Park Invites News Media to Cover July 30th EventWhat:
Yosemite National Park will hold the 16th annual Apple Picking Event on July 30th, in Yosemite Valley. A tactic to reduce bear incidents is to remove non-native food sources from Yosemite Valley. There are two historic apple orchards in Yosemite Valley (in the Curry Village parking area and near the stables) that produce apples which attract bears to highly concentrated visitor use areas. For the 16th consecutive year, the park will conduct an Apple Picking Event, in which park visitors and volunteers are asked to help collect apples from the trees in the Curry Village orchard. Park staff will be onsite to provide help in picking apples and provide public education and awareness.
As a result of Yosemite’s Bear Management Program, black bear – human incidents in Yosemite National Park have been reduced approximately 90 percent since 1998 (an incident is defined as an interaction between a bear and a person or property). Additionally, property damage has been reduced by approximately 87 percent. These significant reductions are attributed to an intensive public outreach and education campaign stressing proper food storage that the park has undertaken since 1998 (this had been the biggest year to date for bear incidents/property damage). Further, park visitors have done an excellent job with proper food storage, thus severely reducing the availably of human food for bears.
These types of programs and management actions have helped to dramatically reduce the impacts of negative human and wildlife interactions. The success of these programs have also helped to reduce property damage by bears, with Yosemite Valley recording zero vehicle break-ins by bears in 2013.
When:
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Where:
Curry Village Apple Orchard from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
(Media parking available onsite)
Who:
Yosemite National Park Rangers, Wildlife Biologist, and park volunteers
Photo Ops/Interviews
Park Rangers and Wildlife Biologists providing interviews on bear management techniques and why incidents have been decreasing for several years.
Park visitors and volunteers picking apples in the Curry Village orchard.
Park Rangers conducting outreach to park visitors about bear management.
Spectacular scenery of Yosemite National Park.