Yosemite National Park
General Management Plan
& Flood Recovery Update

Volume 13, January 1999

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything in the universe."
     John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra, 1869
 

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The Draft Valley Implementation Plan/EIS
In November of 1997, the NPS released the Draft Valley Implementation Plan (VIP), which was intended to present a range of approaches to realizing the GMP's goals in Yosemite Valley.  The VIP developed four alternatives with the help of substantial public input, a variety of studies, and an analysis of park operation functions.

The Lower Yosemite Falls Corridor Project
The NPS and the nonprofit Yosemite Fund, working under a cooperative agreement, are developing this project almost entirely with private funds.  The project is designed to:

  • create a more "natural" area around Lower Yosemite Falls by removing cars, tour buses, and asphalt from viewing areas and departure points
  • create a more educational experience through a series of wayside exhibits designed to tell the stories of such things as the park's natural history, Yosemite Indians, and early pioneers
  • make the area accessible for the physically challenged and those with small children or elderly companions
  • create picnic areas that allow visitors to sit, listen, and take in both the Falls, and the adjacent forest and views; create adequate restroom facilities.
The Lodge Lawsuit
Last October, in response to a lawsuit, the U.S. District Court granted a preliminary injunction that halted work proposed in the Yosemite Lodge Development Concept Plan (DCP).

We cannot pretend that our first reaction to the ruling was unbridled joy.  The judge's questions were based, in part, on his finding that the Lodge plan may not have considered the cumulative enivonrmental impact of the proposed construction.  As such, the ruling played a role in our conducting a top to bottom re-evaluation of the opportunities and contraints presented in the VIP and the Lodge DCP.  That evaluation is what convinced us that one comprehensive planning document for Yosemite Valley ultimately makes the most sense.

Interestingly, the judge's ruling, the stream of public feedback and the decision to craft one comprehensive plan enabled a sharpening of our decision-making criteria and have re-energized both the process and those of us who wrestle with park planning each and every day

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File created/updated Wednesday, 22-Dec-2004 10:12:59 Eastern Standard Time
Yosemite National Park Planning Team