Non-Profit Yosemite Association Celebrates 80th Anniversary
Yosemite National Park´s oldest non-profit support group, the Yosemite Association, celebrated 80 years of service to the park yesterday. Throughout its history, the association has contributed more than $10 million to aid park programs in Yosemite.
A special celebration was held Monday in Yosemite National Park to commemorate the organization´s anniversary and its eight decades of service to Yosemite.
The association was organized as the first cooperating association in the national park system in 1923. There are now nearly 70 similar organizations, modeled on the association, in national parks throughout the country
The Yosemite Association has a long tradition of supporting the park. In 1925, the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Foundation made a large gift to the association, which was used with other donated funds to construct the Yosemite Museum. As the association grew, it began to publish educational materials to enhance the study of natural and human history in Yosemite. In recent years, the association´s publication program has expanded, and it regularly produces high quality, award-winning books and maps, including the landmark An Illustrated Flora of Yosemite National Park and Two Bear Cubs: A Miwok Legend.
The association maintains a roster of over 9,000 members, and its current activities include the operation of bookstores in park visitor centers, a program of outdoor courses, several wilderness-related initiatives (bear canister rentals and wilderness permit reservations among them), and numerous other educational programs in Yosemite. With its earned revenues, the Yosemite Association donates funds to the National Park Service to support education, research, and environmental efforts in Yosemite.
The Yosemite Association, the first support group in Yosemite and the first national park cooperating association in the country, is proud of its accomplishments over the past 80 years, and looks forward to making even greater contributions to the park in the new century. To learn more about the Yosemite Association or the special anniversary event visit www.yosemite.org or call 209-379-2646.
