Frank Dean presenting Superintendent Michael Reynolds with a check for $12,500,000 in 2018.
(Photo by Nancy Robbins, Yosemite Conservancy.)

September 24, 2019 - The beginning Yosemite Gateway Partners (YGP) organization's October 10th Fall Quarterly Meeting's morning session will be devoted to the heads of the Destination Marketing Organizations of the four major gateways to Yosemite. They will discuss (among other topics) what their groups have done to encourage tourism to the Gateways and Yosemite, but also their focus on driving visitation to the shoulder and off-season times of year.  Expected to participate: Lisa Mayo - President & CEO of Visit Tuolumne County, Rhonda Salisbury - CEO of Visit Yosemite Madera County, Jeff Simpson (representing tourism, filming and economic development in Mono County) and Jonathan Farrington, Executive Director of the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau.

Also on hand to offer an exciting visual presentation of his organization's work in Yosemite over the past few years: Frank Dean, President of the Yosemite Conservancy. Frank became president of Yosemite Conservancy in 2015 after nearly six years as superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Since then, he has overseen the completion of noteworthy projects to benefit Yosemite National Park, including the Conservancy's successful $20 million fundraising campaign to restore the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and the addition of 400-acre Ackerson Meadow, a once privately owned area of vital habitat that was purchased and donated to the park in 2016. The Conservancy has donated millions of dollars for maintenance and improvement projects in the park for many years, most recently - and notably, the renovations of Olmsted Point, the native Wahhoga (Village) Roundhouse in Yosemite Valley and the restored Mariposa Grove of Big Trees.

The afternoon session will be turned over to Superintendent Michael Reynolds for an update on current - and frequently breaking information of the National Park Service management of Yosemite National Park.

The YGP October 10th 2019 Autumn Quarterly Meeting will be held in the Garden Terrace Room at Yosemite Valley Lodge.  An informal social/networking hour begins at 9AM and the meeting proper will be held from 10AM to 2PM.   While the meeting is free, mandatory advance online registration for all attendees is required by Monday October 7th at noon.   An optional luncheon catered by Yosemite Hospitality is available via the online registration form, and must be paid for online prior to noon on October 7th to secure the $25 price; those who register by the October 7th noon deadline but who prefer to pay at the door will be charged $30.   There will be NO exceptions: those NOT registered for lunch by the October 7 deadline will be directed to the Base Camp Eatery next door to the Garden Terrace Room.

Now in its 15th year of existence and its 10th year as an incorporated non-profit, YGP is a partnership of government agencies, non-profit organizations, tribes, individuals and businesses that acknowledge the interdependence of Yosemite National Park and the surrounding communities, and collaborate on and address issues of regional importance to create sustainable cultural, natural and economic prosperity.   Governed by an 13-member Board of Directors, YGP also serves as an information and communications clearinghouse to insure effective information exchange between the park and its partners, as well as between the gateway communities and counties surrounding Yosemite National Park.  

Please visit to make online reservations (required for attendance and for optional luncheon) by noon on October 7th: https://tinyurl.com/YGPAutumn2019

To learn more about the organization, visit: http://www.yosemitegatewaypartners.org