Yosemite Nat'l Park Getting $15M Makeover Thanks To Visitors

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (KCBS) -- Yosemite National Park is getting a facelift thanks to visitor donations.

$15 million from the Yosemite Conversancy is being spent rebuilding hiking trails, and protecting a number of rare frogs, turtles, foxes, and black bears. The Mariposa Grove of giant sierras is also being restored.

"It was a parking lot sitting right on top of the roots of the trees in the Mariposa Grove – that has now been removed to allow water to access the ground system," Jerry Edelbrock of the Yosemite Conservancy said.

"The wetlands had been filled in, and we've now removed the soils that were on top so that there is a wetlands restoration going on and a boardwalk so that visitors can get near the trees, but they're not impacting the root system," Edelbrock said.

In other words, the restoration will allow visitors to come to the park without loving it to death.

"The people of California are really recognizing that Yosemite belongs to them, and anyone who has made the visit to the park wants to give something back," Edelbrock said.

Donations to the conservancy have allowed it to fund over 500 projects with more than $100 million in grants.