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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Fwd: [CalRareFruit] Fw: Preserving rare apples in Yosemite National Park

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  • From: Betty Mayfield <bmayfield@opusnet.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Fwd: [CalRareFruit] Fw: Preserving rare apples in Yosemite National Park
  • Date: Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:09:32 -0700

To the list,

A search of Google turned up a detailed story of the history of the fruit trees in a 1977 publication of the Yosemite Natural History Association.
http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/yosemite_nature_notes/46/46-2.pdf

Betty Mayfield

At 01:23 PM 4/5/2009, you wrote:
Cross posting that fits NAFEX perfectly.


Begin forwarded message:

From: "William A. Grimes" <wagrimes@sonic.net>
Date: April 5, 2009 12:20:37 PM PDT
To: <all-chapters@crfg.org>
Cc: <goldengatecrfg@yahoogroups.com>, <CalRareFruit@yahoogroups.com>, <info@crfg.org>
Subject: [CalRareFruit] Fw: Preserving rare apples in Yosemite National Park
Reply-To:
CalRareFruit@yahoogroups.com

If there is any interest, please contact Scott at sntipton@san.rr.com and me.
 
Bill Grimes

From: Scott Tipton
Sent: Sunday, April 05, 2009 7:43 AM
To: info@crfg.org
Subject: Preserving rare apples in Yosemite National Park

Greetings,
 
My wife and I visited Yosemite National Park last spring, as we do every year.  We just happened to be there on Earth Day.  There were a lot of activities, presentations and discussions about what each and every person that visits Yosemite can do to help preserve and conserve natural resources.
 
I had known for years that Yosemite as a National Park policy removes non-native and invasive plants to keep the park as close to its natural and historic condition as possible.  I also knew that there are orchards of fruit trees, mainly apples, that are allowed to grow and not considered as qualifying for removal as non-native plants.  They just grow, unattended or cared for, where they were planted by early settlers in Yosemite Valley and environs from as early as 1855.
 
Since it was Earth Day, there were representatives from the different departments of the National Park Service that work in Yosemite at kiosks available to answer questions about park preservation.  One of the kiosks was from representatives from the History, Architecture & Landscape Branch.  They had displays and information about historic structures and landmarks, but they also had information about the removal of the non-native plant species and how to get involved in that program.
 
I asked one of the ladies at the kiosk why the Park Service was so concerned about removing invasive weeds, grasses, shrubs trees, etc. but the old fruit groves and orchards were left to grow wild.  Why weren’t the fruit trees being removed?  The answer surprised me.
 
Almost all of these non-native fruit trees, mostly apples and pears, are historic, heirloom, rare, antique and obscure varieties there are now not found anywhere else but in Yosemite National Park.  If the trees were to be removed, they would then be extinct varieties.  Therefore, the trees are left alone.
 
I asked why there weren’t efforts being made to preserve these rare varieties for future generations in case something happened that would cause the trees to be killed by some natural means or if one of these varieties could solve agricultural needs or prevent other fruit grower’s problems.  Her answer was that there were not sufficient funds for such a project to save seeds, make cuttings for grafting or any other collecting and storing of specimens, and even if there were funds, other projects for the park made that sort of endeavor a lower priority.
 
That is the reason that I am contacting your organization.   There are dozens of apple and pear varieties that are now found nowhere else but in Yosemite National Park and there is nothing being done to save and preserve these fruit trees that may be of great agricultural importance now and in the future.
 
If you would be interested in being somehow involved with the preservation of these last known varieties of apples and pears, please contact me and I will provide you with the contact information for the National Park Service staff in Yosemite who would dearly love to see these trees saved for future generations.  It would be great, if when I am in Yosemite again next month, that I could have some good news for these hard working and concerned park employees that don’t have the means or government funds or support to do the preservation work themselves, but there are others that are willing to provide some kind of help.
 
I thank you very much for your time and attention to this matter.
 
Yours,
 
Scott Tipton
1438 Hornblend St.
San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 581-6847
sntipton@san.rr.com    -or-  sntipton@everythingyosemite.com


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