Visitors taking a road trip to Yosemite National Park will now have hundreds of additional acres to explore—a gift by the Trust for Public Land just created the biggest expansion to the park since 1949.
The 400-acre plot along what used to be the western boundary of the park has been used for cattle grazing and logging and is described in a report by NPR as, “a sprawling grassy meadow, wetlands and rolling hills dotted with tall pine trees.” If your mental image of Yosemite is only of stark, soaring granite peaks, prepare to be surprised by this gentler landscape, which is also home to a thriving community of wildlife, including bears, bats and even rare endangered songbirds.
The Trust for Public Land collected $2.3 million to buy the land from private owners in order to conserve it and donate it to the National Park, with support from individual donors, the Yosemite Conservancy, the National Park Trust and American Rivers. The gift is in part a celebration of the 100th anniversary year of the National Park system.
Nature-lovers, hikers and campers have been flocking to Yosemite since it was founded in 1890 as one of the country’s first National Parks. In recent years, the numbers of visitors have broken records, with more than 4.5 million people expected to make their way through the park this year.
To see the Ackerson Meadow and other areas of the Yosemite expansion, check out the video below prepared by the Trust for Public Land.
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