reported. A total of 26 captures of bearswere made in 1994, with four bears euthanized after they became extraordinarilyaggressive and/or destructive from exposure to human food.

Mountain Lions

A total of 87 lion sightings were reported, an increase of 156% over 1993. Most ofthese sightings were made in Yosemite Valley, often in developed areas. In responseto the frequent sightings, a workshop was held in the park in May to bring togetherdifferent divisions to discuss the threat of lions to human safety, obtain informationon lion biology and behavior, and review a draft SOP on handling lion problems. Acampaign to inform residents and visitors of lions in the park included signs postedalong trails, fliers distributed at entrance stations and visitor centers, articles inYosemite Guide, door-to-door personal contact with residents, and notices sent homewith school children. Wildlife biologist Steve Thompson attended an NPS workshop atDavis in July where representatives from state, federal, and private organizationsdiscussed the widespread incidence of increased mountain lion confrontations andaggression, and developed guidelines for managing these threats.

Bighorn Sheep

Census efforts located a maximum of 72 sheep, a 19% decrease from 1993. This lowernumber, however, is thought to be more a reflection of difficulties in locating sheepthan a true decrease in numbers. Fifteen lambs were born. The Lee Vining Canyonherd is now the largest and most important herd of California bighorn sheep in thestate, as other herds have apparently diminished greatly. As such, other state andfederal agencies involved in their conservation are expected to provide greaterassistance with monitoring efforts in 1995. California bighorn sheep are a StateThreatened and Federal Category 2 listed species that was reintroduced to Lee ViningCanyon in 1986.

Peregrine Falcons

Five nest sites were located and monitored in 1994, including newly-discovered sitesat Glacier Point and the Rostrum in the Merced River Canyon. A total of 12 youngwere fledged from the five sites. Peregrines are both State and Federally designatedas an endangered species.

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Great Gray Owl

Census efforts located seven breeding pairs that fledged at least eleven young. Anadditional eight non-breeding owls were also found. Great Grey Owls are listed as aState Endangered and Federally Sensitive Species and are only found in California inand immediately around Yosemite.

Northern Goshawk

A pilot study to census this species located two active nest sites in the park.Expanded efforts in 1995 and 1996 will provide further information on the status ofthis species in the relatively undisturbed habitats of the park, in comparison withdata being collected in other areas of the Sierra Nevada. The Northern Goshawk is aState Species of Special Concern and a Federal Category 2 candidate species.

Bats

For the second year, researchers Elizabeth Pierson and William Rainey conducted batsurveys in the park locations including Mirror Lake, Wawona, Tuolumne Meadows,and Mono Pass. Results of their surveys are pending.

Disease Vector Monitoring

Collections of ticks, dead squirrels and bear blood were continued to monitor infectionrates. Two cases of Lyme disease in humans were reported from Wawona, and a smallnumbers of ticks collected there tested positive for this disease. Two bears inTuolumne Meadows tested positive for bubonic plague, but no outbreaks in squirrelswere found. Two gray foxes were found days apart in east Yosemite Valley showingsymptoms of distemper, although we were unable to isolate the disease from them.

"Nuisance" Wildlife

A coyote at Glacier Point that had become extraordinarily bold was euthanized toprotect visitors. Over the last three years, this animal had become increasinglyaggressive as it was fed heavily by visitors. Coyotes begging along roads were acommon sight in the park, but enforcement of regulations against feeding wildlife waslacking.

A group of deer that frequented the Valley mall area and Superintendent's Straightwere frequently fed and petted by visitors. Wildlife Management staff spentconsiderable time contacting visitors to discourage these activities, but they wereoverwhelmed by the frequency and severity of the problem.

Mount Lyell Salamander

A survey on the west edge of Half Dome in June found 17 Mount Lyell salamandersin a three-hour period. The Mt. Lyell salamander is a Federal Category 2 Candidatespecies and a State Species of Special Concern. The ban on overnight camping on HalfDome appears to be benefitting the salamanders and the overall environment therewith decreased trash, fire rings, human excrement, and disturbance of rocks (underwhich salamanders are found).

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Restoration

Federal Highway Administration Projects

Sentinel Bridge

The construction of the new Sentinel Bridge in Yosemite Valley was completed in1994. Intensive revegetation of disturbed areas and streambanks occurred, along withthe construction of a split-rail fence.

Tioga Road

The Tioga Road reconstruction project continued in 1994 and was completed by latesummer. Newly graded cut and fill road slopes were revegetated using salvaged plantmaterial and collected seed from previous years.

Wawona South Fork Bridge

Plant materials (seed) were collected, and contract and design specifications weredeveloped with a proposed project construction in FY96.

Merced River Restoration

Sentinel Meadow (Pavilion Square)

The post'n cable fence was replaced with a split-rail fence and project monitoringcontinued.

Swinging Bridge

The old abandoned footbridge abutment was removed and the sandbar restored.Future work will include fence construction along a bikepath and streambankrevegetation.

Sentinel Beach Picnic Area

The commercial raft take-out was relocated to this site for 1994. A temporary fencewas installed to protect riparian areas from impacts.

Ranger Rock/El Capitan Picnic Area

The last remnant of the old El Capitan parking lot was removed, soils decompactedand the area revegetated. Summer/fall irrigation was implemented.

Lower River Campground

Project maintenance continued at these two previously completed restoration siteswhich included mulching and summer/fall irrigation.

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Happy Isles

Project maintenance continued at this previously restored site which includedsummer/fall irrigation.

Devils Elbow

The second parking area was removed, soils decompacted and the area mulched andseeded. Additional revegetation and mulching occurred along the river terrace andstreambank. An additional fence was installed west of the site to focus visitor use to a

sandbar downstream. Summer/fall irrigation was implemented.

Group Camp

A temporary post'n cable fence was installed to protect riparian habitat along TenayaCreek. Exclosure soils were decompacted and the area was mulched. Furtherrevegetation will occur.

Merced River Ecosystem Management Plan

A first draft was completed for in-park review.

Wilderness Restoration

Old Glen Aulin Trail

This was the third and final year for restoration of the old abandoned Glen Aulin trailin Tuolumne Meadows. Over 2,000 feet of trail was completely obliterated and thearea revegetated by the Student Conservation Association (SCA), a high school workgroup.

Kibbie Lake

Campsite and use-trail (non-designated, user-developed trails) restoration work wascompleted at this popular backcountry site. Backpacker and stock user camp areaswere designated and all impacts within 100 feet of the lakeshore were rehabilitated.Work was completed by a SCA high school work group.

Ten Lakes

Over two dozen campfire rings and a dozen campsites were removed. Campsites inappropriate locations, 100 feet from the lakeshores, were maintained and the campfirerings cleaned and rebuilt. Work was completed by a SCA high school work group.

Sunrise High Sierra Camp

A quarter-mile of abandoned sewer line was removed from a meadow. Sod wassalvaged and replaced immediately following the removal of the pipe. Two abandonedsewer ponds were filled in and recontoured using a packer-led mule team pulling aFresno scraper. The newly restored area was then revegetated using sod that wassalvaged prior to the scraper work.

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Tuolumne Meadows Restoration Projects

Tenaya Lake

A disused restroom building was torn down and the debris removed from thesouthshore of the old campground. Soils at the building site and at the old campsiteswere decompacted using a small bulldozer. The areas were mulched and revegetatedwith salvaged material from the Tuolumne Visitor Center parking lot project.

Campground Sewer Line

Plant material was salvaged along the sewer line in the Tuolumne MeadowsCampground. Salvaged material was stored for the winter at Gaylor Pit and will bereplanted following sewer line pipe replacement in 1995.

Visitor Center Parking

Plant material was salvaged from the new parking lot prior to heavy equipmentgrading. Salvaged material was stored for the winter at Gaylor Pit and will bereplanted in 1995. Some salvaged plants were used at Tenaya Lake.

Yosemite Valley Restoration Projects

Stoneman Meadow Fence

The seven-year old post'n rope fence along South Side Drive was replaced with acedar split-rail fence and the strip parking area adjacent to the fence was regradedand surfaced with aggregate rock.

Mirror Lake

This was the first year of a multi-year restoration and trail rehabilitation project atMirror Lake and Tenaya Canyon. In 1994, trail maintenance work was completedalong the Tenaya Canyon loop trail; asphalt was removed from an old parking areaand mulch was stockpiled. A small area next to the lower pool was restored andseveral dozen trees were planted, and trails delineated. Staff from the WaterResources Division at Fort Collins completed an hydrologic assessment for TenayaCreek and the Mirror Lake dam.

Meadow Mapping

Hydrologic and geomorphic features of Yosemite Valley's meadows are being identifiedand mapped. Analysis and interpretation of these natural and man-made features'influences on natural processes will lead to the development of a restoration plan anddraft meadow management plan.

Other Projects

Horizon Fire Rehabilitation

Burned area emergency rehabilitation measures were implemented on the 3,700-acre

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wilderness area fire. Over eight miles of hand-built fireline and several helispots wererestored, and several miles of hiking trial maintenance was completed which includedwork to waterbars, trail tread and stump mitigation.

Exotic Plant Eradication

Parkwide non-native plant eradication work was performed using NPS, concessionerand volunteer work groups. Target species were bull thistle, yellow star thistle andcommon mullein.

Planning, Compliance and Physical Science Branch

Planning and Environmental Compliance Unit

YOSE Project Proposals Processed

94-001 Valley District HVAC Project94-002 Wilderness Kibbie94-003 Food Impound Storage Facility94-004 Housekeeping Riparian Restoration94-005 Sentinel Bridge Restoration94-006 Stoneman Meadow Fence94-007 South Entrance Upgrade94-008 Telephone Upgrade to Building #400294-009 Lower Pines Handicap Site94-010 Volley Ball Court94-011 Install a Radio Telemetric Valve System - Camp Mather

Water Supply94-012 New Lower River Campground Host Campsite94-013 Install and Operate a Remediation System at the Former

Chinquapin Service Station94-014 Swinging Bridge Vault Toilet94-015 Sentinel Creek Picnic Area94-016 Install 2 MonitoringWells at the Former Chinquapin

Service Station94-017 Tent Cabin Construction94-018 Cellular Phone System Installation94-019 Install Additional Propane Service94-020 Telephone Line to Trailer94-021 Storage Yard Consolidation94-022 Mariposa Grove Museum Electrical Power94-023 Ostrander Sanitary Facilities94-024 Vault Toilet Installation at Yosemite Valley chapel94-025 Leach Field Expansion at Crane Flat Campground94-026 Crane Flat Remediation94-027 Tuolumne Meadows Former Fuel Station Remediation

Work Plan94-028 White Wolf Storage Container94-029 Wawona Rest room Light94-030 Elevated Brass Survey Markers94-031 Odgers Propane Tank

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94-03294-033

Host and Cable Fence Continuation along Bike PathCellular Telephone Facility - Wawona Point

Summary: 26142

Categorical ExclusionsProject DeniedProjects on HoldEnvironmental Assessments Required

DCS Project Coordination

♦ Valley Implementation Plan♦ Yosemite Valley Housing Plan♦ El Portal Employee Housing, Phase IV

Environmental Assessments Completed

♦ May Lake Water Systems Upgrade♦ Tuolumne Meadows Sewer System Upgrade Project♦ Upgrade of LYV Ranger Station

Environmental Contamination Unit

CERCLA Projects

El Portal Barium Mine

Completed site investigation, compiled aerial evaluation of barium tailings, obtained"no further action required" status from Cal-EPA.

Evaluated contamination levels associated with seven formaldehyde contaminatedtoilet sites.

Excavated El Portal Asphalt Batch Plant site contamination.

Completed site investigation of Forest Barn site contamination.

Started El Portal Landfill post-closure monitoring process.

RCRA Projects

Obtained closure of four hazmat storage areas and one oil separator discharge site.

Assisted Death Valley with quarterly groundwater monitoring.

Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program

♦ Submitted closure reports for 12 former UST sites♦ Received closure for two USTs from state♦ Began remediation of only current UST site♦ Discovered four additional USTs to be removed♦ Submitted four UST quarterly reports to the state

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Provided technical assistance in emergency response to fuel spills.

Other Projects

Participated in NPS Training Task Force.

Provided Technical Assistance to WRO UST Program for:

♦ Pinnacles♦ Lassen Volcanic♦ Joshua Tree

Water Resources Unit

San Francisco Water Projects

Worked with the City of San Francisco for specifications to protect water quality atLake Eleanor Dam.

Commented on Draft Sanitary Survey completed by CH2M Hill for the City of SanFrancisco.

Conducted preliminary meetings to discuss and provide resource information for theTuolumne River Watershed Management Plan, to be completed by CH2M Hill for theCity of San Francisco.

Coordinated with the City of San Francisco to install automatic shutoff to protect theCanyon Creek drainage and to restore flows; coordinated telemetric valve system fordiversions from Canyon Creek.

Management Plans

Began the update of the Water Resource Management Plan, to be completed in thesummer of 1995.

Provided technical information and assisted with the Flood Management Plan update.

Wetlands Projects

Jurisdictional Wetland Delineation for Proposed Wawona Bridge Diversion on theSouth Fork of the Merced River, YOSE 565.

Jurisdictional Wetland Delineation for the Proposed Tuolumne Meadows CampgroundWater Line/Wells Installation Project and Tuolumne Meadows Sewer Lagoons SprayField Improvements, YOSE 383.

Wetlands Delineation of Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center Parking Lot ExpansionArea.

Wetlands Delineation of the Tuolumne Meadows Campground for the Proposed SewerLine Installation.

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Coordinated the National Wetlands Inventory for Yosemite, done by the Fish andWildlife Service, to be completed late summer 1995.

USGS Projects

Completed document review and commented on two USGS publications:

♦ Wawona Water Availability Analysis,♦ Merced River Hydro Benchmark Synoptic Analysis.

Coordinated NAWQA projects with the USGS for FY95.

Other Projects

Third Year of Surface Water Quality Monitoring and Evaluation, Five High VisitorUse Areas Program.

Coordinated the installation of the Tioga Pass Rain Gauge.

Provided technical assistance and water resource information for the San Jose Teamto complete the Sanitary Survey for the Merced River.

Provided water quality training for the watershed protection staff, wildernesstechnicians, and interpreters, with an additional information follow up.

Air Resources Unit

Performed station checks, calibrations, and audits for air quality monitoringequipment, including:

♦ Ozone stations at Yosemite Valley, Wawona, Camp Mather, and TurtlebackDome

♦ Particulate matter stations at Yosemite Valley Visitor Center, Ahwahnee, andTurtleback Dome

♦ Visibility monitoring stations at Turtleback Dome (35mm camera andIMPROVE) and Foresta

Air quality staff worked closely with Prescribed Natural Fire (PNF) staff andMariposa County Health Department to monitor air quality impacts (smoke andvisibility) from Horizon PNF.

A four-person crew completed the fourth consecutive year of bio-effects monitoring,called Project FOREST, to monitor air quality impacts (ozone) to vegetation(ponderosa pine).

Loaned the TEOM particulate matter sampler to Yellowstone N.P. so they couldmonitor air quality impacts from snowmobiles at the west entrance.

Installed wildlife/air quality/recycling interpretive signs on picnic tables in YosemiteValley campgrounds.

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Worked with other NPS, USFS, and BLM units in the Sierra Nevada under theFederal Clean Air Partnership to take a regional stance on air quality impacts. Hiredconsultant, Jim Blankenship, to write a Sierra-Wide Air Resources Plan.

Cultural Resources

Mirror Lake Project

A cultural landscape inventory was prepared in support of planning for the MirrorLake project, the purpose of which is to restore impacted areas and to improve visitorfacilities. Staff were also involved with identifying the range of alternatives and issuesto be evaluated (draft is scheduled for release in 1995).

Valley Implementation Plan

The draft Cultural Landscape Report has been prepared for Yosemite Valley.Comments have been forwarded to the contractor, through the VIP Project Manager.

DSC Projects

Work was completed in support of:

♦ Phases III and IV Housing in El Portal (YOSE 504CD and 504DD)- monitoringand planning/compliance packages

♦ Phase 8 and 9 Electric (YOSE 473H and I), Maintenance Warehouse (YOSE504BA)—field work for both phases, compliance package completed for phaseeight, compliance package in preparation for phase nine

♦ South Fork Creek Bridge (YOSE 565)--field work, lab work, report writing;♦ Glacier Point Road Project (YOSE 843B)--planning♦ El Portal Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements (YOSE 504BB)--planning♦ Reconstruction of Tioga Road (YOSE 146A)-monitoring and report preparation

Oak Lane Cul-de-Sac

A plan/compliance package has been completed for construction of a cul-de-sacbetween the Superintendent's quarters and the day care center, and the removal ofsome road surface. The MOA for the action has been signed and routed to the regionaloffice. The Advisory Council has reviewed and concurred with wording for the MOA.

Tuolumne Meadows Campground/Sewer Project

Archeological fieldwork was completed at five sites in Tuolumne Meadows; the workwas contracted to Dames & Moore in support of the City of San Francisco's sewer linerehabilitation project.

Archeological Synthesis

A contract to synthesize the Yosemite archeological data collected during the past 15years was awarded to Infotec Research, Inc. This synthesis will assist in determiningwhich research questions have been answered and in the developing the researchdesign to guide future archeological work.

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Native American Consultations

The park's consultation committee is developing a draft agreement to cover therelationship between the National Park Service and the American Indian Council ofMariposa County (AICMC). Elements of the agreement will include the creation of acultural center, Native American interpretation, the annual Indian Day's celebration,and traditional uses, including collecting. The committee has also conducted workrequired by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA);additional discussion of NAGPRA activity is listed under Interpretation/Collections.

Programmatic Memorandum of Agreement (PMOA)

Park staff are working with the Western Regional Office to develop the language for aPMOA between Yosemite/Field Office and the California State Historic PreservationOffice, to cover historic preservation activities.

List of Classified Structures

A Western Region team completed the first phase of work on amendments to the Listof Classified Structures for Yosemite. Work was focused upon improvingdocumentation for Camp Curry, Ansel Adams Gallery and several other structures.

Cultural Component of Resource Management Assessment Program

Park staff are assisting in the development of this component of RMAP, helping thelead staff in the Pacific Area Office (CRMAP is scheduled for completion during FY95)

NPS Restructuring/(NHPA) Section 106 Compliance

Park Staff participated in a WASO meeting to discuss Section 106 compliance underthe future reorganization. We will continue to offer our support and review asrequested.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

The park participated in interagency coordination of GIS activities in the SierraNevada region. The GIS group, which serves in an advisory capacity to the Sierramanager's group, is developing a data catalog for the region and a scarce skills list forGIS personnel.

Personnel

Hired an Historical Architect, Sylvia Augustus, from WASO. She has begun work insupport of numerous maintenance and planning projects and is pulling together thescopes of work for preservation documents for use by the park concessioner.

The GIS position was accepted by Joe Meyer of the Mid-West Regional Office.

Four temporary archeologist positions were converted to term appointments.

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OFFICE OF SAFETY AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Bloodborne Pathogen Plan

The Park Sanitarian drafted the Bloodborne Pathogen Plan which is now available infinal form.

Hazardous Materials and Waste

Hazardous waste clean up continued in El Portal under the direction ofMark Butler.

Hazardous waste removal was conducted by Safety Kleen on a regular basisthroughout the park. The 1994 yearly service cost was $35,000. This year the parkdisposed of 84.65 tons of hazardous waste which is down from 90.03 tons in 1993.

Hazardous substance tax disposal fees for 1994 totaled $365.

Federal hazardous waste generator fee and waste reporting surcharge fee return for1994 totaled $3,332. The park was also required to pay the fee for 1991 which wasunderpaid by $2,787.

Oil and Hazardous Materials Spill Prevention and Emergency Response Plan isavailable in final form.

Recurring hazardous waste violations are still a concern but efforts are underway toestablish local control at the hazardous waste storage lockers.

Industrial Hygiene

University of Washington, Industrial Hygiene graduate student Jeanne Hoppecompleted the following work over the summer:

♦ Prepared the Tuolumne County Hazardous Materials Business Plan includingpreparation of the working document in response to Executive Order #12856and the Federal Facilities Compliance Act.

♦ Completed hazardous materials inventories at maintenance yards and storagesites throughout the county.

♦ Bulk asbestos samples along Lembert Dome Access Road revealed chrysotileasbestos content of 5-70%. This information was forwarded to the SafetyManager and the Chief of Maintenance.

♦ Personal and area air samples along the road and at the stables did not exceedthe standard in place at that time for occupational exposures. However, aproposal to cut, by half, the permissible exposure limit (PEL) the fall waspublished in the Federal Register during the summer. Halving the PEL wouldalso reduce the action level by one-half.

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♦ Results of three full day personal dosimetry samplings (noise monitoring) in theMachine Shop indicated the need for the implementation of a hearingconservation program in compliance with 29 CFR 1910.95. Further samplingwas recommended. Hearing protection was available to these employees.

♦ A rudimentary noise map was created on August 31, 1994. The welding andgrinding shop experienced high noise levels. This noise map was created fromspot measurements at the operator's positions. Noise ranged from 90.1-110.9decibels on the A-weighted scale (dBA). Regulation 29 CFR 1910.95 requiresthe implementation of engineering controls where feasible to reduce noise levelsto the eight hour time-weighted average (TWA) PEL of 90 DBA. Ordinary tasksin the machine shop, such as impact wrenching and seating tires, results inimpulsive noises of 104.9-107.2 DBA. Further sampling is recommended.

♦ Carbon Monoxide (CO) continuous monitors at entrance stations were

calibrated throughout the summer to enable entrance station personnel toaccurately record CO levels. Several monitors malfunctioned which hamperedthis effort; however, high readings and frequent complaints came from the BigOak Flat Entrance Station. Personal monitoring for CO was completed at theTioga Pass Entrance Station by using passive dosimeter tubes. No exposuresexceeded the PEL of 35 parts per million (ppm) over an eight hour shift. Therewere, however, a few complaints of headaches from personnel.

♦ Noise and respirable silica monitoring of Erin Anders' trail crew along the LyellFork was the first such testing of a trail crew in recent memory. The crew wasreceptive and interested as it pertained to their personal health. Overall, thesafety precautions and practices observed were exemplary.

♦ Three members of the trail crew were monitored for noise with a personaldosimeter. The practice of the crew is to wear hearing protection when drillingrock. The need for hearing protection during blasting is unclear. Impact noiseat the 1000 foot safety line peaked at 129 DBA. Levels at the 500 footdetonation site must have been greater than this. The standard sets the limitfor impulse noise at 140 DBA. The crew stated that hearing protection was notworn by the detonating team because the ears need to be open to adjust to thesonic pressure created by the blast. Several Certified Industrial Hygienistswere unable to verify or reject this notion. When the answer is determined, TimLudington will be notified.

♦ Personal respirable silica sampling of crew members during rock drillingrevealed that respirators must be worn during this process. This is the practiceof the crew. The crew foreman had a good understanding of proper respiratoruse, with only clean shaven crew members doing this work. A respirable silicasample taken during routine trail construction and maintenance (hammering)determined the exposure to be well within the OSHA PEL though it wasapproximately 40% of the more conservative NIOSH PEL. Crew members havebeen informed that dust respirators are available should they choose to wearone.

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Inspections

Former OSHA inspector Alison Goode, now Safety Officer at Glen Canyon NationalRecreation Area, conducted an in-park inspection as a training opportunity to identifyprobable citation elements.

Loss Control Program

Overall, accident rates continued to decline. However, this could be due to a lack ofreporting via the Accident/Incident Report Form (DI-134).

A loss Control Plan is still under development.

Notable Events

The Ostrander Ski Hut was closed for the 1995 winter season pending correctiveaction on the sewage system.

Occupational Health and Safety Administration

The citation regarding the Administration Building fire escapes was corrected. Anexpandable ladder was installed leading from the Safety Office to a platform on thesecond floor.

The citations regarding the jail have been corrected and the final inspection wasscheduled with OSHA for February 1995.

Two flammable storage lockers were purchased for Valley Utilities for $1,245 to meetOSHA requirements.

Public Health

A rodent-proofing study funded by the Centers for Disease Control was implementedthis fall. Hantavirus specialists trained a local maintenance worker on rodent-proofingtechniques. Results of the study will be known after the Tioga Pass Road is clearedand seasonal cabins at Tuolumne Meadows, White Wolf, and Hodgdon Meadows areopened.

Cross connection inspections for all park public water systems were ongoing.Installation of approved cross connection and back flow prevention devices werecompleted at the El Portal school, Yosemite Medical Clinic and various buildingsthroughout the park.

There were 40 complaints from park visitors and concession employees related topossible foodborne illness. Investigations and laboratory testing concluded that noneof the complaints were valid or warranted.

Three confirmed dog bites were reported to the Safety Office. All of the biteshappened in the Valley.

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Three vectorborne illness complaints were investigated. Recurring incidents ofbedbugs were experienced at the Yosemite Lodge and Little Yosemite Valley rangercabin by both guests and employees.

Monitoring for the lyme disease tick (Ixodes paciflca) population density and locationwas done as a partnership with Resource Management, California State PublicHealth, Vector Control Branch, and the park Sanitarian. Large populations have beenidentified in Wawona, El Portal and El Capitan meadow.

The Yosemite Child Care Center and the Yosemite Elementary School experiencedfrequent and comprehensive outbreaks of lice. Although the school did not close,dismissal and treatment of all children at the time of evidenced outbreaks expeditedcontrol of the problem.

Public Health Service/Federal Occupational Health

The Medical Surveillance Program is underway. One hundred forty employees hadexaminations for a total cost of $37,000. The benefitting account paid for theexamination. A computer matrix is being developed that will allow us to forecast whowill need examinations and for which cycle they should be scheduled. This will allowfor more ease in scheduling and budget requests for medical surveillance costs. ThePublic Health Service is working with the Yosemite Medical Clinic to allow us toperform examinations at the clinic which will further reduce costs for each individual.

Training

Confined space entrant/attendant and entry supervisor training was conducted in-park by D-2000 for 54 employees.

Down power line training was conducted in-park by PG&E for 28 employees.

Lockout/Tagout training was conducted by the Public Health Service for 60 employees.

Oil and Hazardous Materials Spill Prevention Emergency Response Plan briefing wasconducted by the Safety Officer for 37 employees.

Safety for First Line Supervisors was conducted in-park by Western Regional OfficeChief of Safety and Sequoia/Kings Canyon Safety Officer for 20 employees.

The Safety Office video library now contains 67 videos available for general safetytraining. We also have access to OSHA, Department of Veteran's Affairs and NASLemoore's video libraries.

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