Most of Yosemite — nearly 95 percent — is congressionally designated wilderness, the highest level of protection for public lands. For decades, donors have supported efforts to restore and protect the Yosemite Wilderness.

Keep It Wild youth and adult volunteers work with park professionals to restore the wild character of Yosemite’s backcountry. While surveying thousands of acres, crews address notable human impacts, including inappropriate campsites and informal “social” trails that can cause erosion and other ecosystem damage. They also remove invasive flora that pose a threat to native plant and animal species. With your support in 2018, Keep It Wild crews covered more than 5,700 acres, and worked on more than 400 backcountry campsites.

Your donation supported a long-running program that helps keep the “wild” in the Yosemite Wilderness while inspiring volunteers to become stewards of the natural world.

Completed in partnership with Yosemite National Park and Student Conservation Association.

Victoria Hartman

Restoration Ecologist, Yosemite National Park

Project Notes

The Yosemite Wilderness provides all its users, from experienced Pacific Crest Trail and John Muir Trail hikers to families on their first day hike, a chance to learn about themselves, connect with Yosemite’s cultural and natural heritage, and fall in love with wild, intact ecosystems.