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Headlines: What's happening July/August, 2009...
Despite the breadth of this responsibility, the purpose of Park Planning in the National Park Service is simple: to ensure that all decisions the NPS makes are as effective and efficient as possible in carrying out the NPS mission:
"...to promote and regulate the use of the...national parks...which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." –National Park Service Organic Act, 16 U.S.C.1., 1916
With this and other resources as guidance, early park managers found themselves conducting a unique balancing act of preservation and tourism, a balancing act, still being performed today. Along the way, a process for planning has evolved to help guide park planners. Just like the ecosystems protected in Yosemite change over time, so too does planning, with a myriad of plans and projectscoming to fruition. To sample the breadth of projects and plans currently being developed, check out some of the park’s Fact Sheets, or check out Yosemite’s current project status.
Despite the shifting character of wild land management, Yosemite managers’ goal remains the same, to preserve the special natural and cultural values that define the park’s character. From preserving formidable granite domes and cliffs, towering giant sequoias and serene waterfalls to American Indian homelands and stories, the birth of wilderness ethics and an era of incredible landscape art, Yosemite is truly inspiring. Yet, the park must also ensure that these resources are enjoyed by the 3.5 million yearly visitors of today and tomorrow. Park planning is the result of this custodianship; a custodianship that is not only entrusted to the National Park Service, but also to you and relies upon your involvement.
Archived MRP pages:
2000
2005
“Yosemite is now at a crossroad. During a century of public custodianship of this great park, many decisions have been made, all well intended, which have resulted in a march of man-made development...but the foremost responsibility of the National Park Service is to perpetuate the natural splendor of Yosemite and its exceedingly special Valley”.
–General Management Plan, 1980
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