Daily Report - Yosemite National Park
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Weather
Yosemite: TODAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS AND SLIGHT
CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE MORNING...THEN MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF
SNOW SHOWERS...SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE
AFTERNOON. NOT AS COOL. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 30 PERCENT. SNOW LEVEL
ABOVE 8000 FEET. HIGHS 59 TO 69 IN YOSEMITE VALLEY...39 TO 49 IN THE HIGH
COUNTRY.
TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SHOWERS...
THUNDERSTORMS AND SNOW SHOWERS IN THE EVENING...THEN PARTLY CLOUDY AFTER
MIDNIGHT. SNOW LEVEL ABOVE 8000 FEET. LOWS 31 TO 41 IN YOSEMITE VALLEY...25
TO 33 IN THE HIGH COUNTRY.
FRIDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. NOT AS COOL. HIGHS 66 TO 76 IN YOSEMITE VALLEY...45
TO 55 IN THE HIGH COUNTRY.
FRIDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 33 TO 43 IN YOSEMITE VALLEY... 26 TO 34
IN THE HIGH COUNTRY.
SATURDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS 66 TO 76 IN YOSEMITE VALLEY...45 TO 55 IN
THE HIGH COUNTRY.
El Portal: Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 73. West northwest wind
between 7 and 13 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 42. North northeast wind between
5 and 11 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 76. North northwest wind between 5 and 11
mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 41. Calm wind becoming east
between 7 and 10 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. East southeast wind at 11 mph
becoming west southwest.
Happening Today/This Week (Check the Community News section for other
events)
Beth Waldow is moving to private law practice. After over 30 years of
government service in a variety of jobs, Beth will be joining the Walter
Wilhelm Law Group in June. The Visitor & Resource Protection Division
greatly appreciate all her contributions. As the current prosecutor for
misdemeanor cases she has been an ardent advocate for the park. Please
join us in a potluck celebration, May 30, 5:30 p.m. at Jodi Gover's
residence, Tecoya H116 on the Awahnee Meadow. Bring a dish to share, BYOB,
and a lawn chair. (C. Cuvelier - 5/20/08)
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National Parks Family Day
Date: May 31, 2008
Location: Fresno, CA
Description: Annual Event Brings National Parks to Fresno Families
FREE annual community event designed to introduce the national parks to
everyone living in Fresno County. Families experience Yosemite, Sequoia,
and Kings Canyon national parks with a full day of hands-on fun and
educational activities.
Meet National Park Rangers from Sequoia, Yosemite, and Kings Canyon
National Parks, Pinnacles National Monument, Juan Bautista de Anza
National Historic Trail, and San Francisco Maritime National Historic
Park who will teach you about the wildlife and history of the national
parks
Learn the basics of camping from Philip Hoelzel, author of Como Acampar
Enjoy live entertainment from dance, music and performance groups
Experience an educational presentation provided by REI and others
Join us!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Storyland/Playland at Roeding Park
890 W. Belmont Ave., Fresno, CA 93728
Located just east of Freeway 99 between Belmont and Olive Avenues.
This great event is brought to the Central Valley by a partnership between
the National Parks Conservation Association, Central California Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce, Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks;
Delaware North Companies, Inc. and Yosemite Association
New Today
Contracting Office Closure - Please be advised that the Contracting and
Procurement office will be closed for internal administrative operations on
Wednesday, June 4, 2008. If you experience an unexpected, urgent situation,
please contact Dan Sohn at 379-1173. (L. Schafer - 5/29/08)
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El Portal Spring Clean this Saturday 5/31 from 9am to noon. If you want to
help haul please be at the community hall at 9am with gloves on. If you
need help hauling something please call Mark and Allie before Saturday at
379-2619 and we will be by with volunteers between 9 and noon. Please note
that some restrictions apply (i.e., no refrigerators). (N. Nicholas/M.
Deglomine - 5/29/08)
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YOSEMITE IS OUR BACKYARD - 2008
Once again, Yosemite Institute is offering an outdoor education program
just for local children. The groups will be separated by age, 7-9 and
10-12 year-olds, depending on enrollment. Day hikes will begin each day at
8:45 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. plus, again this year, on Thursday a cookout
and campfire at Crane Flat for the 7-9 year olds and an overnight at the
Historic Merced Grove Ranger Cabin for the 10-12 year olds!
DATES: JUNE 9-13, 2008
COST: $150.00
To keep the cost of the program as low as we can, one volunteer parent
chaperone is needed for each hiking group each day, plus one for the 10 –
12 year-olds going on the overnight to the Merced Grove Ranger Cabin.
There is no cost for chaperones. Adults who chaperone all week can bring
one child at no cost. Adults who can chaperone 2-3 days can bring one
child at 1/2 price.
FOR MORE INFORMATION & REGISTRATION FORMS, PICK UP AN ENROLLMENT PACKET AT
YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL OFFICE, AT YOSEMITE INSTITUTE, CALL YI - 379-9511 OR
EMAIL - yi@yni.org. (P. Schmidt - 5/29/08)
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NOLS/WMI WILDERNESS FIRST RESPONDER COURSE (WFR)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Essential for anyone who spends significant time in remote places or who
has a professional career in the outdoors, the Wilderness First Responder
(WFR) course will prepare you to make difficult medical decisions. This
course is fast-paced and engaging. You'll spend half your time outside of
the classroom doing hands-on skills and realistic scenarios. In addition to
scenarios, you'll participate in a full-scale night mock rescue. WMI's
curriculum encompasses a wide range of topics including long-term patient
care, wound management, straightening angulated fractures, reducing
dislocations, litter packaging and administering medications. You'll
complete this course with the tools and confidence to manage patients in
the backcountry for multiple days. The intensive 80-hour curriculum is
nationally recognized and supported by the Wilderness Medicine Institute's
Medical Advisory Panel. You'll be taught by dynamic educators who have
practiced both wilderness and urban medicine. This 10-day course is ideal
for all professionals operating in remote environments. Adult CPR
certification is included. The WFR course is pre-approved for 70 hours of
EMT CEU's by CECBEMS.
DATES: August 11-20, 2008
COST: $685.00 (without lodging), $995.00 (with shared lodging at Curry
Village)
LOCATION: East Auditorium, YNP
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER, CALL YOSEMITE INSTITUTE - 379-9511 OR
EMAIL - yi@yni.org. (P. Schmidt - 5/29/08)
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Rental: One bedroom, one bath at $475/mo. Appliances included, with front
loading washer and dryer. Partial furnishing optional. Located near
Highway 140 on Colorado Rd, Midpines. Please no pets. Contact information:
510-915-0404 OK till 10:30 pm, leave a message for best time to call back.
(C. Baker/O. Brender - 5/29/08)
Park News
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and the National Park
Service (NPS) are planning to conduct a "controlled flood" of water from
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir May 27-29. The purpose of this pulse flow is to
examine what pre-dam spring run-off conditions were like downstream of
O'Shaughnessy Dam. This controlled flood will help SFPUC and NPS staff
understand relationships between the Tuolumne River in flood and
groundwater levels, extent of wetlands, and ecological responses to spring
floods.
The Tuolumne River below the dam is presently running at about 80 cubic
feet per second (cfs), but will begin to rise on Tuesday, May 27, peaking
on Wednesday, May 28 at about 6,000 cfs. For comparison, the Merced River
recently peaked at about 4,000 cfs on Saturday, May 17. By Friday, May 30
the river should be back down to about 80 cfs. Be aware of these elevated
flows if planning hikes downstream of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (e.g.
Poopenaut Valley) during this time. (N. Nicholas - 5/22/08)
Announcements
The time has come for another year's cycle of The Yosemite Fund's grant
proposal process!
The park benefits enormously from this partnership; in fact, The Yosemite
Fund has donated over $40 million to Yosemite since 1988. This process is
the mechanism by which Yosemite National Park requests funding from The
Yosemite Fund and its donors to further the park's mission and accomplish
important work for which other funding sources may not be available. The
grants for approved proposals from this process will go into effect in
January 2009.
Anyone affiliated with Yosemite, including non-NPS employees such as a
concessioner, can submit a proposal, although it must be submitted through
a Division Chief. The first deadline is several weeks away to allow for
collaboration in developing proposals. Notifying and working with the
appropriate division chief well in advance of the deadline is strongly
encouraged.
Four files are necessary to guide you in this process. The first is a
timeline and explanation of the steps from here.
The next is a copy of The Fund's "Guidelines for Project Selection." These
newly revised guidelines and policies have two purposes: to assist park
employees in preparing Fund project proposals, and to assist The Fund's
Project Review Committee in assessing those proposals for recommendation to
the Board of Trustees for funding. Please utilize these guidelines when
writing your proposals as it will certainly make them stronger.
The last two files are the proposal and budget forms, which need to be
fully completed for each proposal. The forms are very similar to last year
except the file sizes are smaller. Please remember if you are submitting a
multi-year proposal the budget form must have a completed tab for each
year. If graphics or maps are available, it is recommended you include
them with the proposal - such visuals are helpful to the Project Review
Committee in evaluating the proposals. Lastly, be sure to save a copy of
both files locally prior to submitting them to your division chief. Last
year, some forms had to be re-typed because only hard copies were retained.
Proposals are due to Division Chiefs by July 14th, 2008.
To get these files, or if you have any questions in the meantime, please
contact Jennifer Treutelaar at 209-372-0238 or Jennifer_Treutelaar@nps.gov.
(J. Treutelaar - 5/28/08)
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We are pleased to announce that Elizabeth Munding has accepted a GS-9 term
writer/editor position in the Division of Interpretation and Education to
collaborate primarily on projects with the Division of Resources Management
and Science. Elizabeth has a BS in Journalism and Spanish from University
of Missouri - Columbia and a Master's Degree in Forestry, focused in
ecotourism, from the University of Maine - Orono. Ms. Munding has worked as
Features Editor for several newspapers and has been with the National Park
Service for four years as an interpretive park ranger at Acadia,
Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Glacier Bay, and Biscayne National Parks. She will be
in the Branch of Interpretive Support Services reporting to Vickie Mates.
Please join us in welcoming her! (N. Nicholas/ C.Stein - 5/28/08)
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Please join us in congratulating David Soden on his selection as the new
Heavy Mobile Equipment Servicer for the Machine Shop. David has worked
with Yosemite National Park in the B & G Division for approximately 1 year
as a gardener and with the Custodial Division for 3 years. Stop by the
shop and wish David all the best. (W. Tilley - 5/28/08)
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Congratulations to Danise Fairchild on her promotion to supervisor of the
South Entrance Station. Danise has provided leadership and great customer
service at South Entrance since 2005. (N. Pimentel - 5/27/08)
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Drop in program: Come join the Habitat Protectors of Yosemite (HaPY)
program! Program runs Fridays from May2- October 31st. Work with park
staff to remove invasive plants and learn basic ecological principles. All
volunteers are required to wear pants and closed-toe shoes. Long sleeves,
sunscreen, water, and snacks are recommended. Meet in front of Yosemite
Valley Visitor Center at 9am. Bring a lunch and join us! (M. DeBree -
5/1/08)
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The Fire Management Office will be hosting a S-260 Incident Business
Management Class, May 29-30 from 0800-1700 at Cedar Lodge. Space is
limited. This class will enhance your knowledge and skills to better
provide incident support in the Finance, Planning, Operations and Logistics
Sections. If you provide support to fires or all-hazard incidents, you
should consider attending this class.
If you want to attend, please call or email me, no later than May 22. (D.
Mills - 5//6/08)
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Annual wildland fire refresher - A wildland fire refresher will be held on
May 30th at the Crane Flat Yosemite Institute from 930 to 1800. This
refresher is intended for Mather district personnel, but all are welcome.
Please bring your blue sheet (red card information sheet), line gear and
apparel for shelter deployment drills. Please call or email me to reserve
a spot, I have room for 25 people. (K. Krause - 5/5/08)
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Leave Share Participants
Currently, YOSE leave share participants are:
Shari Baudoux
Kevin Bowman
Kimberly Cunningham-Summerfield
You can find leave share participants Servicewide on InsideNPS at:
http://insidenps.gov/index.cfm?handler=leaveshare
If you are interested in contributing annual leave, please do so by
completing a Request to Donate Annual Leave to Leave Recipient (Within
Agency) Under the Leave Transfer Program, OPM Form 630-A. A fillable PDF
version of the OPM 630-A may be found at:
http://opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/opm630a.pdf (T. Hawkins - 1/31/07)
HR Corner
Yosemite National Park
Current Vacancy Announcements
UPDATED: May 28, 2008
The following is a summary of current vacancy announcements at Yosemite
National Park. Most vacancy announcements will be posted on
http://www.usajobs.gov. This website is the Office of Personnel
Management's USAJOBS internet site. If you have any questions or cannot
find the announcement on USAJOBS, please call the Park’s Human Resources
Office at (209) 379-1805.
PERMANENT – GOVERNMENTWIDE ALL CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES
Supervisory General Supply Specialist
Vacancy Ann.#: YP185668-NMH-08
Who May Apply: Status Candidates
Pay Plan: GS-2001-11
Appointment Term: Permanent
Job Status: Full-Time
Opening Date: 5/22/2008
Closing Date: 6/5/2008
Interdisciplinary (Biologist/Ecologist)
Vacancy Ann.#: YP 173525 NMH FY 08
Who May Apply: Status Candidates
Pay Plan: GS-0401-09/11
Appointment Term: Permanent
Job Status: Full-Time
Opening Date: 5/28/2008
Closing Date: 6/10/2008
PERMANENT -- STATUS NOT REQUIRED – OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Dispatcher (Public Safety)
Vacancy Ann.#: YP 185670 ET08
Who May Apply: Public
Pay Plan: GS-2151-05
Appointment Term: Permanent
Job Status: Full-Time
Opening Date: 5/20/2008
Closing Date: 6/2/2008
Interdisciplinary (Biologist/Ecologist)
Vacancy Ann.#: YP 173524 AY FY 08
Who May Apply: Public
Pay Plan: GS-0401-09/11
Appointment Term: Permanent
Job Status: Full-Time
Opening Date: 5/28/2008
Closing Date: 6/10/2008
TERM -- STATUS NOT REQUIRED -- OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Interdisciplinary (Biologist/Ecologist)
Vacancy Ann.#: YP 173527 NMH FY 08
Who May Apply: Public
Pay Plan: GS-0401-09/11
Appointment Term: Term
Job Status: Full-Time
Opening Date: 5/28/2008
Closing Date: 6/10/2008
Construction Analyst
Vacancy Ann.#: FS-185667 FY 08
Who May Apply: Public
Pay Plan: GS-0828-12
Appointment Term: Term
Job Status: Full-Time
Opening Date: 5/28/2008
Closing Date: 6/11/2008
Interdisciplinary (Geographer, Ecologist, or Natural Resource Manager)
Vacancy Ann.#: YP-185671-AY FY08
Who May Apply: Public
Pay Plan: GS-0150-09/11
Appointment Term: Term
Job Status: Full-Time
Opening Date: 5/28/2008
Closing Date: 6/11/2008
TEMPORARY – STATUS NOT REQUIRED – OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Concessions Management Assistant
Vacancy Ann.#: YP185684 ET08
Who May Apply: Public
Pay Plan: GS-1101-05
Appointment Term: Temporary
Job Status: Full-Time
Opening Date: 5/21/2008
Closing Date: 6/3/2008 (H. Whitman - 5/29/08)
Community News
We would like to inform you of the passing of a friend, co-worker and
caregiver Lisa Domingues. She passed on Wednesday May 21, 2008, one month
after she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Lisa has touched so many
lives throughout our communities and has loved so many of our children
providing care for them at Yosemite National Park Childcare Center. She has
worked at the center for nearly 20 years and she will be greatly missed.
Memorial benefit dinner is still Saturday May 31, 2008 at the Clark
Community Hall at 5:00 p.m. Questions about the benefit contact Charity
Brocchini @ 372-4819 or 379-2860 a raffle will also be held at 8:00 p.m.
(C. Brocchini - 5/22/08)
Acting Designation
Rodney Raines is now acting Wawona Utilities supervisor until further
notice. He can be reached at 375-9510 or leave a message with Shawnessy.
(K. Bablitch - 5/28/08)
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For the month of May, Mike and Kevin have asked me to backfill for Kevin
while he is on leave. I will continue my duties as AO from the Valley and
you can contact me there as needed. However, there will be times when I
may not be available to address some issues in Admin. During those times
please feel free to contact the following administration branch chiefs for
assistance. They have authority to make decisions and adjust
administration resources to meet your needs when I'm not available.
May 26th - 30th Skip Sheets 379-1195 (L. Harris - 5/1/08)
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