For its 100th anniversary in 2016, the National Park Service has launched an initiative to set bold goals, clear objectives, specific strategies and increased and accountable public and private investment in the parks.  Of over 200 proposals eligible for the NPS’s Centennial Challenge, which will match philanthropic cash donations with federal funding, 17 Yosemite projects were certified as eligible for funding and the park’s base budget stands to increase $3 million, allowing the equivalent of 86 new seasonal rangers in Yosemite.  Here’s a list of possible future projects:

• Connect underserved youth and parks
• Create multilingual junior ranger books
• Foster a diverse workforce through internships
• Tell untold stories
• Happy Isles Junior Ranger program
• Archeological site stewardship
• Meadow Songbirds Projects
• Invasive Plant Control
• Restore riparian habitat
• Preserve great grey owls
•  Restore Wawona Meadow habitat and historic features
• Create environmental campus
• Rehabilitate Tunnel View
• Rehabilitate Half Dome overlook
• Replace entrance signs
• Reconstruct trailhead access along Tioga Road
• Rehabilitate the most hiked trails