Yosemite leader treats protected park meadow as golf course, draws outrage
The man in charge of concession operations for Yosemite National Park had a short run in his new position after a video surfaced on social media of him teeing off at the edge of a protected meadow, aiming to strike Half Dome with a golf ball.
“That hit the rock,” said Michael Grisar at the end of a short video clip that’s since been removed but was captured by Yosemite employees and circulated widely on Thursday. Grisar was then vice president of operations for the park’s concessionaire, Yosemite Hospitality, a subsidiary of Aramark.
Aramark corporate spokesman David Freireich said Friday morning that Grisar is no longer employed by the company. He declined to comment further, saying it was a personnel matter.
The night before, Freireich shared this statement about the golf video: “We are aware of the video and have spoken with the individual, who has apologized and acknowledges using poor judgment. We have great respect for Yosemite National Park and expect all of our employees to uphold the rules and regulations that are in place to preserve and protect it.”
A Linkedin page showed Grisar served in his Yosemite position since March, and was previously vice president of operations for Wyndham Destinations in the Southwest and Mexico.
Yosemite National Park spokesman Scott Gediman said hitting golf balls into a park meadow is a hazard and littering, and that Grisar could be cited for it.
“The employee involved in the incident has apologized to the park, and we are confident that something like this will not happen again,” Gediman said Thursday night. “However, we need to be crystal clear that this type of activity is prohibited and violates park rules and regulations. Yosemite National Park is a sacred place and its care and stewardship is the responsibility of all park employees and visitors.”
Grisar did not respond to an email requesting comment for this story.
Yosemite Valley meadows are vulnerable ecosystems in the popular park that had more than 4.5 million visitors last year. Signs are posted telling visitors to stay on designated trails and not to trample through them.
The meadow Grisar was seen hitting a golf ball into is the Ahwahnee Meadow, the meadow closest to The Ahwahnee hotel. The video shows him at the edge of the meadow apparently in front of a row of employee houses that border it, with coveted views of Half Dome and Yosemite Valley, normally reserved for management and longtime employees.
It’s unclear how long Grisar will be allowed to live in Yosemite housing now that he is no longer employed by Aramark.
The Ahwahnee Meadow isn’t untouched. There’s a designated landing zone for helicopters near its edge (near a medical clinic in Yosemite Valley) that former President Barack Obama and his family used when visiting in 2016. There’s also a path cleared from that zone as defensible space to prevent wildfires, Gediman said.
But “social trails” – makeshift paths made by visitors – are prohibited, along with littering, and the Ahwahnee Meadow is currently the subject of a park restoration project.
A number of Yosemite employees shared their concerns Thursday about the new vice president of operations, with some calling for Grisar’s resignation.
“Anyone who has lived in Yosemite is no stranger to seeing tourists trample through the meadows, feed wildlife, and leave trash behind,” said one Yosemite employee, who asked to be anonymous for fear of retribution. “As a community we all hold each other accountable if someone does not follow the leave-no-trace principle.
“If the VP of Operations was to have retrieved the golf ball after the video was taken, he would have crushed very sensitive plant life which is a common diet of the deer in Yosemite Valley. The path left would have potentially encouraged a domino effect of others to try walking through the meadow, as well. As a park we have zero tolerance for littering or destruction of nature and it is incredibly infuriating to have someone so high up feel no responsibility to help care for this land.”
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 12:32 PM.
