Friends of Yosemite Search and Rescue
Year End Report for 2007
First and foremost, thank you to all those that donated time and money over the last year. Individual and Foundational support is essential in our ongoing efforts to support the professional development of our rescue personnel, to message to the public through our Preventative Search and Rescue Initiatives, and to provide cost sharing incentives to the NPS to improve SAR resources.
Funded Projects and Highlights from 2007:
- Valley SAR Site Locker Room – Friends of YOSAR funded the rehabilitation of a designated space for
the Valley SAR siters to store their gear and prepare for missions. Each locker provides ample space
for storage, electrical outlets for recharging batteries (radios, cell phones, computers, etc) and increases
the operational efficiency in the main SAR cache by reducing through-traffic. There is no electricity at
SAR site housing in Camp Four, so providing convenient, secure access is especially helpful to our SAR
siters. Long time SAR siter Greg Lonewski was contracted to complete the job, and with his practiced eye
he has provided a wonderful addition to the SAR cache resources.
- Training Funds – the Friends of YOSAR Board designated a training fund this year which will hopefully
grow into an endowment solely focused on providing financial support for professional growth and training
for those involved in SAR in the park. This year SAR siters received funding to attend Paramedic
upgrades, and Wilderness First Responder (WFR) and EMT courses. All awardees applied for funding
and are reimbursed for tuition costs. Wilderness EMT and WFR courses costs between $600 and $3,000,
which is a significant investment for a SAR siter who may make that much in an entire summer.
- Tuolumne SAR – a busy summer highlighted the need for hi-speed internet access in Tuolumne. Friends of
YOSAR responded to a one-time emergency funding request from Tuolumne SAR to provide start-up
funds for a satellite internet link. This will provide rapid access to resources, upgrade communication
speeds, and bring Tuolumne SAR personnel up to speed with the Valley SAR Site.
- Preventative Search and Rescue (PSAR) – Friends of YOSAR coordinated park-wide PSAR efforts
throughout the summer. Cam McKenzie, an experienced SAR siter and professional educator, designed a
program utilizing the YOSAR Incident Command Bus and contacted nearly 4000 visitors. The pilot
program ran for 11 days throughout the summer and was so successful it has now been fully funded by the
NPS for next summer. Cam will refine the program and aims to make it a sustainable program providing
visitors with safety information and highlighting the ways to reduce risk out in the park. The bus acts as a
mobile display with a mock search in progress, plus photographs and information about recent
operations.
- Friends of YOSAR Website – Thanks to SAR Technicians David Pope and Dov Bock, faster reporting and updates on operations has helped the website become a go-to site for accurate and timely information about rescues in Yosemite. Dave has also worked with the editors of Accidents in North American Mountaineering to electronically reproduce in-depth reports on Yosemite accidents from the last few years. This is the first time that these reports have been made available as learning tools online. Inspired by the ever-increasing volume of donations, volunteer Webmaster Nate Knight has made substantial improvements to the site, both aesthetically and functionally, including the added ability of accepting online donations. Visitation has increased from about 15 hits per day in 2006 to 77 hits per day today, with rescue reports the most popular destination.
Goals for 2008:
- Preventative Search and Rescue (PSAR) – Friends of YOSAR will continue to support PSAR efforts in the
Park. By the end of Summer 2008, our goal is to have a written curriculum for PSAR and module displays
developed for the PSAR bus.
- Tuolumne SAR Cache – Friends of YOSAR has agreed to cost share with NPS in an effort to upgrade the
Tuolumne SAR cache building. At present, Tuolumne SAR has extremely limited storage for their
equipment, placing pressure on the incident command room. The hope is to develop space to allow
SAR siters secure storage for their response gear at the cache, a briefing area, and more efficient storage
for response equipment. At present, Friends of YOSAR has helped with planning and compliance
paperwork and has committed funds to the project, which is subject to NPS approval.
- Training – Friends of YOSAR is formalizing the training application process and will review applications
quarterly.
- Friends of YOSAR aims to provide travel funding for subject-area experts to come to Yosemite to provide on-going training for SAR personnel.