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Planning Context
The Merced River Plan guides the long-term management of the Merced Wild and Scenic River within the boundaries of Yosemite National Park and the El Portal Administrative Site. However, the plan does not exist in a vacuum–it is one of many documents that together form a management framework for Yosemite National Park and adjacent lands. This section describes the role of the Merced River Plan within the existing parkwide and regional planning framework and its relationship to other plans and legislation.
Relationship to Yosemite National Park Plans
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Planning in Yosemite National Park takes two different forms: general management planning and implementation planning. General management plans are required for national parks by the National Park and Recreation Act of 1978.
The purpose of a general management plan is to set a "clearly defined direction for resource preservation and visitor use" (NPS 1998). The plan provides general direction and policies to guide all planning and management in the park. The 1980 General Management Plan is the overall guiding document for planning in Yosemite National Park.
Implementation plans, which tier off of the General Management Plan, focus on "how to implement an activity or project needed to achieve a long-term goal" (NPS 1998). Implementation plans may direct specific projects as well as ongoing management activities or programs, and provide a high level of detail and analysis. Examples of implementation plans include the Yosemite Valley Plan, Wilderness Management Plan, Fire Management Plan, and Resources Management Plan.
The Merced River Plan derives its authority from the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, as amended, and therefore does not tier directly off the General Management Plan as do implementation plans. According to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the river management plan "shall be coordinated with and may be incorporated into resource management planning for affected adjacent Federal lands" (16 USC 1274). In designating the Merced as a Wild and Scenic River, Congress authorized the National Park Service to prepare its management plan for the river by making appropriate revisions to the park’s 1980 General Management Plan (16 USC 1274[a][62]). The management elements of the Merced River Plan result in some revisions to the General Management Plan. For example, the Merced River Plan’s management zoning, River Protection Overlay, river corridor boundaries and classifications, and the Outstandingly Remarkable Values would amend the General Management Plan by establishing additional land-use designations that would be considered in future site-specific planning. The Merced River Plan’s Section 7 determination process and Visitor Experience and Resource Protection program are tools that would augment the goals of the General Management Plan. Although the Merced River Plan amends the General Management Plan in certain respects, other aspects, including its five broad goals, remain unaffected. Implementation plans and actions affecting the Merced Wild and Scenic River will need to be consistent with these goals and the management elements contained in the Merced River Plan.
Relationship to Other Plans
The National Park Service’s Merced River Plan is one of three plans that manage the designated 122 miles of the Merced Wild and Scenic River. The U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management administer 41 miles of the main stem and South Fork of the Merced River as it travels through their jurisdictions downstream of the National Park Service segments. The Bureau of Land Management segments are managed under the 1991 Merced Wild and Scenic River Management Plan and the U.S. Forest Service segments are managed under the South Fork and Merced Wild and Scenic River Implementation Plan, also completed in 1991. While the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management plans address different geographic areas, they all must protect and enhance the Outstandingly Remarkable Values of each segment of the Merced River corridor under the requirements of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
The 1991 Wawona Town Planning Area Specific Plan guides land uses in the town of Wawona, including a segment of the South Fork of the Merced River. This plan is jointly approved by the National Park Service and Mariposa County and is a component of the Mariposa County General Plan. It is administered by the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors. The Merced River Plan does not prescribe management activities for privately held lands (which occupy approximately one-third of Section 35 in Wawona), and the National Park Service does not exercise direct land-use authority over private lands. It is the intent of the National Park Service to work cooperatively with Mariposa County and with private property owners to ensure that the Outstandingly Remarkable Values of the river segment are protected and enhanced. The National Park Service will also continue in a collaborative planning process for the community of Wawona with the Wawona Town Planning Advisory Committee, the Mariposa County Planning Commission, and the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors. The Wawona Town Plan is generally consistent with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. For example, the Wawona Town Plan prohibits new development within the Floodplain District Zone.
As new planning efforts are undertaken by Mariposa County or other agencies, the National Park Service will continue to work cooperatively with these agencies to protect and enhance the Outstandingly Remarkable Values of the river.
Legal Framework
The Merced River Plan operates within a complex legal framework. The plan must not only comply with requirements of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, it must do so within the parameters of other legislation that govern land use within the river corridor.[2]
National Park Service Organic Act
In 1916, the National Park Service Organic Act established the National Park Service in order to "promote and regulate the use of parks…" and defined the purpose of the national parks as "to conserve the scenery and natural and historic objects and wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." This law provides overall guidance for the management of Yosemite National Park.
Yosemite National Park Enabling Legislation
Three separate legislative acts form the enabling statutes for the current Yosemite National Park. On June 30, 1864, Congress granted to the State of California the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove of Big Trees to "be held for public use, resort, and recreation." On October 1, 1890, Congress set aside Yosemite National Park as a "forest reservation" to preserve the "curiosities" and "wonders" in their natural condition. In 1906, the State of California granted the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees and Yosemite Valley back to the federal government.
Wilderness Act
A large segment of the Merced Wild and Scenic River flows through designated Wilderness areas. The Wilderness Act of 1964 and the California Wilderness Act of 1984 provide guidance for management within designated Wilderness. The purpose of the Wilderness Act of 1964 is to secure the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness for present and future generations. Wilderness is defined in the act as an area managed to preserve its natural conditions, which is affected primarily by the forces of nature, and which has outstanding opportunities for solitude and an unconfined type of recreation (Public Law 88-577). These goals complement the intent of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act as it applies to the areas of the Merced River corridor classified as Wild. The California Wilderness Act established 704,624 acres of designated Wilderness and 927 acres of potential Wilderness additions within Yosemite National Park (NPS 1989). Most of the Merced River in Yosemite National Park flows through designated Wilderness areas, which are managed under the 1989 Wilderness Management Plan. The Merced River Plan’s management approach to Wilderness is consistent with the Wilderness Management Plan.
El Portal Administrative Site Enabling Legislation
El Portal is a community located outside Yosemite National Park along the park’s western boundary. In 1958, Congress passed legislation for the Secretary of the Interior to provide an administrative site for Yosemite National Park in the El Portal area (16 USC 47-1). This land is under National Park Service jurisdiction but is not included as part of Yosemite National Park, and thus is not managed under the Organic Act or the General Authorities Act (72 Stat. 1772). The purpose of this act is to:
…set forth an administrative site in the El Portal area adjacent to Yosemite National Park, in order that utilities, facilities, and services required in the operation and administration of Yosemite National Park may be located on such site outside the park.
The Merced Wild and Scenic River runs through the El Portal Administrative Site. The Merced River Plan provides a management framework for the Recreational classified river segment in El Portal that will allow for the protection and enhancement of the Outstandingly Remarkable Values of this segment of the river while allowing for varying degrees of continued administrative use in El Portal.
Footnote
Appendix A of the Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement (Merced River Plan/FEIS) includes excerpts from the National Park Service Organic Act, California Wilderness Act of 1984, El Portal Administrative Site Authorization Act, and the El Portal Administrative Land Exchange Authorization.(back)
