Ninth Annual “Yosemite Facelift” Volunteer Event to be Held in Yosemite National Park September 25 – 30, 2012

Date: September 14, 2012

Yosemite National Park and the Yosemite Climbing Association invite the public to participate in the annual "Yosemite Facelift" event that is being held on Tuesday, September 25 through Sunday, September 30, 2012. This annual event is organized by the Yosemite Climbing Association to help clean up the park after the busy summer season. Volunteers are needed to help pick up litter at various locations in the park, including roadways, in the river corridor, on trails, near climbing routes, and in parking, camping, and lodging areas. Events and presentations honoring Yosemite's climbing history will be held throughout the weekend.

Last year, over 1,300 Yosemite Facelift volunteers collected 4,295 pounds of small trash and 411,447 pounds of old asphalt and concrete. Over 95 percent of the trash collected was recycled. The Merced River in Yosemite Valley was cleaned from Happy Isles to Pohono Bridge, with intermittent spots cleaned upstream and downstream. Additionally, dozens of miles of roadway was cleaned, including along the Tioga Road, the Big Oak Flat Road, the Wawona Road, the El Portal Road, and roads within the Tuolumne Meadows area and Yosemite Valley.

Over the past eight years, Facelift volunteers have made a huge impact on significantly eliminating small trash throughout Yosemite National Park. The areas that have been regularly cleaned are yielding less and less small trash in each subsequent year. Therefore, this year, Facelift volunteers will be able to focus on a number of large-scale special projects throughout the week.

Interested volunteers should sign up at the booth in front of the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 26^th through Sunday, September 30^th. A second check-in station will be located at the Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center on Friday, September 28 through Sunday, September 30. The Tuolumne Meadows booth will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Crew leaders will be at the booths to organize work groups and hand out trash bags, gloves, and litter sticks. Trash must be returned to the booths each day by 4:00 p.m. to be weighed and sorted.

Each participant will receive a raffle ticket for every day they volunteer. There will be a raffle held each day of the event at the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center booth at 5:00 p.m. Several evening events will take place throughout the park. An end of event reception will be held on Sunday, September 30^th, and will include complimentary food and beverages, and live music by Little Brother.

For more information and a complete schedule of events, please contact Ken Yager at [e-mail] or visit the Yosemite Climbing Association website at www.yosemiteclimbing.org.

Individuals who are unable to participate during the cleanup, but would still like to help, may make a tax deductible donation to help pay for costs associated with the cleanup effort. Donations can be made to the Yosemite Climbing Association at P.O. Box 89 Yosemite, California 95389.