Greetings!

If you enjoy Yosemite National Park you may desire to participate in the latest attempt at developing a new Master Plan for Yosemite Valley. I enjoyed participating in a two-year process that developed Yosemite's General Management Plan of 1980. The Park Service is now ready to develop, and hopefully implement, a Yosemite Valley Plan and Environmental Impact Study (EIS).

The last public comment forum in California is in Milpitas on 6-17-00. However, you only will be allowed 3 minutes to speak and written comments are encouraged and necessary! SO.... the deadline for public input in this process is JULY 7, 2000. You can send Email, Fax, or Postal comments up till then. I have listed access numbers below along with the Website that posts the "Draft Yosemite Valley Plan and EIS". (Note: Do it NOW! I don't know if there is a cut-off date for these requests but there is always the website.)

I'd like to throw in my personal comments but you are welcome to skip to the access numbers if you prefer. The Draft Plan includes a variety of pathways which may be followed.

I, for one, do not favor tearing up the road into the Valley (99% of Yosemite National Park already has no roads), shanks mare is the only choice and few crowds are found on most trails. One can even reach the Valley Floor rim with just a few miles of walking. (a great view looking down too!) Heck, one could even hike down the Yosemite Falls trail and join the crowds without having to stay the night, but why?!

Nor do I favor making continuous "improvements" to the human services now available on the Valley Floor. (the small four mile stretch which everyone desires to see if they're "just passing through" Yosemite Park) Aye! there's the rub! They must all funnel through past El Capitan, wash up at the base of Half Dome, then stick out their hand as they pass under Yosemite Falls on their way out past El Capitan again even if they are heading for Glacier Point before streaking home!

In short, I oppose removing any campgrounds (including those washed out by flood that were proposed to be relocated) while leaving The Ahwahnee Hotel standing to serve suit and tie dinners.(regardless of its historical significance) If total numbers must be reduced it must be across the board to be fair. I am not convinced that such reduction is a necessary goal but improved managing of the "traffic crush" times is surely a necessity.

Free shuttles should be greatly increased from many areas outside the Valley floor but making them mandatory will only cause this Master Plan attempt to fail. (look how "forcing others" to take mass transit works in the Bay Area - none too well! It needs to be a desirable alternative that attracts users despite the drawbacks of not bringing one's own car along.
The phrase "Free Shuttle" helps.... maybe cutting the entry fee (20 bucks per car now!) by 50% or even 100% would encourage people to ride the shuttle.

Visitors without overnight accommodations within the Park or the surrounding communities could be asked to ride shuttles (unless they include disabled or senior citizens) since they would only be staying as "day trippers" but what a nightmare to enforce in practice! Some Plan alternatives suggest moving most or all Park employees outside the Valley Floor. Sounds interesting but won't that greatly increase traffic in and out on a daily basis, not just during the crush of the weekends?! Free shuttles for them too?!

I believe that Yosemite can be managed much better and in a friendlier way than it has been in the past without locking out those citizens (and guests from other countries) whom the Park was created to serve. Let's find ways to serve the needs of people while still preserving and protecting the beauty that makes Yosemite Valley a great place to be! Things can and HAVE changed over the years. It's been many decades since anyone has heard that well-worn phrase bellowed nightly from the top of Glacier Point ......"over the Firefalls!" (historical note: the "Firefalls" was a river of burning embers pushed off the edge of Glacier Point after dark - beautiful!, but not very ecologically-minded)

.....and remember the great beauty and adventure to be had within the other 99% of Yosemite National Park!

Yours in Action,

Mike Murphy,
Open Space Coordinator
Santa Teresa Citizens Action Group
([email protected]) Comments/questions always welcome!
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Send YOUR comments about the future of Yosemite via:

Email: ([email protected]) (the underscore is necessary!)
Fax: (209) 372 0456
Postal: Yosemite Valley Plan
Box 577
Yosemite National Park, CA 95389
*the hardcopy is a real keepsake - tons of sketches and prints!

Website: (www.nps.gov/yose/yvp.htm) With many informative links!