Yosemite Wilderness Restoration Program

2019 Accomplishments

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Special thanks to the foresight & longtime support of:

And to everyone else who makes our work possible:

Traditionally Associated Tribes and Groups of Yosemite National Park

Division of Visitor and Resource Protection 

Branch of Anthropology 

Branch of Roads and Trails

Branch of Wildlife Management

Yosemite Hospitality


“Action on behalf of life transforms. Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.” Robin Wall Kimmerer

Our Purpose

Nearly 95% of Yosemite is Congressionally designated  Wilderness . Considered a  biodiversity hot spot , it's home to nearly 2,000 plant and animal species, spanning elevations from 2,127 feet to 13,114 feet.

The Wilderness Restoration Program (WRP) seeks to protect these invaluable ecosystems by reducing modern human's footprint in wilderness.

Decorative image; meadow filled with lupines, illuminated with light

Our Focus

We target ecological issues such as compacted soils, erosion, vegetation loss, disruption to water flow, and habitat fragmentation. These can result from inappropriately located campsites, trails in meadows, and social trails.

With increasing visitation and changing climate, these issues make Yosemite's ecosystems more vulnerable to degradation.

Trail ruts bisecting wide open alpine meadow

Our Collaborators

With a human history dating back almost 10,000 years, Yosemite has a rich diversity of stories told through artifacts left behind and contemporary American Indian communities with traditional associations to the park.

As much of our work takes place in potentially culturally sensitive areas, WRP collaborates with traditionally associated tribes, through the park's tribal liaison, and archeology staff to preserve these critical resources.

Close-up of translucent projectile point held between two fingers

Our Legacy

Since 1987, WRP has ecologically restored miles of trail ruts and thousands of inappropriately located campsites to natural conditions. Our work protects Yosemite's invaluable resources for generations to come.

In 2019, dedicated volunteers and staff continued this important work to preserve Yosemite Wilderness.


2019 Crews

Restoration staff photo; posing in front of Ahwahnee meadow

National Park Service

Student Conservation Association

Wilderness Volunteers

Campsite Restoration

(Funded by YC and HH-SFPUC)


Crews walked 211 trail miles and surveyed 15.78 square miles of Wilderness.

National Park Service (NPS - green line)

Student Conservation Association (SCA - blue dotted)

Wilderness Volunteers (WV - orange dashed)

Surveyed over 40 locations, treating 794 campsites

Sites removed & restored: 446

Sites maintained: 348

Yosemite Valley - North Rim

Total sites treated: 155

Sites removed & restored: 97

Sites maintained: 58

Camping Trends

WRP collects data for each campsite treated. Multi-year analysis shows relative success of restoration work and informs future management decisions.

Parkwide from 2002-2019:

  • Campsites too close to water (within 100 feet) have decreased 20%.
  • No significant change in campsites too close to trail (within 100 feet).

Camping Trends in Thru-Hiker Corridors

Yosemite contains nearly 70 miles of the PCT and nearly 33 miles of the JMT. Rising popularity of these trails increases impacts to resources.

Source: Pacific Crest Trail Association - pcta.org/visitor-use-statistics

From 2009 to 2019, campsite data reveals on average, 8.8% more illegal campsites along the PCT than across the entire Tuolumne watershed.

Invasive Plant Treatment

(Funded by Yosemite Conservancy)


Survey area (purple striped polygons) in Little Yosemite Valley

Surveyed and manually treated 157 acres for invasive plants species including:

Cirsium vulgare / Bull thistle

Taraxacum officinale / Common dandelion

Lactuca serriola / Prickly lettuce

Tragopogon dubius / Yellow salsify

Lyell Canyon Meadow Restoration

(Funded in 2019 by HH-SFPUC, Previously by YC & HH-SFPUC)


Eighth year of work in Lyell Canyon: Restoring John Muir Trail (blue) and Pacific Crest Trail (orange) sections that bisect wet meadows. 2019 project sites are shown as red-dashed boxes.

Finished work in past project sites: 2018, 2017, 2015

Restored 7,984.2 square feet of trail to meadow habitat (orange outlined area)

Affected 8.74 acres of Tuolumne River watershed (striped blue area)

Restoration Monitoring

WRP implements photo points and vegetation transects to monitor restoration success.

Data from Lyell Canyon's 2013 restoration site. From 2013 to 2019, vegetation cover (green) has increased 21%, while trampled ground (orange) and bare ground (brown) have decreased 13% and 7% respectively.

Photo Points

Lyell Canyon - 2013 Project Site (2013)

Lyell Canyon, 2013 Project Site (2019)

Lyell Canyon (2014)

Lyell Canyon (2019)

Lyell Canyon (2017)

Lyell Canyon (2019)

Upper Cathedral Lake Meadow (2010)

Upper Cathedral Lake Meadow (2019)

Tuolumne Meadows, Soda Store Social Trail (2017)

Tuolumne Meadows, Soda Store Social Trail (2019)

Lukens Lake Meadow (2008)

Lukens Lake Meadow (2019)

Campsite Before and Afters

Chilnualna Falls

Ring reduced

Chilnualna Falls

Ring reduced

Yosemite Falls

Ring removed, too close to trail, too close to rim

Yosemite Falls

Ring removed, too close to trail, too close to rim

North Dome

Ring reduced

North Dome

Ring reduced

Johnson Lake

Ring removed, too close to water

Johnson Lake

Ring removed, too close to water

Cultural Collaboration

The seven traditionally associated tribes of Yosemite National Park consult with cultural and natural resource managers to integrate traditional ecological knowledge with science-based adaptive management throughout the park, protecting cultural and natural resources.

"Our Traditional Ecological Knowledge and stewardship methods include sustainable plant gathering and using fire to revitalize the land. These techniques ensure our survival while enhancing and diversifying the ecosystem." Traditionally Associated Tribes of Yosemite

Following historic preservation law, NPS archeologists survey ecological restoration project areas, document archeological sites, and provide information to work crews so that disturbance to sites is avoided during restoration activities. At the beginning of the field season, archeologists teach crews about Yosemite's rich cultural heritage, how to identify artifacts, and what to do when you encounter archeological sites.

NPS archeologists teach SCA participants how to spot cultural materials.

2019 Wilderness Archeology Accomplishments

  • Recorded 11 previously undocumented archeological sites
  • Revisited 4 sites for re-documentation purposes
  • Surveyed 553 acres of Yosemite wilderness

Some historic cultural materials found in 2019 (left to right: rusted aluminum can, NPS staff examines a piece of historic glass, SCA participant points to a historic aluminum can for future relocation)

Some prehistoric cultural materials recorded in 2019 (left to right: obsidian point, rock pestle found in a fire ring, obsidian tool)

"As you walk through this park, remember who walked here before you and imagine who will walk here after you. We ask that you respect this place so that our people can continue to enjoy these lands like our ancestors have." Traditionally Associated Tribes of Yosemite

Season Photos

Learn how Yosemite Conservancy supports our work:


Credits

Created by: Anna Carney Biological Science Technician, Victoria Hartman Wilderness Restoration Biologist

Quote Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

Quote Robin Wall Kimmerer

Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

Photo Cover

Daniel Goldeen

Photo Lupines in light

Daniel Goldeen

Photo Alpine meadow with trail

Daniel Goldeen

Photo Cathedral Peak

Daniel Goldeen

Photo SCA Crew Photo

SCA Crew

Photo SCA crossing stream

Daniel Goldeen

Quotes traditional ecological knowledge, respect this land

Traditionally Associated Tribes of Yosemite

Photo Breaking log with shovel

Daniel Goldeen

All other photos

NPS Staff

NPS archeologists teach SCA participants how to spot cultural materials.

Some historic cultural materials found in 2019 (left to right: rusted aluminum can, NPS staff examines a piece of historic glass, SCA participant points to a historic aluminum can for future relocation)

Some prehistoric cultural materials recorded in 2019 (left to right: obsidian point, rock pestle found in a fire ring, obsidian tool)

Source: Pacific Crest Trail Association - pcta.org/visitor-use-statistics

Survey area (purple striped polygons) in Little Yosemite Valley

Data from Lyell Canyon's 2013 restoration site. From 2013 to 2019, vegetation cover (green) has increased 21%, while trampled ground (orange) and bare ground (brown) have decreased 13% and 7% respectively.