P.O. Box 577
Yosemite, CA 95389
www.nps.gov/yose/news

209 372-0529 phone
209 372-0371 fax

October 8, 2002
For Immediate Release

Yosemite National Park Completes Ecological Restoration in Yosemite Valley

Two ecological restoration projects are being completed in Yosemite National Park's Yosemite Valley this fall. These projects will restore impacted areas to more natural conditions and allow natural processes to prevail.

The Eagle Creek restoration project is being completed at the confluence of Eagle Creek with the Merced River. National Park Service staff have removed abandoned sewer infrastructure and recontoured and revegetated the eroded riverbank. Yosemite Fund volunteers from The Capital Group Companies, Inc. salvaged plants and constructed fencing.

This will repair eroded bank and revegetate the site with native riparian vegetation as well as direct people to less sensitive areas in this location popular among visitors. The project will be completed the week of October 7th. Visitors may see heavy equipment in this area while work is completed.

Restoration staff started intensive vegetation monitoring in anticipation of the Happy Isles Fen restoration project. Work on this project began the week of September 30th. The restoration site, located directly northwest of the Happy Isles Nature Center, is a former wetland that was filled in 1928 to create a parking lot. After completing monitoring and plant salvage, staff will remove imported fill and culverts, revegetate the site, and construct temporary fencing to direct visitors around the restoration site.

Initial work will involve heavy equipment at Happy Isles, with temporary closure of the Happy Isles Fen boardwalk access from the Nature Center for safety considerations. Resources Management staff and volunteers will continue work at the site through the last week in October.

Both restoration projects were made possible through donations from The Yosemite Fund.

-NPS-