This Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement is intended to guide the management of the Merced Wild and Scenic River within the boundaries of Yosemite National Park and the El Portal Administrative Site for the next 20 or more years. The comprehensive management plan for the Merced River and its Final Environmental Impact Statement, which evaluates the potential impacts of the plan, are integrated in this document and are referred to collectively as the Merced River Plan/FEIS. The Merced River Plan/FEIS provides a framework for decision-making on future management actions within the Merced River corridor. This would be accomplished through the application of a consistent set of decision-making criteria and considerations composed of seven management elements: boundaries, classifications, updated Outstandingly Remarkable Values, the Section 7 determination process, management zoning, the River Protection Overlay, and the Visitor Experience and Resource Protection framework. The Merced River Plan/FEIS presents and analyzes five alternatives: Alternative 1: the No Action Alternative; Alternative 2: Visitor Experience/River Protection (the "preferred alternative"); Alternative 3: River Protection Emphasis with Narrow Corridor; Alternative 4: River Protection Emphasis with Wide Corridor; and Alternative 5: Visitor Experience Emphasis with Wide Corridor.

Under Alternative 1, the Merced River corridor would continue to experience ongoing impacts to the free-flowing characteristics of the river, streambank erosion, and impacts to biological communities. Alternatives 2, 3, and 4 would establish a River Protection Overlay, which could have short-term adverse impacts associated with construction and restoration activities and long-term beneficial impacts associated with streambank restoration and potential removal of human-made obstructions. Should historic bridges (human-made obstructions) be removed, the loss of these cultural resources would be permanent and irreversible. Alternatives 2 and 5 could allow for the development of a transit center and day-visitor parking area in Yosemite Valley. This facility could result in localized adverse air quality, noise, cultural resource, and natural resource impacts, as well as long-term benefits to the park through the reduction of traffic congestion, improvement of overall air quality in the Valley, and provision of a more structured visitor experience in accessing the Merced River corridor. Under Alternative  4, application of protective management zoning prescriptions within the wide corridor would limit the availability of space in Yosemite Valley for concentrated areas of day-visitor parking, accommodations, and high-intensity visitor recreation areas. As such, it is assumed that annual visitation demand would not be accommodated in the Valley, and some visitors could be displaced to other areas of the park or from the park itself. Under Alternative 5, visitor access to the river corridor could be somewhat enhanced due to the possible expansion of visitor accommodations in the corridor.

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