Apple picking in Yosemite National Park's Curry Village has been completed. A small apple crop in the historic orchards was harvested over the weekend by a group of volunteers.
Yosemite holds the event each year to promote public awareness of the park's bear management techniques. Apple-picking removes a non-native food source that attracts bears to developed areas of the park. By removing the apples, bears will return to their natural food sources found throughout the park. Yosemite has seen a significant decrease in bear incidents since beginning the harvest in 1998.
The apple orchards were planted in the 1860s by James C. Lamon, one of the first settlers in Yosemite Valley.