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TRANSMITTAL OF PROPOSAL FORM

U.S. Board on Geographic Names form for name proposal
Instructions for name proposal form
Draft of proposal

Committee response to "Acknowledgement of receipt of proposal form by board" below

Dear Mr.Yost: 

Thank you for informing us of receipt of our proposal to formally name Sharsmith Peak. 

Regarding your question of endorsement by the current superintendent’s office of Yosemite National Park, we are not aware that the office has taken a position on the matter of this naming The office has been informed of the proposal and is being sent a duplicate of the package of information with copies of endorsements that we have forwarded to your board, and which you should receive shortly. The fact that four of the living former park superintendents have written endorsements (Morehead, Griffin, Mihalik, Binnewies) makes us hopeful that the present administration will continue in support. Binnewies was also active in his support while superintendent as was Arnberger (now deceased), based on preserved written communications. Morehead is a member of the Name4Carl Committee. Too, two former regional National Park Service directors and one former director are in favor, as well as a former, now deceased, director of the U.S. Geological Survey.

We have noted a posting on your website of this same proposal attributed to Mr. George Durkee of Sierra Nature Notes and have also been informed by others that they have written statements of support which they have sent directly to your Board. Our Committee has in the past advised your Board of these other expressions and now suggest that they be kept in a common file with our proposal or in files that are cross-referenced.

 William R Jones, Lead Member, Name4Carl Committee (January 13, 2007)

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT OF PROPOSAL FORM BY BOARD

This will acknowledge receipt of your proposal to name a feature in California, Sharsmith Peak. We shall begin processing the proposal, which will require approximately eight months to process.  As you are no doubt aware, the most important policy is local use and acceptance, so we shall seek the recommendations of the county governments as well as that of the California State Names Authority, the land management agencies, and any other interested parties.  You seem to be aware of the Board's Wilderness Area Policy, and have addressed that policy's requirements.  We shall also be awaiting the documents of endorsement mentioned.  You indicate that the office of the park superintendent has "in the past" supported the proposal.  Does this mean that the office does not now do so?  Actually, it is not really relevant because a park superintendent or forest superintendent cannot (by internal agency requirements) commit to support or lack of support on names issues without first consulting with that agencies member to the U. S. Board on Geographic Names (copied on this response) except, of course, as a private citizen. We shall keep you informed of the progress, and let you know the decision of the Board.  Please let us know if you have questions.

For Louis A. Yost
Executive Secretary,
 U.S. Board on Geographic Names
703.648.4552
(January 12, 2007)
 
 
LETTER TRANSMITTING PROPOSAL FORM




 

PROPOSAL FORM

  email

01/09/2007 12:56 AM

       
        To:        
        cc:        
        Subject:        GNIS-WEB-FORM-Sharsmith-Peak


Proposed feature name: Sharsmith Peak
State or equivalent where feature is located: California
Is feature located in other states?: no
County were feature is located: Tuolumne and Mono common border
City, Town, Township were feature is located: NA
Administrative Area were feature is located: Yosemite National Park & Inyo National Forest
Action requested: Proposed New Name selected

     


Why does feature need a name?:
     To inspire future study and preservation of this area
     in the spirit of naturalist Sharsmith. And to simplify
     reference.


Feature type: mountain summit
GNIS feature?: No
     


Feature description:
     mith established the Carl W. Sharsmith Herbarium at
     San Jose State University, San Jose, California, where
     he was professor of botany, a renowned expert in grasses
     and alpine plants. While living, Dr. Sharsmith received
     the Meritorius Service Award from the Department of
     the Interior and the first Yosemite Award from that
     park. His name established on a mountain peak will serve
     to perpetuate awareness of his lifework so that continued
     benefit may result from enhanced awareness of the dedication
     of this man to his ideals of the use of education as
     a means to understanding and effective correct action.
     During his lifetime, Dr. Sharsmith was approached with
     proposals to name features for him and appreciated the
     thought; he specifically endorsed the present feature
     to bear his name. The peak has borne other names: False
     White Mountain Peak, False White, and Peak 12,002. These
     can potentially lead to confusion in route finding for
     recreationists and ski mountaineers as well as in management
     by the agencies including county sheriffs, especially
     in rescue situations, at least one of which has already
     occurred on the mountain's flanks.


Name information:
     The name Sharsmith Peak is from Dr. Carl W. Sharsmith
     (1903-1994), Yosemite National Park ranger-naturalist
     who served mainly in the Tuolumne Meadows area of the
     High Sierra for over 60 summers and is deeply associated
     with the region. For instance, the purposes of the Hall
     Research Natural Area and the Yosemite Wilderness relate
     directly to Carl's focus in alpine botany and his wish
     to maintain natural areas for plants. Dr. Sharsmith
     deeply touched the lives of thousands of persons through
     his educational and motivational talents, and many of
     these persons as a result launched careers, led conservation
     organizations, or developed amateur interests in ecology
     and conservation that further the purposes for which
     the U.S. Congress established and maintains both Yosemite
     National Park and Inyo National Forest and indeed the
     national park and forest managing agencies themselves.
     Dr. Sharsmith's science was botany, and he did original
     meadow ecology research for use in management. Dr. Sharsmith
     established the Carl W. Sharsmith Herbarium at San Jose
     State University, San Jose, California, where he was
     professor of botany, a renowned expert in grasses and
     alpine plants. While living, Dr. Sharsmith received
     the Meritorius Service Award from the Department of
     the Interior and the first Yosemite Award from that
     park. His name established on a mountain peak will serve
     to perpetuate awareness of his lifework so that continued
     benefit may result from enhanced awareness of the dedication
     of this man to his ideals of the use of education as
     a means to understanding and effective correct action.
     During his lifetime, Dr. Sharsmith was approached with
     proposals to name features for him and appreciated the
     thought; he specifically endorsed the present feature
     to bear his name. The peak has borne other names: False
     White Mountain Peak, False White, and Peak 12,002. These
     can potentially lead to confusion in route finding for
     recreationists and ski mountaineers as well as in management
     by the agencies including county sheriffs, especially
     in rescue situations, at least one of which has already
     occurred on the mountain's flanks.

Feature elevation: 12,002


Mouth or center of feature:
   Latitude: N37 degrees 56.194 minutes
  longitude: W119 degrees 17.615 minutes


Source of feature
   Latitude: NA
  longitude: NA


Maps and other published sources using name:
     Julie Miller has used the name Sharsmith Peak for the
     proposed peak for a guided hike she led for the Yosemite
     Association to its summit, and this informal Sharsmith
     Peak name has been published in a walk guide by the
     Yosemite Association noted as follows: "Three Great
     Peaks--Reach the top of three outstanding peaks in three
     strenuous days of hiking. Julie Miller will guide her
     gorup to the summits of Tuolumne Peak, Tenaya Peak,
     and Sharsmith Peak". Beth Pratt, vice president of Yosemite
     Association, notes, "Although Sharsmith isn't the official
     name for the peak, apparently it is the familiar name
     used by park insiders. John Carroll O'Neill and Elizabeth
     Stone O'Neill write in Tioga Tramps re the proposed
     point, on page 26, "There is an interest in naming this
     mountain as a memorial to Yosemite's famous ranger-naturalist,
     Carl Sharsmith."                    


Other names used for feature:
     Peak 12,002, False White Mountain Peak, False White.
     Those using these other names have supported the Sharsmith
     Peak name instead.                          


Is proposed name in local usage?: Yes,5

Is there local opposition or conflict
regarding the proposed name: Yes
    While there is overwhelming support for this naming,
     a few have expressed the wish to have no new names at
     all in wild areas. Many of those giving their support
     feel almost the same way but note that in the case of
     this one man they are making an exception and supporting
     the proposal.


Additional information:
     al Society. The office of the Superintendent of Yosemite
     National Park has in the past supported the proposal.
     Statements have been gathered and are posted on the
     website www.name4carl.org and originals of same are
     being transmitted physically to the board at this time.
     Additionally, other individuals have said they have
     forwarded their own letters of support.


Organizations or individuals which support proposed name:
     The Name4Carl Committee consists of former Yosemite
     National Park persons who in their later careers came
     to poistions of influence as regional directors and
     national division chiefs and planners as well as university
     professors. Supporters include a former (now deceased)
     director of the U.S. Geological Survey, the geologist
     emeritus who mapped Yosemite, a former National Park
     Service director, most living former Yosemite superintendents,
     a state park director, legislators, ski mountaineers,
     native Americans, a national conservation writer, and
     many park visitors. The Yosemite Association, authorized
     Yosemite National Park cooperating association, has
     been involved in the effort to name a peak for Carl
     Sharsmith at least since 1976. Other organizations stating
     their support include the Bristlecone Chapter of the
     California Native Plant Society, the Mono County Board
     of Supervisors, Sierra Nature Notes, Mono Lake Committee,
     Upper Merced River Watershed Council, and the Yosemite
     Historical Society. The office of the Superintendent
     of Yosemite National Park has in the past supported
     the proposal. Statements have been gathered and are
     posted on the website www.name4carl.org and originals
     of same are being transmitted physically to the board
     at this time. Additionally, other individuals have said
     they have forwarded their own letters of support.

  Proposed By Name: Name4Carl Committee
            Street: 0637 Blue Ridge Road
City, State and Zip: Silverthorne, CO 80498
             Email: email
         Telephone: 970/468-7673
        Fax Number: 970/468-7673
             Title: William R Jones, Lead Member
 Company or Agency: Name4Carl Committee

Submitted By  Name: William R Jones
            Street: 0637 Blue Ridge Road
City, State and Zip: Silverthorne, CO 80498
             Email: email
         Telephone: 970/468-7673
        Fax Number: 970/468-7673
             Title: Lead Member
 Company or Agency: Name4Carl Committee

Do you have additional materials to submit?: Yes

A PRELIMINARY SUBMISSION

The text below appears on the Board on Geographic Names website under Quarterly Review List 392 released 06/27/2006:

Sharsmith Peak: summit, elevation 3,658 m (12,002 ft); in Yosemite National Park/Yosemite Wilderness and Inyo National Forest, in the Sierra Nevada, just E of Skelton Lakes, 4 km (2.5 mi) NW of Tioga Pass; named for Dr. Carl W. Sharsmith (1903-1994), Yosemite National Park ranger-naturalist and alpine botanist; Tuolumne County and Mono County, California; Sec 14, T1N, R24E, Mount Diablo Mer.; 37°56’12”N, 119°17’37”W; USGS map – Tioga Pass 1:24,000. http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=11&n=4201257.94%20&e=298442.91&u=6&datum=nad83

Proposal: to make official a commemorative name in local use

Map: USGS Tioga Pass 1:24,000

Proponent: George Durkee; Twain Harte, CA

Administrative area: Yosemite National Park and Inyo National Forest

Previous BGN Action: None

Names associated with feature: GNIS: No record

Local Usage: Sharsmith Peak (Yosemite Association web diary, 2003)

Published: Sharsmith Peak (Yosemite Outdoor Adventures, 2002)

Case Summary: This proposal is to make official the name Sharsmith Peak for a 3,658 m (12,002 ft) high summit in the Sierra Nevada, just northwest of Tioga Pass and 19 km (12 mi) west of Mono Lake. The summit also lies along the boundary between Yosemite National Park and Inyo National Forest, and on the boundary between Tuolumne County and Mono County. The National Park side of the peak is designated as the Yosemite Wilderness, while the National Forest portion is within the Harvey Monroe Hall Natural Research Area. The proponent, a ranger at Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks and editor of Sierra Nature Notes, “an online journal of natural history news in the Sierra Nevada,” reports that the proposed name has come into local use over the past few years. The name would honor Dr. Carl W. Sharsmith (1903-1994), who was a Yosemite National Park ranger-naturalist and alpine botanist, and at the time of his death, the oldest and longest serving National Park Service interpretive ranger. Dr. Sharsmith was featured in many books, magazine articles, and film documentaries about Yosemite. In addition, he created a 15,000-sheet herbarium at San Jose State University where he had taught and was Professor Emeritus; this collection, consisting largely of California native plants, is named the Carl W. Sharsmith Herbarium. In 1956, the Department of the Interior bestowed its Meritorious Service Award on Dr. Sharsmith. The proponent reports that the proposed name has come into recent local use, particularly among local hiking guides; the name also appeared in the Yosemite Association’s Outdoor Adventures brochure published in 2002. One hiking website refers to the summit as “Carl Sharsmith Peak.” The proponent has developed a website dedicated to this naming effort (http://www.name4carl.org/), at which he outlines his reasons why the name warrants an exception to the Wilderness Naming Policy. He suggests the name provides a means for educating Park visitors about the honoree’s significance to the area, and also that the proposal “will serve to continue inspiration of sound research and accordingly-designed management programs that will help ensure the natural character of the region.” He also provides an extensive list of individuals and offices that support this proposal, including the late Dr. Dallas Peck, former director of the U.S. Geological Survey; Dr. N. King Huber, USGS Geologist Emeritus; Roger O. Kennedy, former National Park Service Director (1993-1997); several former Yosemite National Park Superintendents, naturalists, and Park rangers; the Yosemite Museum Curator; the Yosemite Association; Elizabeth Stone O’Neil, the author of Dr. Sharsmith’s biography; and a former Board member of the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association.

 This "Proposal Form" page last modified 05/29/2007 \name4carl\n4cprop.htm.

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