“The Sierra Wave” [lenticular cloud; aka Mountain ... - Yosemite Online

YOSEMITE HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2001
JANUARY
An orphaned, 115-pound bear cub,
whose mother had been killed the
previous summer, was placed in a den
near Glacier Point and allowed to
return to the wild as part of a pioneering
rehabilitation program.
MARCH
The Merced Wild and Scenic River
Comprehensive Management Plan was
released by the National Park Service.
MAY
The parent company of Yosemite
Concession Services Corporation,
Yosemite 's chief concessioner, began
negotiations to purchase the Tenaya
Lodge in Fish Camp . The sale was
completed in June.
JUNE
Fran Mainella was named the new
Director of the U .S. National Park
Service . She is the first woman to
cold the position.
SEPTEMBER
Paraplegic Mark Wellman ended his
attempt to climb Half Dome when his
partner was injured in a mountainside
fall.
OCTOBER
Visits to Yosemite plummeted and the
local economy suffered in the wake of
the September I I terrorist attacks on
the East Coast . The biggest decline
was in international visitors.
DECEMBER
Plans for enhancement of the area at
the base of Lower Yosemite Fall were
changed to mitigate concerns on the
part of American Indians about impact
upon cultural resources there. A key
modification was relocation of the site
for restrooms .
A problem mother bear that had been
raiding Yosemite campgrounds since
the mid-1990s was killed by park
managers, and her two cubs were
captured and sent to the California
Department of Fish and Game in
Sacramento for possible placement in
a wildlife rehabilitation center.
JULY
First Lady Laura Bush visited Yosemite
with a group of her friends, staying at
several of the High Sierra Camps
before ending her trip at the
Ahwahnee Hotel.
AUGUST
An 11,500-acre fire burned just west
of Yosemite, but did not enter the
park. More than 400 residents were
forced from their homes, eight people
were injured, and four residences and
four outbuildings were destroyed .
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