Yosemite GMP: 1980 Preface & Introduction

PREFACE

This Visitor Use, Park Operations, and Development Plan for Yosemite National Park is part of the park's general management plan, which has grown out of a major extended planning study and public involvement program. Other components of the general management plan are the Natural Resources Management Plan and the Cultural Resources Management Plan, both of which have been published separately and are available from the park. Together, these plans represent a comprehensive set of decisions regarding the future of Yosemite National Park for the next 10 years.

The probable effects of these plans on the natural, cultural, and socioeconomic environments have been assessed and documented in draft and final environmental statements for the general management plan (three volumes published in August 1978, January 1980, and September 1980), and in an environmental assessment for natural resources management. All of the proposals of this plan are fully compatible with the objectives and strategies proposed in the park's resources management plans.

INTRODUCTION

Yosemite Valley is but a mile wide and seven miles long, yet this tiny place on the face of our planet is a premier masterwork of the natural world. It is of incalculable value to those who seek it and is cherished in the consciousness of those who know it only through works of art and the written word. Yosemite Valley and the sweep of Sierra wilderness that surrounds it possess superlative scenic grandeur and are a constant test of our wisdom and foresight to preserve them as a treasure for all people.

Yosemite is now at a crossroad. During a century of public custodianship of this great park, many decisions have been made, all well intended, which have resulted in a march of man-made development in the Valley. Today, the Valley is congested with more than a thousand buildings - stores, homes, garages, apartments, lodging facilities, and restaurants - that are reflections of our society; the Valley floor is bisected by approximately 30 miles of roadway which now accommodates a million cars, trucks, and buses a year. But the foremost responsibility of the National Park Service is to perpetuate the natural splendor of Yosemite and its exceedingly special Valley.

The intent of the National Park Service is to remove all automobiles from Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove and to redirect development to the periphery of the park and beyond. Similarly, the essence of wilderness, which so strongly complements the Valley, will be preserved. The result will be that visitors can step into Yosemite and find nature uncluttered by piecemeal stumbling blocks of commercialism, machines, and fragments of suburbia.

Implementation of this general management plan will be the first big step in carrying out this intent and a distinct turning point in the management of the park. The plan describes immediate actions that will achieve five broad goals:

Reclaim Priceless Natural Beauty. Yosemite is too valuable to use for administration, maintenance, parking, or any commercial services that do not contribute directly to a quality park experience. Outstanding natural areas that have been developed for uses such as staff housing, office space, warehousing, a golf course, and a beauty shop will be reclaimed. Facilities in the Valley that do not relate directly to enjoyment of the park, including the headquarters of the National Park Service and the Yosemite Park and Curry Company, will be relocated outside the park. Visitor facilities in Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne Meadows, and Mariposa Grove that are intrusive or cause environmental damage will be removed or relocated to more resilient environments. Once this development is gone from the park's most magnificent settings, the scenery that inspired the philosophy of John Muir and the art of Ansel Adams will begin to be restored.

Markedly Reduce Traffic Congestion. Increasing automobile traffic is the single greatest threat to enjoyment of the natural and scenic qualities of Yosemite. In the near future, automobile congestion will be greatly reduced by restricting people's use of their cars and increasing public transportation. And the day will come when visitors will not longer drive their private automobiles into the most beautiful and fragile areas of the park. The ultimate goal of the National Park Service is to remove all private vehicles from Yosemite Valley. The Valley must be freed from the noise, the smell, the glare, and the environmental degradation caused by thousands of vehicles.

Allow Natural Processes to Prevail. The primary objective of natural resource management programs will be to restore and perpetuate the natural processes of the park's ecosystems. The Yosemite environment is not a static accumulation of geologic and biologic features but rather a dynamic system of interrelated and evolving forms. Therefore, if this environment is to be preserved, the natural processes that are occurring there must be understood and allowed to prevail. In developed areas like the Valley, facilities will be removed from floodplains and geologic hazard areas in deference to these natural phenomena, and the natural role of fire in vegetative communities will be simulated with controlled burns or mechanical removal of vegetation. In areas that have been disturbed by man's activity, natural processes will be allowed to restore the scene.

Reduce Crowding. Opportunities to enjoy the park will be reoriented to ensure that overcrowding does not interfere with visitor enjoyment or threaten park values. Appropriate visitor use levels have been established for areas throughout the park, and facilities such as day parking and overnight accommodations will be based on these levels. As visitors approach and enter the park, they will find information stations with reservation services to direct them to available facilities. Greater opportunities for year-round use will allow visitors to enjoy Yosemite at different times of the year.

Promote Visitor Understanding and Enjoyment. The amount and kinds of information and interpretive programs available to visitors will be greatly increased. Information about park programs and services will be broadcast through the news media and made available at regional centers in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas and at information stations along roads leading into the park. The park's excellent natural history and historical collections will be on display. Creative audiovisual programs will help visitors to understand the processes and events that have shaped Yosemite's natural features and the relationship of our cultural values to preservation of the park. The intent of these expanded and improved visitor programs is to help ensure that a visit to Yosemite becomes a lifetime treasure.

Full and forceful commitment to these goals is needed, and this nation has the skill and the desire, expressed in public advocacy, to achieve them. The park will celebrate its centennial in 1990. By then, there should be tremendous improvement in the quality of the visitor experience in the park. The actions described in this plan will provide a springboard from which further actions can be taken in the future.

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Purpose of the Park and Management Objectives

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Preface and pages 1-4 of the GMP.