Merced River Plan ~ research and references

MRP Home

Public Meetings

Draft Plan

Documents

Research

Comment

JANUARY 2013 DRAFT PLAN: Read about the draft plan and download it
PARKING: View Yosemite Valley parking inventory, updated Feb. 2013 [142 kb PDF]
VISITOR-USE DATA: View visitor data gathered by the park's social science studies

 

Yosemite National Park commissioned several 2010 research projects into facets of the Merced River's natural or cultural history. These river-related research studies were intended to augment the park's existing knowledge base of the current conditions of the Merced Wild and Scenic River as well as its condition at the time of designation in 1987. Yosemite staff completed these projects with assistance from National Park Service contractors, university professors, and U.S. Geological Survey personnel. The results of this research, combined with existing resources knowledge, has assisted park managers in assessing the condition of the river's values, including water quality, free-flowing condition, and outstandingly remarkable values. These are the values that merit the river's designation as "Wild and Scenic," pursuant to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

The Merced Wild and Scenic River Values Draft Baseline Conditions Report, first published in April 2011, has been updated in July 2012 to include insight from research studies, as well as pertinent information from public review and comment on the report.

• Introduction [245 kb PDF]
• Biological Values [18.4 MB PDF]
• Recreational Values [7.3 MB PDF]
• Geologic and Hydrologic Processes [6.3 MB PDF]
• Scenic Values [17.2 MB PDF]
• Cultural Values [3.6 MB PDF]
  

The condition assessment of the river values has been an iterative and ongoing process and is a critical part of the foundational framework of the Merced River Plan (MRP). Management actions proposed in the MRP will address issues brought forward as a result of the condition assessment. This report will also be included as a reference in the Merced Wild and Scenic River Draft Comprehensive Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, released in January 2013.

 

				Yosemite Valley Groundwater Assessment [2.1 MB PDF draft report undergoing additional peer review]
				Wildlife Special Status Species [4.7 MB PDF draft report undergoing additional peer review]
				El Portal Historic Resources Survey [15 MB PDF draft report undergoing additional peer review]
				Special Status Plant Species Survey [11.5 MB PDF draft report undergoing additional peer review]
				Meadow Conditions Assessment [12.7 MB PDF draft report undergoing additional peer review]
				Informal Trail Monitoring [2.9 MB PDF draft report undergoing additional peer review]
River Research				Floodplain Modeling: Mapping of Merced River [8.5 MB PDF draft report undergoing additional peer review] with El Portal Maps [17.5 MB] and Wawona Maps [24.1 MB]
				Instream Flow Requirements on the South Fork (link to abstract with full report available for purchase from publisher)
				Boats, Beaches, and River Banks: Visitor Evaluations of Recreation on the Merced River [6 MB final report not peer reviewed] with Recreation PowerPoint [19 MB PDF]
				Hydraulic and Geomorphic Assessment of the Merced River and Historic Bridges in Eastern Yosemite Valley (2013 version) [11.5 MB PDF] also with online USGS link
				Merced River and Riparian Vegetation Assessment [16.3 MB PDF report with peer review complete]
				Geologic Hazard & Risk Assessment in Yosemite Valley [8 MB PDF report with peer review complete]

 

Yosemite's resource specialists have gained an updated understanding on cultural resources in the river corridor. The park completed:

• an archeological ORV condition assessment
• and an archeological site-stock use impact report

Due to culturally-sensitive details, these reports cannot, by law, be published for review.

---

 

REFERENCES TO REVIEW: A variety of references have informed the Merced River Draft Plan.These references include:

• Preliminary Feasibility Assessment to Transition Yosemite National Park Bus Operations and Maintenance (O&M) to the NPS Valley Garage, produced by Jakes Associates, Inc., on Aug. 8, 2012 [7 MB]
• Hydrologic and Hydraulic Investigation for Proposed Campgrounds in Yosemite National Park, CA, prepared by Cella Barr Associates, on May 6, 1998 [9.1 MB PDF]
• Analysis of Bank Erosion on the Merced River, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, USA, Environmental Management Journal, Vol. 18 No. 2, M.A. Madej, W.E. Weaver, and D.K. Hagans, 1994. [7.4 MB PDF]