*This is a 2019 archived project, view this year’s projects here.

Yosemite’s Preventive Search and Rescue (PSAR) program focuses on sharing important safety messages in order to prevent accidents and injuries in the park.

In 2019, your support enabled PSAR-trained rangers, interns and volunteers to educate visitors about staying safe, with a special focus on the hiking routes that lead to Vernal Fall, Nevada Fall and Half Dome. Working together, the PSAR team connected with people through one-on-one interactions, including during trail patrols and at trailside information stations; seasonal signs about specific hazards, such as slippery rocks; and social media posts.

2019 also marked the start of a new collaboration with the Conservancy’s volunteer program; that partnership, which earned the park’s Volunteer Program of the Year award, enlisted some of our volunteers to share key safety messages with hikers on the Valley’s Mist and John Muir trails.

Your contribution helped fund a vital program that ensures visitors can safely enjoy the wonders of Yosemite.

Completed in partnership with Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Hospitality, and Friends of Yosemite Search and Rescue.

Lisa J. Hendy

Emergency Services Program Manager, Yosemite National Park

Project Notes

We will reduce the most striking consequence of serious injuries and fatalities: the insurmountable grief of the affected person and their families. The suffering is felt by many, including all of their loved ones throughout the country. Visitors who witness the event are often impacted. Additionally, preventing visitor injury incidents will reduce temporary trail closures, traffic delays, and wilderness disturbance caused by rescue efforts.