News Release - Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Seek Public Input About Visitor Experience and Access

Here is your chance to express your opinion on the reservation requirement for Cold Spring and Atwell's Mill campgrounds!

Thu, Nov 17, 1:11 PM
For Immediate Release
Contact: Rebecca Paterson, Public Affairs Specialist​
Phone: (559) 702-3400
Email: seki_public_affairs@nps.gov
Reference Number: 8550-2230

SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS, Calif. November 17, 2022 – The National Park Service (NPS) is initiating a Visitor Experience and Access planning process for developed areas of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and is seeking public feedback to help identify key issues and ways the NPS can improve visitor experiences. You are invited to participate in the planning process during the public comment period, today through January 17, 2023.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks have experienced record-breaking levels of visitation over the last decade, and popular destinations in the parks can be challenging for visitors and staff to navigate, particularly during busy times. This project seeks to meet the changing needs of park visitors while sustainably addressing ongoing challenges attributed to high levels of visitation in the most popular areas of the parks. 

To learn more about this planning process and provide your feedback, please visit https://parkplanning.nps.gov/SEKIFrontcountryFall2022.

Comments may also be mailed to: 
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Attn: Visitor Experience and Access Plan
47050 Generals Highway
Three Rivers, CA 93271 

The NPS will also be hosting three public meetings on the planning effort between December 2022 and January 2023. A virtual public meeting will be hosted on Monday, December 12 at 4 p.m. PST, with a recording shared on the project webpage afterwards. The NPS will also host in-person meetings: one on Thursday, December 8 at 6 p.m. in Visalia, CA, and another on Wednesday, January 11 at 6 p.m. in Three Rivers, CA. Instructions for joining the virtual public meeting and specific locations for the in-person meetings can be found on the webpage listed above. 

“It’s wonderful that unprecedented numbers of people are coming out to enjoy their public lands, but it’s also important that we plan appropriately to accommodate that volume of people,” said Superintendent Clay Jordan. “We are concerned about how increasing visitation can affect visitors’ access to and experiences within the parks, but it is critical that we understand the perspectives of those of you who visit, or used to visit, or hope to visit in the future. What do you most value about your experiences in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks? What are we doing well and what could we do better?” 

This comment period will be open from November 17 to January 17 and is the first phase of this planning effort. Future comment public comment periods will be announced as this effort moves forward. 

If you have any specific questions regarding this proposal, please contact Elly Boerke, Environmental Protection Specialist, at (559) 565-3102.

-NPS-

HIGHWAY 180 INTO CEDAR GROVE CLOSING DUE TO PREDICTED WINTER WEATHER

NEWS RELEASE - HIGHWAY 180 INTO CEDAR GROVE CLOSING DUE TO PREDICTED WINTER WEATHER

Email: seki_public_affairs@nps.gov

Reference Number: 8550-2229

Highway 180 into Cedar Grove closing due to predicted winter weather

SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS, Calif. November 05, 2022

Due to a predicted winter weather event expected to deliver heavy snow and rain throughout the coming week, Caltrans will be closing Highway 180 at the Hume Lake junction on Sunday, November 6, at noon. There will be no access to Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon National Park while this closure is in place. Caltrans will assess whether it is possible to reopen the road on Thursday, November 10. Those with camping reservations in Cedar Grove in the affected time frame have been contacted and refunded. At this time, no other closures are planned, although closures of the Generals Highway into Sequoia National Park or other areas are possible as the weather system progresses.All visitors to the parks during the coming week should plan for snowy and icy conditions and carry tire chains. Conditions and restrictions may change throughout each day. For the most current roads conditions, call (559) 565 3341, dial 1, and then dial 1 again.

-NPS-

2023 Mineral King Calendar Available

Our very own resident artist, Jana Botkin of Cabinart, is featuring Mineral King walks for her 2023 calendar. This would make a perfect calendar for your cabin next summer, but in the meantime, you can enjoy it at home until next May!

https://www.cabinart.net/product/2023-calendar

Mineral King Road Gate Closure

I hope you all enjoyed your summer, hopefully up at Mineral King!

The road gates (located just below Lookout Point and at Camp Conifer) are scheduled to be closed and locked on Wednesday, October 26th. The date is subject to change, depending on the weather, and if the dates change we will send out additional communication. 

There will be a new code for the locks this winter.  If you are a cabin permittee authorized to access your cabin, please contact any MKDA Board member for the new code.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks taking emergency action to protect giant sequoias

October 13, 10:21 AM

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks News Release

For Immediate Release                              

Contact: Rebecca Paterson, Public Affairs Specialist​

Phone: (559) 702-3400

Email: seki_public_affairs@nps.gov

  Reference Number: 8550-2228

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks taking emergency action to protect giant sequoias

SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS, Calif. October 13, 2022 – Beginning Friday, Oct. 14, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks will initiate emergency actions to protect giant sequoias from the threats posed by high-intensity wildfire. Park staff will remove and reduce dense vegetation and other potential fire fuel sources in and around 11 giant sequoia groves that are especially at risk. The work will include manual thinning by hand, and later burning piles of cut vegetation and dead wood, and later using prescribed fire in areas that were initially thinned by hand. Most of these groves are in remote locations. 

Between 2020 and 2021, 13% to 19% of the world’s population of large giant sequoias were killed by three large wildfires (the Castle, Windy, and KNP Complex Fires), including several thousand trees in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. While giant sequoias require frequent low- to moderate-intensity fire for healthy growth and regeneration, these fires burned so intensely that they overwhelmed even these great survivors’ natural defenses. Some areas were so affected that no mature living trees remained to reseed the ground. Most of these catastrophically burned areas had not experienced fire in recent years, and because of that, carried heavy fuel loads that caused fires to burn more intensely.  

“In the midst of a new era of extreme fire behavior fueled by climate change, this work is an important step towards ensuring the long term viability of the ancient giant sequoias and protecting them from future losses,” said Chuck Sams, director of the National Park Service. “We have the tools to protect this iconic species and will deploy them as needed.”  

“The fires of 2020 and 2021 underscored the importance of deploying all tools at our disposal to protect sequoia trees,” said Clay Jordan, superintendent of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. “Park managers are assessing the appropriate fuels reduction tools for each grove on a case-by-case basis.” 

Most of the work this fall will include manual thinning of excess vegetation. The trimmings from thinning will be burned on site in piles, or as part of a prescribed burn, or a combination of the two. As the project continues, park staff will provide more details for individual components of the project, including when smoke impacts are anticipated. Additional work may include possible replanting of six sequoia groves that burned at high severity in 2020 or 2021 and have been determined to be at risk for total failure of natural regeneration. Assessments of these areas are currently underway. The earliest this work might begin is fall of 2023.  

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks have a prescribed burning program that dates back more than 50 years. Most of this work has been focused on medium- to high-use areas, including 10 sequoia groves, to protect the spectacular natural ecosystems as well as human safety and infrastructure. These decades of work have proven to be effective in areas such as the Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park and Grant Grove in Kings Canyon National Park. This work will help protect many of the more remote giant sequoias by reducing the amount of hazardous fuel in thus-far untreated groves.

-NPS-

West Mineral King & Campground Water Systems

Good news from Guy Wollenman, president of the West Mineral King Water & Improvement Association!

In discussion with the National Park Service, here is updated information about the water system on the "west side."

The Cold Springs campground water system will be closed on October 12.

The cabin water system will remain open until October 19, which will give cabin owners another week to enjoy and close up for the winter.

Note: if a freeze comes in, shut down and drain ASAP!

Enjoy your extra week!

MKPS Wishlist

I hope you all subscribe to the Mineral King Preservation Society newsletter. The most recent issue includes some interesting articles!

In that issue a "Tiny URL" link was published to access the MKPS Wishlist on Amazon.com. Unfortunately, the link expired, but here is the new link: tinyurl.com/49t4xw98. Please check it out and help with their needs and wants, if you can!