National Park Service
YNPView of Half Dome
September 2003

Superintendent’s Message

Superintendent Michael TollefsonBefore your neighbor begins a construction project, does he or she listen for the presence of migrant songbirds so as not to disturb their breeding season? In Yosemite National Park, wildlife biologists do this and more. As we move into the construction phase on a number of improvement efforts, one aspect is abundantly clear: a national park is not your typical work site. Stringent protection measures are enforced to preserve plants and wildlife, rivers and streams, cultural and archeological sites, and the experience of our visitors.

In this edition of the Yosemite E-Newsletter, you will learn some of the steps park managers take to protect Yosemite’s special values during construction. You will also find out about the latest progress at the Lower Yosemite Fall area, as the visitor experience at this world-renowned destination is transformed. The National Park Service is dedicated to improving the way you enjoy this special place. While construction is underway over the course of the next several years, visitors will continue to have access to all of the park’s major destination areas.

The Yosemite Valley Plan established a vision for the Valley’s future that is becoming a reality today. National parks were set aside so that people will always be able to enjoy the nation’s treasures in ways that will preserve them into the future. The important work outlined in the Yosemite Valley Plan—and throughout the operation of the park—represents a greater choreography of protection, in this place that we are borrowing from the generations to come.

Mike Tollefson

Michael J. Tollefson
Park Superintendent

 

 


Also in this newsletter:

  • Superintendent's Message
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