Yosemite Conservancy has announced $17 million in grants to restore trails and ecosystems in Yosemite National Park, propel scientific and historical research, protect wildlife, and facilitate positive visitor experiences.

Grants will support 50 projects, programs, and services in the park, including initiatives to improve safety along the popular Mist Trail, understand threats to giant sequoias, and conduct research to uncover why salamander, bat, and Pacific fisher populations in the park are dwindling. Other grants will support the park’s Junior Ranger program, the popular “Ask a Climber” program, and documenting Chinese-American history in the park as well as continuing an analysis of how drought, fire, and insect attacks are impacting giant sequoias.

“Philanthropy’s vital role in supporting national parks stems from the inspiration and success of the nation’s first friends’ group, Yosemite Conservancy,” said Yosemite National Park superintendent Cicely Muldoon. “Yosemite National Park has benefited immensely from a century of partnership with the conservancy. The work we do together has restored access to some of the park’s most iconic landmarks and funded research to preserve some of its most at-risk species. Every visitor’s experience to Yosemite has been made better by the conservancy’s work. We look forward to the next 100 years, and what we can do together to steward Yosemite for future generations.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/agaliza)