National Park News | Yosemite Braces for Floods, Condors Get Bird Flu, and More

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Com Slash guide coming to you from just outside Redwoods National and State Parks. I'm Jason EpPerson and it's time for this month's National Park news roundup. Yosemite National Park has announced most of Yosemite Valley will close starting Friday, April 28th, at 10 p...m. due to a forecast of flooding caused by snowmelt. The closure is scheduled to last at least until Wednesday, May 3rd.

Reservations for lodging and campgrounds in eastern Yosemite Valley will automatically be canceled and refunded. This includes the Iwani Hotel, Yosemite Village, Camp 4, Curry Village and more. Wilderness permits can be rescheduled to alternate trailheads as space allows. The park anticipates additional flooding and closures will continue to occur throughout May and possibly into June.

As the unprecedented amount of snow in the park received, this winter begins to melt. You might also expect closures at other parks in the Sierra Nevada, as they all received a heck of a lot of snow. In Yosemite Valley, the closure will begin at the El Capitan crossover. There will be no visitor access, including pedestrian access east of that road. Parking will be available in the Western Yosemite Valley, however, it will be extremely limited and visitors are not allowed to park off-road.

Initially, Yosemite officials state that no services will be available. The rest of the park, including Hetch Hetchy, will be open. Those with upcoming travel plans should keep an eye on Yosemite's website for further updates and closures. This marks the second closure Yosemite has experienced since the start of 2023, first for the snow that blanketed the park and now for its melt-off. The National Park Service has added nine new listings to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, expanding the number of sites, facilities, and programs in the network to over 700..

These new additions provide insight into the experiences of those who escaped slavery and those who helped them, showcasing the diverse stories of freedom seekers. The network was established to honor the history of resistance to enslavement through escape and flight. With locations in 39 states, as well as Washington, D..C. and the U...S Virgin Islands. The new listings are spread across several states, including California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania.

The sites range from the burial site of Samuel D. Burris in Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in San Mateo County, California, to the house divided project at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Officials have confirmed that highly pathogenic Avian influenza HPAI caused the mortality of three California condors found in northern Arizona. The condors were part of the Arizona-Utah population, which moved throughout the two states and dozens of national parks. While the virus has been detected in these condors, it has not been found in other condor populations in California or Baja California, Mexico.

Five more bird death incidents are awaiting test results, and another five that displayed signs of illness were captured by the Peregrine Fund and are in quarantine while samples are tested. The HPAI subtype H5N1, is considered a low risk as a human health concern by the CDC. Infections in humans have been reported, though. HPAI is highly contagious in wildlife and can spread quickly by several routes, including bird-to-bird contact, environmental contamination with fecal material and via exposed clothing, shoes and vehicles. California Condor populations already face several stressors, such as exposure to lead shot and habitat degradation, which have reduced the resiliency of the population.

California Condors went virtually extinct back in 1987, when the 18 remaining birds were captured and a decades-long breeding program commenced. Now, there are over 500 living birds, 300 of which are in the wild, with the spring migration of birds north to their breeding grounds. The potential exposure of HPAI is expected to rise. HPAI has been detected in all U.S states except Hawaii, in both wild and domestic animals.

Many national Park service sites have gone cashless in the past year, and many more are set to do so for this summer season. Starting June 1, Death Valley National Park will only accept credit or debit card payments for camping and entrance fees. This decision was made after the park collected $22,000 in cash last year, which, according to the park, cost over $40,000 to process. The cost of processing cash includes an armored car contract to transport cash and park rangers time counting money and processing the paperwork. While cash will no longer be accepted for entrance and camping fees, visitors can still use cash to purchase the $30 per vehicle park entrance 7-day pass at several partner locations, including gift shops at Death Valley themselves.

We'll be back in a moment, but first, a quick break for a message from our favorite place. To search for the best campground for your national Park adventures, Campendium Campendium lists virtually every campground in North America and every type of campsite you can imagine. From remote backcountry tent sites to RV parks with waterslides and pickleball courts. You can search by price, including free or by self-service, elevation, whether pets are allowed. Dozens of different search filters will bring you detailed user reviews so you can find the best campsite for your trip. Campendium is free at campendium..com or on the app, and you can upgrade to a RoadPass Pro membership to unlock an ad-free experience with more detailed self-service reports, public land map overlays, trail maps, and more.

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Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host its annual synchronous Firefly viewing from June 4th to June 11th. Visitors may apply for a vehicle reservation through a lottery system. Applications will open on April 28th at 10 a...m. Eastern daylight time and close on May 1st at 8 p...m. Since 2006, the National Park Service has limited access to the Elkmont area for the eight days of predicted peak. Firefly activity to reduce traffic congestion and minimize disturbances to the fireflies during their two-week mating period.

Every year, thousands of visitors near Elkmont Campground see the phenomenon of Photinus carolinus, a firefly species that flashes synchronously. A total of 960 vehicle reservations 120 per night will be issued through the lottery process. Synchronous fireflies are one of the 19 species of fireflies that live in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and other locations throughout the eastern United States. Visitors can go to Recreation..gov and search for Great Smoky Mountains Firefly Viewing lottery for more information and enter the lottery. The Open Parks Network, a joint effort between the National Park Service and Clemson Libraries, has achieved a major milestone.

As of now, the network has digitized and made public over a million images, artifacts and documents from national parks and other national heritage sites. Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences. In 2009, the Open Parks Network was established to create a repository and archive that could serve both parks professionals and researchers interested in the parks. The collection includes an impressive array of unique items from parks across the country, ranging from original architectural drawings and maps to photo albums from the early 1900s to the 1950s. Among the items in the collection are photos of a historic goat herd raised at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, which were used to advertise the stock of Lillian Sandburg, a well-known goat breeder.

The network also contains handwritten onion paper reports from park superintendents, offering a glimpse into the early days of park management. The Open Parks Network has not limited its partnership to the National Park Service alone, with Clemson Libraries joining forces with the state park systems in South Carolina and Georgia. Finally, National Park Week is underway at the nation's 424 National Park Service sites. It began last Saturday, Earth Day, and ends April 30th. Admission to parks is free.

During this time and as part of the festivities, the National Park Service has released the third edition of its Green Parks Plan, setting refreshed goals and objectives to advance sustainable park operations. The update aims for national parks to attain net-zero status. By reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving energy and water, reducing solid waste, transitioning to green transportation, and fostering a culture of sustainability. That's it for this month's National Park news. We'll see you next time.