Spring 2007 - Yosemite Online

AMERICA’S BEST IDEAA PARTNER STORYBY CHRISTOPHER E. STEINThe National Park Service has relied upon partnersto help achieve our mission since its founding in1916. Almost a century later, the story is the same.When my peers around the Service ask me, “What’s it liketo work at Yosemite?,” I inevitably invoke the word “partnership”explaining how Yosemite is “so much better”because of the great help of our partner friends. Last year,I had an experience that epitomizes the word “partner.”Please let me explain.Three years ago, Yosemite’s primary fund raising partner,the Yosemite Fund, chose to fund a national parkphotography exhibit called America’s Best Idea for theYosemite Museum gallery. This exhibit, containing spectacularlandscape photographs of the 58 national parkstaken by photographer Stan Jorstad, is very popular withvisitors. One visitor comment about the exhibit that Iparticularly like is, “Plan to travel if you come in here.”Two years ago, after receiving numerous visitorrequests of, “How can I buy some of these photographs?,”we thought it a wise idea to turn the exhibit into a reasonablypriced book accessible to most Yosemite visitors.To produce a book, we again turned to our partners.After the Yosemite Association agreed that the bookwould be a good title to sell, we turned to another oneof Yosemite’s very good partners, American ParkNetwork, to turn an idea into a reality. American ParkNetwork is a private, for-profit company that producesguides to many national parks around the System. ToPartnerships made possible the transformation of the America’sBest Idea exhibit into a book.remind you, when you enter Yosemite National Park,the green book called Yosemite Guide you receive isproduced by American Park Network.American Park Network agreed to find a sponsor forthe book. Nature Valley Granola Bars generously signedon. American Park Network published the book, also tobe titled America’s Best Idea, and donated all 5,000 copiesof the book to the Yosemite Association.On October 7, 2006 the America’s Best Idea exhibitre-opened in the Yosemite Museum gallery for a thirdyear. On that day, photographer Stan Jorstad was on handfor a book signing. One hundred and fifty copies of thenew America’s Best Idea book sold that day. All profitsfrom the sale of the book support the interpretationand education programs at Yosemite National Park.The exhibit and book called America’s Best Idea areindeed a partner story. From the Yosemite Fund, to theYosemite Association, photographer Stan Jorstad, TheMountain Institute (research), American Park Network,Nature Valley Granola Bars, and the National ParkService, the exhibit and book are a true collaborativeeffort. We thank our good partners for supporting theNational Park Service mission. We are “so much better”because of YOU! Thank you.Stan Jorstad captures the essence of our national parks in hisphotographs.CHRIS STEINChris Stein is Yosemite National Park’s Chief ofInterpretation and Education.14 YOSEMITE ASSOCIATION, SPRING 2007