Image copyright AP Image caption Ackerson Meadow is home to endangered wildlife

Yosemite National Park in California is to gain a 400-acre addition, its largest expansion in nearly 70 years.

Ackerson Meadow features wetlands and rolling hills that are home to endangered wildlife, park officials quoted by AP news agency said.

The land, on Yosemite's western boundary, was bought for the park by conservation group the Trust for Public Land for $2.3m (£1.7m).

Yosemite National Park covers about 1,200 sq miles of mountainous scenery.

It attracts millions of visitors every year and celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2015.

The new addition, which was traditionally used for logging and grazing cattle, will be preserved as habitat for wildlife including the endangered great grey owl, the largest owl in North America, the officials said.

The land had been owned since 2006 by Robin and Nancy Wainwright.

Mr Wainwright said that by selling it to the trust, they had passed up a lucrative offer from a developer which had wanted to build a resort.

He said he had often seen bears strolling through the meadow and owls over fields of wildflowers in the spring.

Image copyright AP Image caption The land was historically used for logging and grazing cattle

Mr Wainwright said he hadn't wanted that experience to be available only to visitors who could afford to stay in a resort.

"To have that accessible by everyone, to me is just a great thing. It was worth losing a little bit of money for that," he added.

Park spokesman Scott Gediman said Yosemite's boundary had seen some minor changes over the years but the addition of Ackerson Meadow was the largest expansion since 1949.

He said the Trust for Public Land had put up $1.53m for the purchase with the Yosemite Conservancy and anonymous donors making up the rest.</s>FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Robin Wainwright could have cashed-in on pristine grassland and forest he owned along the border with Yosemite National Park — building an upscale resort for a few fortunate guests.

Wainwright and his wife Nancy, however, decided to take a slight loss on their investment and sold it to a land trust, which donated it Wednesday to Yosemite.

It expands the park by 400 acres, Yosemite's largest addition in nearly 70 years.

This undated photo provided by The Trust for Public Land shows Ackerson Meadow in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Visitors to the park now have more room to explore nature with the announcement on Wed. Sept. 7, 2016 that the park's western boundary has expanded to include Ackerson Meadow, 400 acres of tree-covered Sierra Nevada foothills, grassland and a creek that flows into the Tuolumne River. This is the park's biggest expansion in nearly 70 years, and will serve as wildlife habitat. (Robb Hirsch/The Trust for Public Land via AP)

The public will soon be able to enjoy the wildlife and natural scenery, such as the explosion of flowers that blossom each spring and bears that often stroll through the property.

"To have that accessible by everyone to me is just a great thing," Robin Wainwright said. "It was worth losing a little bit of money for that."

Ackerson Meadow is located along Yosemite's western boundary. The area was purchased from private owners by the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit conservation group, for $2.3 million and donated to the park.

Officials told The Associated Press that Yosemite will preserve the land — historically used for logging and cattle grazing — as habitat for wildlife such as the great grey owl, the largest owl in North American and listed as endangered by California wildlife officials.

Shaun Crook, president of the Tuolumne County Farm Bureau, said that not everybody supported turning the private property over to the government.

For at least a century, the grassy Ackerson Meadow has fattened beef cattle and been used for logging, he said.

"That will no longer happen," he said, adding that both industries are being squeezed out of business. "I fear we'll lose the value of that meadow."

The park's boundary has seen some minor changes over the years, but this expansion is the largest since 1949 to the park of nearly 750,000 acres total, park spokesman Scott Gediman said.

More than 4.5 million people are expected to visit Yosemite this year, which Gediman said would set a record for the park that celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2015.

Other draws to the park include the massive Half Dome rock and the sheer, granite face of El Capitan — both admired by visitors from floor of Yosemite Valley.

Elsewhere in the park stand groves of giant sequoia, some of the oldest and largest living things on Earth.

Visitors pass Ackerson Meadow on their way to Hetch Hetchy reservoir, which provides drinking water to San Francisco.

The land was bought with $1.53 million from the Trust for Public Land and $520,000 from the Yosemite Conservancy, which supports a variety of projects in the park. Anonymous donors contributed the rest, Gediman said.

"We are delighted and proud to make this gift to Yosemite and the people of America," said Will Rogers, president of the Trust for Public Land.

The land completes the park's original plans from 1890, which included Ackerson Meadow, said Yosemite Conservancy's President Frank Dean.

"It's a stunning open meadow surrounded by forest habitat, which supports a wide variety of flora and fauna," said Park Superintendent Don Neubacher.</s>The first U.S. national park sites – As the National Park Service commemorates its centennial in 2016, CNN celebrates the nation's oldest national parks and monuments, which were established before the agency that now oversees them. Click through the gallery to see some of our favorite first park sites.

The first U.S. national park sites – Yellowstone claims the honor of the nation's first national park, created on March 1, 1872. The U.S. Army ran the park for its first 32 years, and many park rangers were veterans. Protected primarily because of geothermal areas containing about half the world's active geysers, the 2.2 million-acre park is home to grizzly bears, wolves, elk, bison and dozens of other mammal species, birds, fish and reptiles.

The first U.S. national park sites – Even during a time in American history when "manifest destiny" called prospectors to use the country's natural resources, California's stunning sequoias called out for protection from the logging industry. On September 25, 1890, Sequoia National Park became the second national park, and the first national park formed to protect a living organism.

The first U.S. national park sites – The park was named General Grant National Park when it was created on October 1, 1890, but it didn't keep that moniker for long. When a new national park to protect Kings Canyon was established in 1940, General Grant National Park was rolled into it. Vestiges of the honor given Grant remain: The enormous General Grant Tree was designated as the nation's Christmas tree in 1926.

The first U.S. national park sites – The heart of Washington state's first national park, Mount Rainier towers above the surrounding landscape at 14,410 feet. The park was created on March 2, 1899, after a five-year campaign by conservation and scientific groups. The mountain is actually an active volcano, and there are more than two dozen major glaciers on its slopes.

The first U.S. national park sites – While there's no evidence that Native Americans lived at Crater Lake, they did treat it as a holy site before the eruption of Mount Mazama, which occurred some 7,000 years ago and created the deepest lake in the United States (1,943 feet). Some Native Americans still consider the lake holy. The eye-catching site became Crater Lake National Park on May 22, 1902.

The first U.S. national park sites – The Devils Tower rock formation is a sacred site to more than 20 surrounding Native American tribes, who call it "Bear's Lodge," "Bear's House," "Bear's Tipi" and other names. The site was protected under the 1906 Antiquities Act. More recently, a spiritual leader from the Lakota Nation in Wyoming has petitioned the federal government to change the name to Bear Lodge National Monument.

The first U.S. national park sites – El Morro is home to the ancestral Atsinna pueblo, which was built around 1275 by ancestors to the Zuni tribe. It's estimated that the pueblo had about 857 rooms. Take the half-mile Inscription Trail to see the 2,000 petroglyphs and inscriptions dating back to the 17th century, when the Spanish were traveling through what is now New Mexico. It was named a national monument on December 8, 1906.

The first U.S. national park sites – On December 8, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt created this national monument, now Petrified Forest National Park, to protect the area's beautiful petrified wood. The main attraction is the fossilized wood, yet there is much more at this significant national park, including more than 13,000 years of human history dating back to the end of the last Ice Age.

The first U.S. national park sites – When conservationist John Muir heard that William and Elizabeth Kent had purchased a redwood forest north of San Francisco to protect it and named it after him, Muir said, "This is the best tree-lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world." President Theodore Roosevelt created Muir Woods National Monument on land donated to the federal government by the Kents on January 9, 1908.

The first U.S. national park sites – The Anasazi, also called Ancestral Puebloans, started settling down in the Four Corners region about 2,000 years ago. Keet Seel, Betatakin and Inscription House -- the three cliff dwellings protected by Navajo National Monument -- date to around 1250 to 1300. On March 20, 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt established Navajo National Monument, named for the people who live on Navajo Nation land now, to protect those ancient homes.

The first U.S. national park sites – People have walked the land now called Zion National Park since 6000 B.C., yet it wasn't until a 1908 federal land survey that the stunning beauty of Zion was broadcast to outsiders. The surveyors immediately recommended that President William Taft protect the lands, which he did on July 31, 1909, calling it Mukuntuweap National Monument. It became Zion National Monument in 1918 and Zion National Park in 1919. 



The first U.S. national park sites – Glaciers have been carving their way through Glacier National Park for millennia, and humans have been in the area for about 10,000 years. There are still reservations abutting and near the national park site, and the park land is spiritually important to local tribes. In the late 1800s, "Forest & Stream" editor George Bird Grinnell started lobbying for Glacier to become a national park. He succeeded on May 11, 1910.

The first U.S. national park sites – Sacred to the Native American nations who live near it, Rainbow Bridge in Utah is one of the world's largest known natural bridges. While visitors can see the bridge and hike the trails at the national monument, which was created on May 30, 1910, it's still used as a spiritual site. Since 1995, the park service has been working with neighboring tribes to ensure the spirituality of the space is respected.

The first U.S. national park sites – The land in the Colorado Plateau's northeast corner, designated the Colorado National Monument on May 24, 1911, had a fervent protector in John Otto, the park's first custodian and fiercest advocate. Otto first discovered the red-rock canyons south of Grand Junction in 1906, and he built the first trails to reach the canyons.

The first U.S. national park sites – Glaciers have carved out the landscape of Rocky Mountain National Park, where more than 60 peaks stand higher than 12,000 feet. The land became U.S. territory with the 1803 Louisiana Purchase and attracted hunters, ranchers, miners and homesteaders. Local naturalists started agitating for conservation, and President Woodrow Wilson created the national park on January 26, 1915.

The first U.S. national park sites – It was 149 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the land now protected by the monument named for them. They became extinct about 59 million years ago, but their legacy lives on in the fossils left behind. Paleontologist Earl Douglass found the Carnegie Quarry in 1909, and President Woodrow Wilson protected the site only six years later, on October 4, 1915.

The first U.S. national park sites – Now called Acadia National Park, the park once known as Sieur de Monts National Monument and Lafayette National Park celebrates its centennial on July 8, 1916. The first national park east of the Mississippi owes its existence to an elite group who loved Maine -- including Harvard University President Charles W. Eliot, John D. Rockefeller Jr. and textile heir George B. Dorr.

The first U.S. national park sites – Early Native Hawaiians revered Pele, goddess of volcanoes, and believed that the Halema'uma'u Crater at the summit of Kilauea was the deity's home. Created on August 1, 1916, Hawaii National Park only included the summits of Kilauea and Mauna Loa on Hawai'i (the Big Island) and Haleakala on Maui with other volcanic sites added later. Haleakala was made a separate national park in 1961. Today, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park covers 520 square miles.</s>FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Visitors to Yosemite National Park in California have more room to roam after officials on Wednesday announced a 400-acre expansion of the park — its largest in nearly 70 years.

The addition features wetlands and a grassy meadow surrounded by tall pine trees on rolling hills that are home to endangered wildlife.

Ackerson Meadow is located along Yosemite's western boundary. The area was purchased from private owners by the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit conservation group, for $2.3 million and donated to the park.

This undated photo provided by The Trust for Public Land shows Ackerson Meadow in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Visitors to the park now have more room to explore nature with the announcement on Wed. Sept. 7, 2016 that the park's western boundary has expanded to include Ackerson Meadow, 400 acres of tree-covered Sierra Nevada foothills, grassland and a creek that flows into the Tuolumne River. This is the park's biggest expansion in nearly 70 years, and will serve as wildlife habitat. (Robb Hirsch/The Trust for Public Land via AP)

Officials told The Associated Press that Yosemite will preserve the land — historically used for logging and cattle grazing — as habitat for wildlife such as the great grey owl, the largest owl in North American and listed as endangered by California wildlife officials.

Robin and Nancy Wainwright, who owned the land since 2006, sold it to the trust. Robin Wainwright said they lost a "few hundred thousand dollars" passing up a lucrative offer from a developer to build a resort.

He said he often saw bears strolling through the meadow and owls soaring over fields of vibrant wildflowers blooming in the springtime. He didn't want that experience available only to those who could afford a resort.

"To have that accessible by everyone to me is just a great thing," Wainwright said. "It was worth losing a little bit of money for that."

The park's boundary has seen some minor changes over the years, but this expansion is the largest since 1949 to the park of nearly 750,000 acres total, park spokesman Scott Gediman said.

More than 4.5 million people are expected to visit Yosemite this year, which Gediman said would set a record for the park that celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2015.

Visitors pass Ackerson Meadow on their way to Hetch Hetchy reservoir, which provides drinking water to San Francisco.

The land was bought with $1.53 million from the Trust for Public Land and $520,000 from the Yosemite Conservancy, which supports a variety of projects in the park. Anonymous donors contributed the rest, Gediman said.

"We are delighted and proud to make this gift to Yosemite and the people of America," said Will Rogers, president of the Trust for Public Land.

The land completes the park's original plans from 1890, which included Ackerson Meadow, said Yosemite Conservancy's President Frank Dean.

"It's a stunning open meadow surrounded by forest habitat, which supports a wide variety of flora and fauna," said Park Superintendent Don Neubacher.</s>Visitors to Yosemite national park in California have more room to roam after officials on Wednesday announced a 400-acre expansion of the park – its largest in nearly 70 years.

The addition features wetlands and a grassy meadow surrounded by tall pine trees on rolling hills that are home to endangered wildlife.

Ackerson Meadow is located along Yosemite’s western boundary. The area was purchased from private owners by the Trust for Public Land, a not-for-profit conservation group, for $2.3m and donated to the park.

Officials told the Associated Press that Yosemite would preserve the land – historically used for logging and cattle grazing – as habitat for wildlife such as the great gray owl, the largest owl in North America and listed as endangered by California wildlife officials.

Robin and Nancy Wainwright, who had owned the land since 2006, sold it to the trust. Robin Wainwright said they lost a “few hundred thousand dollars” passing up a lucrative offer from a developer to build a resort.

He said he often saw bears strolling through the meadow and owls soaring over fields of vibrant wildflowers blooming in the springtime. He did not want that experience available only to those who could afford a resort.

“To have that accessible by everyone, to me, is just a great thing,” Wainwright said. “It was worth losing a little bit of money for that.”

The park’s boundary has seen some minor changes over the years, but this expansion is the largest since 1949 to the park of nearly 750,000 acres total, park spokesman Scott Gediman said.

More than 4.5 million people are expected to visit Yosemite this year, which Gediman said would set a record for the park, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2015.

Visitors pass Ackerson Meadow on their way to Hetch Hetchy reservoir, which provides drinking water to San Francisco.

The land was bought with $1.53m from the Trust for Public Land and $520,000 from the Yosemite Conservancy, which supports a variety of projects in the park. Anonymous donors contributed the rest, Gediman said.

“We are delighted and proud to make this gift to Yosemite and the people of America,” said Will Rogers, president of the Trust for Public Land.

The land completes the park’s original plans from 1890, which included Ackerson Meadow, said the Yosemite Conservancy’s president, Frank Dean.

“It’s a stunning open meadow surrounded by forest habitat, which supports a wide variety of flora and fauna,” said the park superintendent, Don Neubacher.</s>FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Yosemite National Park is expanding with the donation of Ackerson Meadow, an area of wetlands and grassy meadows surrounded by forests. It is the park's largest addition in nearly seven decades.

Here's a look at what it is:

The addition increases Yosemite's total space of nearly 750,000 acres by 400 acres.

It forms a new part of Yosemite's western boundary. Visitors travel by it on their way to the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, which supplies San Francisco with drinking water.

It features wetlands and a grassy meadow surrounded by tall pine trees on rolling hills. It is home to wildlife with federal and state protection, such as the great grey owl, the largest owl in North American and listed as endangered by California wildlife officials.

The land was bought from a private owner for $2.3 million. Robin Wainwright said he and his wife, Nancy, sold it to the Trust for Public Land at a slight loss. But they prefer that it go to Yosemite so the public can enjoy it, rather than selling it to developer.

The trust orchestrated the donation, putting up most of the money — $1.53 million. The Yosemite Conservancy contributed $520,000, and anonymous donors put up the rest.</s>Visitors to Yosemite National Park will soon have more room to roam after officials on Wednesday announced a 400-acre expansion, the largest in nearly 70 years.

The addition to the park in California features wetlands and a grassy meadow surrounded by tall pine trees on rolling hills that are home to endangered wildlife.

Ackerson Meadow is located along Yosemite's western boundary. The area was purchased from private owners by the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit conservation group, for $2.3 million and donated to the park.

Officials told The Associated Press that Yosemite will preserve the land — historically used for logging and cattle grazing — as habitat for wildlife such as the great grey owl, the largest owl in North American and listed as endangered by California wildlife officials.

Robin and Nancy Wainwright, who owned the land since 2006, sold it to the trust. Robin Wainwright said they lost a "few hundred thousand dollars" selling to the trust, and the couple also passed up a lucrative offer from a developer to build a resort.

He said he often saw bears strolling through the meadow and owls soaring over fields of vibrant wildflowers blooming in the springtime. He didn't want that experience available only to those who could afford a resort.

"To have that accessible by everyone to me is just a great thing," Wainwright said. "It was worth losing a little bit of money for that."

Shaun Crook, president of the Tuolumne County Farm Bureau, said that not everybody supported turning the private property over to the government.

For at least a century, the grassy Ackerson Meadow has fattened beef cattle and been used for logging, he said.

"That will no longer happen," he said, adding that both industries are being squeezed out of business. "I fear we'll lose the value of that meadow."

The park's boundary has seen some minor changes over the years, but this expansion is the largest since 1949 to the park of nearly 750,000 acres total, park spokesman Scott Gediman said.

More than 4.5 million people are expected to visit Yosemite this year, which Gediman said would set a record for the park that celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2015.

Other draws to the park include the massive Half Dome rock and the sheer, granite face of El Capitan — both admired by visitors from floor of Yosemite Valley.

Elsewhere in the park stand groves of giant sequoia, some of the oldest and largest living things on Earth.

Visitors pass Ackerson Meadow on their way to Hetch Hetchy reservoir, which provides drinking water to San Francisco.

The land was bought with $1.53 million from the Trust for Public Land and $520,000 from the Yosemite Conservancy, which supports a variety of projects in the park. Anonymous donors contributed the rest, Gediman said.

"We are delighted and proud to make this gift to Yosemite and the people of America," said Will Rogers, president of the Trust for Public Land.

The land completes the park's original plans from 1890, which included Ackerson Meadow, said Yosemite Conservancy's President Frank Dean.

"It's a stunning open meadow surrounded by forest habitat, which supports a wide variety of flora and fauna," said Park Superintendent Don Neubacher.</s>In the biggest expansion in 70 years, Yosemite National Park officials announced Wednesday the addition of 400 acres to the park.

The addition features wetlands and a grassy meadow surrounded by tall pine trees on rolling hills that are home to endangered wildlife.

Ackerson Meadow is located along Yosemite’s western boundary. The area was purchased from private owners by the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit conservation group, for $2.3 million and donated to the park.

Yosemite will preserve the land — historically used for logging and cattle grazing — as habitat for wildlife such as the great gray owl, the largest owl in North American and listed as endangered by California wildlife officials.

The announcement comes several weeks after President Obama visited Yosemite, where he touted the natural beauty while also warning about the need to protect the park from the ravages of global warming.

He pointed to the drying of Yosemite’s grasslands and the shrinking of its largest glacier, which once stretched a mile wide. He cited shifts in the historic bird ranges and said alpine mammals such as pikas had been forced farther up slopes to escape rising temperatures.

“Fires are raging across the West right now … all while it’s still really early in the season,” he said during his June visit.

The Yosemite expansion comes after three Southern California sites were designated national monuments this year: Sand to Snow, Mojave Trails and Castle Mountains. Those areas, in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, have helped connect hundreds of miles of the region’s protected wildlands.

Robin and Nancy Wainwright, who owned the Yosemite land since 2006, sold it to the trust. Robin Wainwright said they lost a “few hundred thousand dollars” passing up a lucrative offer from a developer to build a resort.

He said he often saw bears strolling through the meadow and owls soaring over fields of vibrant wildflowers blooming in the springtime. He didn’t want that experience available only to those who could afford a resort.

“To have that accessible by everyone, to me, is just a great thing,” Wainwright said. “It was worth losing a little bit of money for that.”

The park’s boundary has seen some minor changes over the years, but this expansion to the park of nearly 750,000 acres is the largest since 1949, he said.

More than 4.5 million people are expected to visit Yosemite this year, which spokesman Scott Gediman said would set a record for the park, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2015.

Visitors pass Ackerson Meadow on their way to Hetch Hetchy reservoir, which provides drinking water to San Francisco.

The land was bought with $1.53 million from the Trust for Public Land and $520,000 from the Yosemite Conservancy, which supports a variety of projects in the park. Anonymous donors contributed the rest, Gediman said.

“We are delighted and proud to make this gift to Yosemite and the people of America,” said Will Rogers, president of the Trust for Public Land.

The land completes the park’s original plans from 1890, which included Ackerson Meadow, said Yosemite Conservancy’s President Frank Dean.

“It’s a stunning open meadow surrounded by forest habitat, which supports a wide variety of flora and fauna,” said Park Superintendent Don Neubacher.

Op-Ed: Will our national parks survive the next 100 years?

President Obama and the first family to visit Yosemite National Park

3:09 p.m.: This article was updated with more details on the land.

2:45 p.m.: This article was updated with background and new details.

This article was originally published at 2:25 p.m.</s>LOS ANGELES, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Yosemite National Park on Wednesday announced its largest expansion in seven decades with the donation by a conservancy group of a large meadow surrounded by trees that will be home to dozens of endangered species.

Ackerson Meadow at the western edge of the current park was purchased from a private couple earlier this year by the Trust for Public Land for $2.3 million and donated to the National Park Service, a Yosemite spokeswoman said.

The gift of 400 acres (161.87 hectares) of land marks the largest expansion of Yosemite, which was first protected in 1864 and encompasses nearly 1,200 square miles (3,107.99 sq km) in central California, since 1949.

"It's a big open meadow surrounded by forest land. We're very excited. This pristine meadow is going to provide habitat for a number of protected species," park spokeswoman Jamie Richards said. Among them are two endangered species of owls.

Among the major contributors to the purchase were the nonprofit Yosemite Conservancy, the National Park Trust and American Rivers.

According to the park, the land is especially important because it consists of a meadow. While just three percent of Yosemite National Park is meadows, they are home to some one-third of the plant species found there.

Frank Dean, president of the Yosemite Conservancy, said in a statement that Ackerson Meadow had been included in the original boundary plans for the park, which was inspired by the advocacy of Scottish-American naturalist John Muir.

"Donating the largest addition since 1949 to one of the world's most famous parks is a great way to celebrate the 100th birthday of our National Park Service -- and honor John Muir's original vision for the park," said Will Rogers, President of The Trust for Public Land.

Yosemite, considered one of the crown jewels of America's national park system, regularly ranks among the top U.S. tourist attractions. The park saw a record 4.3 million visitors in 2015. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Sandra Maler)
The U.S. Yosemite National Park expands by 400 acres.