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United States Department of the InteriorNATIONAL PARK SERVICEYosemite
National Park |
Dear Yosemite Friends,
It is with a great deal of pleasure that I present to you the Final Yosemite Valley Plan/Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. It is the culmination of a monumental effort by our planning team to synthesize your comments and concerns and integrate them into this framework for how the National Park Service proposes to manage Yosemite Valley in the future.
I want to add my personal thanks to each and every one of you who considered the draft and offered your input in some way. Many of you took the time to write to us. Many of you met and spoke with park staff directly involved in the plan's development. You may have attended one of the many formal public meetings held throughout California. Or perhaps you came to the Valley and participated in a ranger-led walk to see first-hand some of the places under discussion and issues in need of resolution. Many of you took advantage of the over 60 open houses presented at the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center where you were able to interact one-on-one with park staff.
It gratified me to meet so many of you and hear the breadth and depth of your feeling for Yosemite. As evidenced by your involvement, you took your role as citizens seriously and played a vital part in the plan's development. Moreover, it made me proud to be part of a park staff who believe as strongly as you do in Yosemite's future. By listening to your thoughts and incorporating them into our proposals, we were able to craft a better plan together.
We believe this Final Yosemite Valley Plan/Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement before you is just that—a better plan. Its implementation will result in a Yosemite Valley that better provides for your enjoyment of the park in a way that leaves this special place unimpaired for future generations. We listened to your testimony, read your letters, considered your comments, and heard what you said about how much you care for this special place. As a result, our Preferred Alternative was modified. Look closely and I think you will see a future Yosemite experience that will allow everyone to enjoy this place in a way that is commensurate with Yosemite's scenic majesty and grandeur, leaving behind the crowding, cars, and congestion that seem to be an increasing part of our everyday lives.
The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage. In every comment, in every concern, I heard that you care too. You entrust to the National Park Service a stewardship role for Yosemite and other special places like it. Our common ground is our caring for these places. Our common purpose is caring for Yosemite so that all may experience it. Our future generations depend on us to continue to work together to achieve these noble goals.
I look forward to continuing the dialogue.
Sincerely,
David
A. Mihalic
Superintendent
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