May 1981

YOSEMITE MAY, 1981

VOLUME FORTY-SEVEN, NUMBER ll Published for members of the Yosemite Natural History Association DANA MORGENSON MEMORIAL FUND. Since Dana Morgenson's death in September of last year, YNHA members and many friends of Dana have contributed about $1,800 to a memorial fund set up to commemorate the contributions Dana made to Yosemite during his 32 years in the Park. The Association became the custodians of the fund. Several suggestions have been made for the use of the money: engage someone to carry on with camera walks, reproduce Dana's slide programs and have them presented as he did, a sculpted bust. We've discussed these with his widow, Esther, who now lives in Sedona, Arizona. During one of the conversations she mentioned that a fond hope of Dana's had been to write a second wildflower book, and direct it to the rarer, more isolated Sierra species; and that Dana had accumulated field notes and photos for such a book. We brought this before the YNHA Board : the response was an enthusiastic approval if the content reflected Dana's point of view, sensitivity and style. We asked Esther — no mean botanist herself — if she'd consider doing the book. A good deal of time lapsed before we had a response. Then in late March we got our (hoped for) answer, Forgive my delay. There have been happenings here these last weeks which have prevented my thinking about what I ought to be doing. I would very much like to do the book. Of course, there are many pictures to choose from offering several possible approaches. As 1 look through them and review "Wildflower Trails", I begin to doubt the possibility of gathering enough new pictures of rare flowers, as some of those were included in the Trails book. But with that as emphasis and by branching into other aspects of the Park favored by Dana Las well as others) I think a volume could be compiled that would_ _ speak of the essence of Dana's feeling and emotion for the place. Such things as contrasts : the sublime, the minutiae, the quiet, the excitement (not people-wise, of course) come to mind. Of course, the contrast of seasons has been done a number of times. I would think one would try for the same spirit with some different emphasis from Dana's other books. If you want something like this, I'll give it my best. I am grateful for the copies of "Yosemite" and for the report on the Memorial Fund to date. Thank you and with affection for all of you there, (signed) Esther. Esther is a very special woman who shared life for 47 years with a very special man who must have provided insight and inspiration. We look forward to working with Esther in the preparation of what we know will be a very special book. We calculate that the money now in the Memorial Fund will cover about one-quarter of the printing costs. Therefore, we will be most appreciative of further donations. Net proceeds from the sale of the book will be earmarked for future printings.

MEMBERS OUTINGS. We have our members trips charted for the coming summer. Naturalist Michael Ross will lead three : the first will be a family backpack July 10-12 (two nights). We ask that children be at least seven years old. This will be an easy cross-country trip to Polly Dome Lakes in the Tuolumne area. Adults will have an opportunity to explore the natural history of the area with their youngsters. Emphasis will be on investigations of easily observable plants and creatures of land and water. The hiking distance each day will be short, no more than three miles. The second trip will be August 7-9. On this alpine backpack, Ross and party will investigate the minute alpine flowers, high-elevation living birds, and the evidences of Sierran glaciation. Each night will be spent at McCabe Lakes with day excursions to North Peak and the secluded skyland realm of the Shepherd's Crest. Total distance will be less than 20 miles, but hiking will be somewhat strenuous due to the high elevation. The third trip will be a 5-day backpack August 17-21. This trip will explore the flora, fauna, and geology of the upper forks of Return Creek in Virginia Canyon. The trip will start at and return to Virginia Lakes making a loop into Yosemite and the Hoover Wilderness. Hiking will be fairly strenuous due to elevation but the average hiking distance will be 6-10 miles per day. Alpine ecology will be the focus of the natural history investigations. Enrollment in each will be limited to 15 so we encourage you to call our office and reserve your place. The cost will be $20 for the three-day trip; $28 for the five-day trip; $20 for adults and $15 for ages 7-14 on the family backpack. Each person will be responsible for his food and camping paraphernalia. Heather Stout, who led aquatic biology and ecology hikes last summer, will lead two member hikes to Ostrander Lake. The first will be August 10-14; the second, August 28-31. Food has been cached at Ostrander and meals are included in the cost of the trip as shown below. Participants will need to pack only their personal gear and sleeping bags. On each trip the group will explore the aquatic life, meadow plants, birds and animals. Members will be introduced to the stream and meadow communities and examine their roles in the overall interactions with the environment as well as the effect of one community on another. We'll make a careful investigation of one of the area lakes and we'll have all manner of equipment for sampling. There will be walking and wading and evening discussions on what was found. The cost for the 5-day trip will be $53; the 4-day trip will be $45. We hope this information piques your interest and we encourage you to reserve a place soon if you want to participate in any of these activities. Photos of the 1980 Members outing to Ostrander Naturalist Greg Fauth, trip leader, addresses participants of YNHA'S members outing to the Ostrander Lake Hut. Nineteen members enjoyed the weekend and the use of the Hut's lodging facilities. Members Ellie Huggins and Alice Mehdy relax on the porch of the Hut, with Ostrander Lake and Horse Ridge providing a dramatic view behind them. The area provided our group with many interesting choices for day hikes.

The Ostrander Lake Hut, at the edge of the lake, is built of native stone; its rugged architectural style blends well with the surroundings. While not providing all the comforts of home, the Hut is a welcome abode after a full day on the trail. Assisting with kitchen duties at the Hut is member Doug Whiteside. Meals were provided on this trip, supervised by YNHA chef (and sometimes Sales Manager) Richard Reitnauer. The group on the porch of the Hut. YNHA plans trips to the Hut again this summer, a great place for a modified wildnerness experience. The dining room table is set with hors d'oeuvres, to greet the incoming dayhikers from their Sunday ventures. This view of the Hut's interior shows the bunkbeds in the downstairs portion of the building. The upstairs loft offers additional sleeping quarters.

MORE THAN A YEAR AGO

the YNHA Board of Trustees approved the expenditure of $5,000 to fund a scholarship program at U.C. Davis. The goal of the project was to select and train a half-dozen students to work as intern/trainees for the interpretive division during the spring and summer. Historically, Park visitation becomes heavy by mid-May; but the summer interpretive crew isn't available for duty 'til mid-June. This results in there being too few interpreters, and interpretive programs for Park visitors. Following four weekends of training in the Park during May, we expect the interns to be able to supplement the already slim interpretive staff. We worked with Joe Stasulat of the UCD Career Placement Center at Davis whose office announced the availability of the intern program. We received applications from two dozen students. After culling through these, appointments for interviews were arranged. Len McKenzie and Henry Berrey spent an evening and the following day talking to sixteen of the applicants whose resumes indicated further consideration. Talking with these young people was extremely interesting. Davis is noted for its attention to environmental and resource management matters; the conversations with the applicants made it clear that the school was doing a first rate job of strengthening their students' knowledge of what's going on — and what's going wrong — with environmental concepts. They weren't the tub-thumping, down-with-everything school; rather they had good perceptions of wilderness values, resource management and sensible philosophies on active conservation methods — and they were articulate in describing them. McKenzie and Berrey had a difficult time picking and choosing. They whittled the group from 16 to 12; then the selection process became most exacting. After another day spent considering each individual's background, knowledge, skills and personality and talking with those given as references, seven were selected. (The selection team couldn't cut to the six originally planned.) Those chosen are : Michael Nachman, Valerie Connor, Leah Quesenbery, Monica Hart, Mark Hooten, Paul Gallez, and David Erley. After the budget was completed in detail, we anticipate costs wil be: transportation $528; housing $533; subsistence allowance $3,150; uniforms $525; program evaluator from UCD $126; we find we've commited $4,862 of the $5,000 allocated. We think that this program represents one of the best possible uses of YNHA funds and will mark the first time your Association has provided a tangible service of this scope and nature for the Park visitor. We hope you agree. The UC Davis trainee/interns who will be in the Park during the coming summer. They are recipients of the YNHA scholarship grant to UCD. Kneeling is Leah Quesenberry; standing left to right, Monica Hart, Paul Gallez, Valerie Connor and Mark Hooten. Not present are Michael Nachman and David Erley. MONEY PINCH FELT IN PARK. Although YNHA is not an official branch or unit of the National Park Service, we work side-by-side with Park Service people and share common goals. Simply stated, these are : To preserve Park resources and to help make visitors' experiences here safe and enjoyable. Because you're interested in what's happening in Yosemite, we've assembled some of the Park Service's 1981 budget figures. Yosemite's overall budget has been cut from $9.4 million last year to about $8.8 million this year, a $600,000 reduction. The Park will continue to function, but some services must be eliminated or curtailed. Remember that

these figures are from the Carter administration's budget and that the first Reagan budget will not be effective until the next fiscal year that begins October 1, 1981. The Park's priority for funding is meeting the fixed costs of keeping the Park open — utility and road systems and the personnel necessary to operate and maintain them — and public health and safety functions. Services of lesser priority include trail maintenance, interpretation, law enforcement, museum services, signing, refuse collection, and other services important to the overall operation of the Park. If emergency funding had not been provided by the National Park Service to repair the extensive trail damage caused by last fall's rockslides, Yosemite's trail budget would have been cut 50% this year. Campers at White Wolf and Crane Flat in 1981 will find that interpretive programs have been discontinued and, again due to reduced budgets, interpretive staffing will be reduced at Tuolumne Meadows and Wawona. Thus opportunities for visitor contact will be reduced. Many Park visitors aren't aware that fees collected at entrance stations do not feed directly into Yosemite's budget, but go to the Department of Interior's Land and Water Conservation Fund. National Park operating funds are appropriated by Congress from taxpayer revenues. Since the Reagan administration has proposed to eliminate the LWCF as a revenue source for new land acquisitions, things in this area are up in the air. YNHA members will want to stay alert to Yosemite changes in the "belt-tight— ning" years. The budget reduction and rising costs \ g ill leave their mark — even in the mountains. A WINTER DAY IN Yosemite. Ardeth Huntington is a good and helpful member or YNHA and a long-time admirer of Dr. Carl Sharsmith. During one of Dr. Sharsmith's winter ecology seminars, Ardeth, with friend Margaret Kelley, recorded on tape the good doctor's observations about the surroundings, as the class slogged through the snow. After many hours of listening, transcribing and editing, Ardeth put together the type script for what was to become a very readable booklet : A WINTER DAY IN Yosemite: An account of a walk in a Yosemite forest with Dr. Carl Sharsmith. Ardeth captured the choicest Sharsmithian utterances and has written colorful passages to describe the happenings between Sharsmith's observations. The whole comes together as a delightful book about an extraordinary man. Interspersed among the pages are line drawings done by an El Portal woman, Penny Otwell. YNHA published the book in mid-February; the first copies arrived on February 14, in time for us to stage a modest tea-and-cookies social at which Dr. Sharsmith presided. We will be happy to mail a copy of the book upon receipt of the order form.

ORDER FORM

Send copies of A WINTER DAY IN Yosemite @ $2.95 each (YNHA members may deduct their 15% discount)

BOOKS TOTAL :

6% SALES TAX (CA. RESIDENTS ONLY) : SHIPPING CHARGE :.50 TOTAL PAYMENT ENCLOSED :

$ Mail to : NAME

ADDRESS CITY STATE,'ZIP _.

1 tl'I.N' IIR ll ll. E\ 1't )S['MI l

NEXT SPRING YNHA PLANS TO PUBLISH West of Eden: A Critical History of The Art and Literature of Yosemite, by David Robertson, Professor of English at the University of California, Davis. Professor Robertson will chronicle the history of the painting, photography, poetry, and prose of Yosemite from the original Indian inhabitants to the present. His writing will discuss a number of works in detail and offer his critical judgments of their quality and meaning. Artists and writers treated in detail include Lafayette Bunnell, Thomas Ayres, Charles Weed, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Hill, William Keith, Clarence King, James Hutchings, John Muir, Carleton Watkins, Eadweard Muybridge, the photographers and painters who had studios in the Valley, and Ansel Adams. Professor Robertson considers the special challenges that Yosemite presents to artists and writers and how those challenges are met. He tries to answer such questions as : Why have photographers and writers of non-fiction been the most successful in making art out of Yosemite? Why is Ansel Adams the greatest of all Yosemite artists? Why has so little good poetry been written about Yosemite? Why is it so important, especially in this day and time, to study Yosemite art and literature? Yosemite as a natural paradise, a new Eden in the western part of America, is one of the basic themes discussed throughout the book. NEW MEMBERS. We welcome to membership in YNHA the following good people. Marian Adams Bill Forward Marcia Mortensson Connie Archer Jack & Marjorie Fry John Nastro Tobias Baskin Arnold Gold Susan Needles Virginia Beem Doulgas A. Goldie Donald L. Neff Joan Belshin William E. Grove Byron L. Nestor, M.D. Robin Bennett Patricia A. Guy Joyce Perkins Mrs. Robert Berger (L) Kathy Hardy Marsh Pitman Kim Billau Donald H. Heller (L) Mary Katherine Prentice Linda Bjorklund Bonnie Hoffman Maryanne Radcliff Edward H. Borner, III James D. Holden Mr. & Mrs. Thomas L. Raison Mary T. Bowen Mollie & Malcolm Holser Mr. & Mrs. Doug Richardson Mr. and Mrs. Lawrance A. Brown, Jr. (L) Phyllis Horner Patrick R. Ringrose Albhi, Alyce & Ranjit Buch Albruca Hungate Janet Roberts Karen Buffington Sally Jeans Keith Sauer Alexander & Cornelia Calhoun David & Mary Kinkel Lynn Schimmel Scott & Gwen Carpenter Jennifer Langford Mr. & Mrs. Robert Schmelzer Zeo E. Coddington Harold D. Larsen & Family Marilyn Schrader Ginger Collier Joann Layman Norma Seydel Kathy Connelly Laura Leventhal Sandra Shure Carol Dienger Mi. & Mrs. James Lieby Dr. William A. Spindeil John T. Dill Carol Madle Patricia Stein The Thomas Dixon Family Linda Mapes Charles Stone Vince Dollarhide Simon P. Maybury (L) Lee Swam John M. Duchak Karen McGee George Sward Thomas L. Dunbar William B. Mcllwaine Eleanor Williams Dottie Eakin Mr. & Mrs. Harry McKnight Stephanie Williams Dr. & Mrs. Charles L. Edwards & Family Leonard Mellman Mr. & Mrs. Otto L. Wilson Ann & Ronald Eldridge Marsha Melone (L) Ross Wilson Mr. & Mrs. Jack Ennis Ralph R. Mendershausen Jerry Winkler William & Grenda Ernst Ann Meneguzzi Jerrold A. Woodcox Frank Faulkner (L) Margaret Milani Barbara Felsinger Lorraine Moeller Kris Fister Betty E. Morgan (L) Indicates LIFE Member

Digitized by Yosemite Online Library Dan Anderson