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
 

Nevertheless, for much of this century, development and use patterns in the Valley-- cars and their supporting infrastructure, in particular-- have degraded the park's natural resources and set up conflicts between perceived visitor benefits and natural resource protection.  Public input, months of discussion and using the 1980 GMP and NPS mission have enabled us to refine the criteria designed to resolve these conflicts.

First, we have established unequivocally that natural resource preservation will be the most important consideration in all our decisions.  This does not imply that we expect to restore the Valley to its original conditions-- we are striving to protect a natural system.  it also does not mean that if there is a conflict it will always be decided in favor of natural resource protection.  What it does mean is that each decision will be looked at individually and no decision will be made that doesn not fully weight its impact on the highly sensitive natural resources that comprise Yosemite Valley and the significant cultural resources that comprise our heritage.

As part of that decision, we had to determine which of the Valley's natural resources deserved the highest levels of protection.  Of particular importance are resources that are fragile, rare, or most capable of maintaining biological diversity and an intact system.  Recent studies have confirmed that the main component of the Yosemite Valley ecosystem is the Merced River and its tributaries, wetlands, meadows, and riparian habitat, and that the rich soils and vegetation associated with these areas are absolutely crucial for maintaining biological diversity in the Valley.  Studies have also helped us to determine that California black oak woodlands, whose acors are a key source of food for Valley wildlife, are shrinking and threatened.

Thus the highest value natural resources in Yosemite Valley include:

• The Merced River
• Biologically rich areas that support a range of species: wetlands, riparian, and wet meadow habitats, and California black oak woodlands
• Rich soil areas that either support or have the potential to be resotred to high value vegetative communities.

In consultation with historic preservation and Native American groups, we have identified three types of historic or cultural resources that are of particular concern:

• Burial Sites: These sites are sacred to local Indian people and will be preserved.
• Archeological Site: Sites that have not been distrubed are considered most valuable.
• National Historic Landmarks: These sites include the Ahwahnee Hotel, the Ranger Club, and LeConte Memorial Lodge.

• That natural beauty-- derived from the Valley's natural processes, dynamic ecosystems, and rich cultural landscapes-- must be preserved.
• Visitors must feel welcome in Yosemite Valley and must, to the greatest degree possible, have equal access to the park's natural beauty.
• We must provide high quality basic facilities and services for park visitors.
• We must create a spectrum of opportunities for bringing individuals into contact with the Park's natural and cultural environments.  One example of this spectrum: areas of solitude and quite must co-exist with areas of intense visitor use, such as Visitor Centers.
• We must make available high quality interpretive and education facilities and services for all park visitors.