Yosemite National Park Opens Public Scoping for the Wilderness Stewardship Plan

Date: November 23, 2015

Public Scoping Period Open through January 29, 2016

Yosemite National Park opened public scoping for planning and environmental impact analysis for the Yosemite Wilderness Stewardship Plan.  Public scoping comments will be accepted through January 29, 2016.

Yosemite’s Wilderness is currently managed under the 1989 Wilderness Management Plan. The park needs to update this plan to incorporate current information about visitor use patterns, methods of managing visitor use, techniques for trail design and construction, and concepts for managing stock in wilderness.

The updated plan will provide management direction and a framework that preserves wilderness character in Yosemite. Qualities of wilderness character include: 1) natural, 2) opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation, 3) undeveloped, 4) untrammeled, and 5) other features of value, including scientific, educational, scenic or historical values. This planning effort will also incorporate new policy direction for wilderness management. Finally, the plan will determine the extent to which commercial services will be conducted in the Yosemite Wilderness.

A public scoping meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 8^th, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at REI Berkeley (1338 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA, 94702) to review the goals of the planning effort and to provide an opportunity for the public to interact directly with park staff. Another scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 20, 2016, from 12:00 to 2:00 in the Yosemite Valley Auditorium. Additionally, webinars will be held on Wednesday, December 16 from 12:00-1:00 p.m., Wednesday, January 6, 2016, from 12:00-1:00 p.m., and Tuesday, January 12, 2016, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. More information can be found at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/yosewild.

Public comments regarding the issues being addressed, alternative ways to approach them, and other feedback  regarding the planning process may be submitted online through the Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/yosewild (electronic comment submittal saves resources and allows for direct entry into the National Park Service’s comment analysis system).

You may also submit comments by email or by mail to:

Superintendent, Yosemite National Park, Attn: Wilderness Stewardship Plan, P.O. Box 577, Yosemite, CA 95389. Written comments will also be accepted during public scoping meetings.

For more information about the Wilderness Stewardship Plan and how to get involved, please visit the Yosemite Wilderness Stewardship webpage at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/yosewild.