Mariposa

Forest Health Project Helps Save Yosemite Sequoias from the Washburn Fire

Forest Health Project Helps Save Yosemite Sequoias from the Washburn Fire

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

Forest resilience treatments funded through a $2 million grant from CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program helped to save some of the world’s most iconic trees in one of the world’s most famous national parks. Protecting the ancient, majestic giant sequoias in the largest and most popular of Yosemite’s sequoia groves was an immediate concern for land managers when the Washburn Fire broke out near Mariposa Grove on July 7, 2022. Fortunately, a partnership that includes the Mariposa County Resource Conservation District, the National Park Service and local tribal forest crews had completed the important fuels reduction work that reduced the fire’s severity and helped firefighters protect the invaluable trees.

Free and Reduced Price Fares Increase Low-income Transit Ridership to Yosemite

Free and Reduced Price Fares Increase Low-income Transit Ridership to Yosemite

In Merced County, the Reduced and Free YARTS to Yosemite program allowed adults to ride to Yosemite National Park for $5, and children, ages 0–12 rode free. In Mariposa County, residents were provided free passes to ride the bus to and from the Park.

Forest Treatment Research in the Teakettle Experimental Forest

Forest Treatment Research in the Teakettle Experimental Forest

The “Teakettle Experiment” continues important work that began over 20 years ago to quantify the effects of prescribed fire and thinning on the ecosystem in the Teakettle Experimental Forest in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. This long-term research project is examining six different treatment options, including different intensities of thinning and prescribed fire.