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Summary
Board and Staff
Sales and Publications
Membership
Outdoor Adventures
Ostrander Ski Hut
Wilderness Center
Art Activity Center
Statement of Financial Position
Statement of Activities, 2002
Park Highlights for 2002
Annual
Report for 2001
Annual Report for 2000
SUMMARY
The year 2002 featured significant growth and improvement in many Yosemite
Association programs—a nice change from down performances in 2000 and
2001. Among other accomplishments, we achieved our largest single-year increase
in membership,
adding 2,412 new members, and upped our sales by 7% overall.
Successful member
and visitor events included the 2nd Annual Yosemite Winter Literary Conference,
featuring poet Gary Snyder and other nationally-recognized writers, our annual
Spring Forum, a day-long interpretive program that attracted 500 attendees,
and a lecture about An Illustrated Flora of Yosemite at the Strybing
Arboretum in San Francisco.
Our publications
program featured several new posters and prints, a revised and updated edition
of The Complete Guidebook to Yosemite National Park, and a limited
edition, letterpress book. Several of our titles received “Interpretive
Excellence” awards from the National Park Service at the
Association of Partners for Public Lands convention, and our children’s
book, Antelope, Bison, Cougar, won a “Gold” National Parenting
Publications Award.
We also initiated
a new electronic publication—a newsletter for members and supporters,
eighteen issues of which were sent to a list that swelled to over 10,000 recipients.
Our web site
(www.yosemite.org) continued to grow in popularity and size.
2002 also brought
an enhanced financial position for the association, with our net revenues
after Aid-to-NPS reaching about $100,000, a cash flow increase of over $250,000,
and the boosting of our operating reserve to $250,000. Our future looks even
brighter with the approval of the project for remodeling the main Visitor
Center lobby and store.
Our volunteer
programs contributed thousands of hours of labor
during the year, including work trips and staffing of facilities, the wilderness
reservation system continued to improve, and the bear canister rental program
was more successful than ever. Members again proved very supportive, with
donations to
our annual appeal of over $50,000.
It was good to
experience so many positives during the past year, and the board and staff
of YA send gratitude to all our members, supporters, partners, and friends
who made it possible for us to accomplish what we did. We look forward to
continued success in 2003.
Steven P. Medley
President
BOARD AND STAFF
TIn the
annual board election (that was held without balloting
because there were no nominations by petition), incumbents Tom Shephard of
Stockton and Bob Eckart of Mariposa were elected to new terms. Kimi Kodani
Hill, a Berkeley-based graphic designer, author, and editor, was elected to
replace William Alsup, who left the board after serving for fourteen years.
Ms. Hill,
a long-time and active member of the association,
became deeply involved with the organization during the production of Obata’s
Yosemite, the book that featured the art and writing of her grandfather,
Chiura Obata. She since has served as editor for Topaz Moon and Shades
of California, both published by Heyday Books. She lives with her husband
Richard and son Anthony in Berkeley.
Mr. Alsup
made numerous contributions to YA during
his time on the board. He authored two books published
by the association (Such A Landscape! and Missing in the Minarets),
and involved himself in a variety of Yosemite issues and several YA committees.
His participation and support over the years are much appreciated.
Early in
the year, Bob Eckart resigned from the board following his decision to move
to the Phoenix, Arizona, area. A board member since 1993, he served as Treasurer
for much of his tenure and proved enormously helpful with financial and other
association affairs. Thanks go out to Bob for his service that spanned nearly
a decade.
Appointed
to complete the vacant position was Suzanne Corkins, director of business
development for a biotechnology company in Palo Alto. She and her husband
Trey Pruitt are fervent hikers and backpackers, and we look forward to benefiting
from their involvement with YA.
In another
2002 board change, veteran CEO of Yosemite Concession Services, Cindy Bower,
was promoted to a new job within Delaware North Park Services. Her ex officio
position was filled by Kevin Kelly, who was named to replace Ms. Bower as
the head of the park’s main concession company.
On the
staff level,Mary Ann Corbaley, assistant sales
manager, left the association. Chris Geis was hired to
become the new administrative assistant for the office.
SALES
AND PUBLICATIONS
In
an encouraging change of direction, overall association
sales grew by 7% during 2002; they had declined by the same percentage in
2001. The Yosemite Valley Visitor Center contributed sizably to this improvement,
with sales up 11% over the previous year. Other good showings were made at
the Wawona District Office (+15%) and the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center
(+4%).
Sales
at our various “member events” were impressive as well. Aggregate
sales revenues from theWinter Literary Conference, the Spring Forum, and the
annual Members Meeting grew from $17,001 in 2001 to $30,461 in 2002. Internet
store and retail sales made through our warehouse exceeded budget by 11%,
and our wholesale orders were 6% over the amount we budgeted.
Operationally,
we curtailed our hours of operation at the Mariposa Grove Museum to cut personnel
costs, and we decreased expenses at our Fresno Airport Store by utilizing
volunteer sales and information clerks. Despite irregular hours necessitated
by this change, sales in Fresno only decreased by 1%.
During
the year YA published a revised and updated edition of The Complete Guidebook
to Yosemite National Park, two limited edition fine art prints entitled
“Wild Lupines” (from a painting by Walter Sydoriak) and “Two
Bear Cubs with Blackberries” (from a painting by Daniel San Souci), and
a limited edition, letter press book entitled A Trip to the Yosemite.
Several
YA publications received “Interpretive Excellence” awards from the
National Park Service at the APPL convention, including An Illustrated
Flora of Yosemite National Park, and our children’s book, Antelope,
Bison, Cougar, won a “Gold” National
Parenting Publications Award.
The
“Yosemite Newsletter,” a new e-mail publication,
proved very successful, with some 10,000 sign-ups during
the year. Eighteen issues of the electronic newsletter
were mailed. Our web site (www.yosemite.org) was
accessed by over one million unique visitors in
2002.
MEMBERSHIP
It was another
record-setting year for attracting new members to the association. In 2002,
YA welcomed 2,412 new members, ending the year with a total roster of 8,570
members. Lodging discounts at Yosemite Concession Services facilities and
at the Redwoods in Yosemite guest cottages (in Wawona) were added to the list
of membership benefits this year, and proved to be
quite popular with our members. Nearly 2,000 members responded to our member
survey, providing valuable information and suggestions that will help guide
our organization’s future.
Sixty-nine enthusiastic
members volunteered on six different work trips during the fifteenth summer
of the Cooperative Work Weeks program, assisting the NPS Resources Management
Division with restoration, rare plant surveying, and exotic plant species
eradication projects in Yosemite Valley, the Happy Isles Fen, Elizabeth Lake,
Upper Lyell Canyon,Wawona, the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequioas, and El Portal.
These hardy volunteers donated over 2,800 hours of labor to help preserve
Yosemite. Program partners Yosemite Institute provided culinary services and
naturalists to coordinate camp logistics, and Yosemite Concession Services
Corporation provided a generous grant to help underwrite the expenses of this
program.
Fifty-four knowledgeable
and patient members volunteered for a month or longer in the park, answering
visitor inquiries and promoting membership in the association. They donated
more than 7,100 hours of service and recruited nearly twenty percent of the
new members we welcomed this year. The Yosemite Museum Gallery, Happy Isles
Nature Center, and Parsons Lodge were available for park visitors to enjoy
only because of this crew’s efforts. These volunteers also assisted thousands
of people at busy information stations on the mall in
Yosemite Village, in the Yurt at the Camp 6 (Day Use) parking lot, and in
front of the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center.
Nearly 500 members
braved wild “spring” weather and a minor rockslide near Cascade
Dam to attend our annual Spring Forum in March in Yosemite Valley. A full
roster of auditorium programs and interpretive walks addressed topics including
Yosemite’s bears, John Muir’s last journey, dragonflies, an update
from Park
Superintendent Dave Mihalic, ecosleuthing, trailbuilding, Native Americans,
the Ahwahnee Hotel’s 75th anniversary, and much more.
Close to 300
members enjoyed the mild autumn weather at our twenty-seventh annual Members’
Meeting at Wawona in September. Author James D. Houston shared his experiences
writing about Snow Mountain Passage, a novel based on facts surrounding
the Donner Party tragedy. Our silent and live auctions as well as the prize
raffle were well-supported by our generous attendees. We are grateful for
the assistance of Lunardi’s Markets of the Bay Area in obtaining the
fine wines we
served at the reception following the meeting.
In response to
a special year-end appeal, members donated more than $51,000 to help offset
rising costs and underwrite crucial expenditures to maintain and enhance our
services and programs in Yosemite. We are most grateful for the significant
support we receive through our members’ contributions of time, talent,
dues and donations, all of which are vital to the park and YA.
The seminar program
got a new look and a new name—Yosemite Outdoor Adventures—in 2002.
Scenic photographs from Keith Walklet’s book, Yosemite: An Enduring
Treasure, were included in the catalog of fifty-one courses.
A number of new offerings helped to revitalize the program. In addition, we
partnered with UC Berkeley extension to offer continuing education credits
for some of our courses.
Participants
joined ranger Dick Ewart for a day of learning map and compass skills in “Get
Lost with a Ranger.” Julie Miller took an adventuresome group on three
days of strenuous yet rewarding excursions in “Raft, Hike, and Bike Yosemite.”
Students assisted Wildlife Biologist Kate McCurdy with important bear research
in the park on “Bear Patrol,” and Stephen Botti,
author of An Illustrated Flora of Yosemite, treated participants
to a botany study in “Flora of the Tuolumne Meadows” backpack.
The Second Annual
Yosemite Winter Literary Conference featured an impressive list of authors,
scientists, artists, and park interpreters. Gary Synder joined artist Tom
Killion in a presentation on their collaboration for the newly-released The
High Sierra of California, while David Mas Masumoto delighted his audience
with readings from his work and samples of his peach jelly. Other presenters
included Pam Houston, Maxine Hong Kingston, Jane Hirshfield, and Francisco
Alarcón.
The new courses,
and a significant reduction in the catalog expense, helped to improve the
performance of the Outdoor Adventure program for the year. Although the operation
still ran a deficit of $7,482 for the year, this was a considerable improvement
over 2001’s net income of minus $22,782 and 2000’s net income of
minus $32,420.
At the request of the National Park Service, YA oversaw the winter operation of the hut, which is used for backcountry skiers and snowshoers. Filling in as primary hutkeepers were Howard Weamer and George Durkee.
The Wilderness
Center, a cooperative effort with the National Park Service, continued to
serve as a valuable resource for park backcountry users. YA operated the park’s
wilderness permit reservation center (as it has since 1988), and with YCS,
further refined the bear canister rental program. The fee for the canisters
was increased from $3 to $5 for a 14-day rental. For the first time, a full-time
supervisor for the canister program was hired, and important improvements
were made to this
successful effort. As in previous years, generous donors to the program helped
keep it effective.
The Art
Activity Center, co-sponsored by YA, YCS, and the NPS, operated for its twenty-first
season. Visiting artists provided classes in drawing, sketching, painting,
and other media from April through October.
STATEMENT
OF FINANCIAL POSITION
For year ending December 31, 2002
| ASSETS | |
| Cash and cash equivalents |
$493,441
|
| Accounts receivable |
111,408
|
| Prepaid expenses |
30,335
|
| Inventory |
686,103
|
| Property and equipment |
71,411
|
| TOTAL ASSETS |
$1,392,698
|
| LIABILITIES | |
| Trade accounts payable |
$13,905
|
| Deferred revenues |
43,877
|
| Loan payable |
16,
446
|
| Royalties payable |
42,564
|
| Other accrued liabilities |
18,216
|
| TOTAL LIABILITIES |
$135,008
|
|
NET ASSETS |
|
| Unrestricted: | |
|
Undesignated |
$805,318
|
| Temporarily restricted |
202,372
|
| Contingency reserve |
250,000
|
| TOTAL NET ASSETS |
1,257,690
|
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS |
$1,392,698
|
| REVENUES, GAINS, AND OTHER SUPPORT: | |
| Contributions |
$149,570
|
| Auxiliary activities |
85,003
|
| Publication sales |
1,635,166
|
| Outdoor Adventures |
180,787
|
| Memberships |
414,300
|
| Investment income |
636
|
| Other income |
5,182
|
| Wilderness programs |
192,825
|
| Designated programs |
1,048
|
| TOTAL REVENUES, GAINS, AND OTHER SUPPORT |
$2,664,517
|
| EXPENSES | |
| Cost of Sales: | |
|
Publication costs |
$1,414,116
|
| Auxiliary activities: | |
|
Outdoor Adventures |
189,464
|
|
Wilderness programs |
115,476
|
| Supporting services: | |
|
Management and general |
310,488
|
|
Membership |
276,008
|
| Aid to National Park Service |
219,235
|
|
2,524,787
|
|
| INCREASE
IN UNRESTRICTED NET ASSETS |
$101,156
|
| TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED NET ASSETS | |
|
Contributions |
$20,745
|
|
Auxiliary activities |
85,003
|
| Net assets released from restrictions | |
|
Restrictions satisfied by payments |
(63,774)
|
| Expiration of time restrictions |
(4,448)
|
| INCREASE
IN TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED NET ASSETS |
$38,574
|
| INCREASE IN NET ASSETS |
163,798
|
| NET ASSETS, AT BEGINNING OF YEAR |
1,117,960
|
| NET ASSETS, AT END OF YEAR |
$1,257,690
|
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2002
January
The National Park Service web site (www.nps.gov), one of the most visited
outdoor-travel sites in the country with 700,000 hits a day, was shut down
for several months by a federal
judge based on security breaches that compromised Native American trust funds.
The official NPS Yosemite web page was a victim of the shut down.
March
Warren Harding, a rock climber best known for making the first ascent of El
Capitan in 1958, died at age 77.
The National
Park Service in Yosemite received final approval
from the Department of Interior to begin the first phase of the implementation
of the Yosemite Valley Plan.
A U.S. District
Judge generally upheld the National Park Service's Merced River protection
plan that had been under attack by several environmental groups. The judge
did agree with challenges that contended the river plan had to conform
to Yosemite's general management plan.
April
The Cook’s Meadow restoration project was completed by the National Park
Service and the Yosemite Fund, with major funding from ChevronTexaco.
May
The Glacier Point Road opened May 17, and the Tioga Road opened on May 22.
Hoping to keep
Sudden Oak Death out of Yosemite National Park, officials quarantined firewood,
soil, and plants from counties where the disease had been found.
July
John Reynolds,
director of the National Park Service's Pacific West region, retired. He oversaw
the formulation and approval of the 1980 Yosemite General Management Plan.
August
Famed outdoor and Yosemite photographer Galen Rowell died with his wife Barbara
in a plane crash. Rowell had contributed to Yosemite through a variety ofpark
organizations, including the Yosemite Institute, the Yosemite Fund, and the
Yosemite Association.
Park officials announced that encounters between bears and visitors to Yosemite National Park had increased after three years of sharp declines (329 incidents, up from 230 in 2001).
September
Mike Tollefson was named to replace David Mihalic as Yosemite’s Park
Superintendent.Mihalic resigned from the National Park Service after being
reassigned to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tollefson’s previous
duty station).
October
The National Park Service entered a 15-year agreement
with the American Indian Council of Mariposa County (partly made up of Southern
Sierra Miwoks) to allow them to build an American Indian center and a traditional
roundhouse on 7 acres in Yosemite Valley.
December
Visitation to Yosemite for the year totaled 3,468,174, the lowest count since
1990.