Electronic Newsletter, August 13, 2010

Scenic Vista Management Plan Environmental Assessment Review Period Now Open
The Scenic Vista Management Plan Environmental Assessment will be available for a 30 day period for review beginning on August 9, 2010 and close on September 17, 2010. The public is encouraged to review the plan and submit comments on in PEPC at parkplanning.nps.gov.

The Scenic Vista Management Plan describes and contrasts five alternative approaches to prioritizing and reestablishing scenic vistas. The purpose of this plan is to develop a systematic program to document, protect, and reestablish Yosemite’s important viewpoints and vistas, consistent with the natural processes and human influences that created them. The development of a framework for management actions will ensure that the natural and cultural resources and values of Yosemite National Park remain unimpaired. This plan considers which vistas the park would treat, how the park would prioritize treatments, and the extent and intensity of treatments.

More than three-million visitors come to Yosemite National Park each year to see its natural wonders and scenic grandeur. The breathtaking scenery is a key reason Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove were the first areas designated by the federal government for public benefit in 1864. Park staff has inventoried scenic vistas in Yosemite and found that encroaching vegetation completely obscured about one-third of the vistas and partially obscured more than one-half of the vistas. This occurred for a number of reasons including the exclusion of traditional American Indian-managed fires, suppression of lightning-ignited fire, and human-constructed changes to hydrologic flows. Particularly in the Yosemite Valley, many vistas once visible due to open, extensive meadows are now obscured by vegetation. There is currently no consistent process to prioritize vistas for management, and the lack of a comprehensive effort has allowed many vistas to remain obscured.

Please visit the website to download a copy of the Scenic Vista Management Plan Environmental Assessment.

Yosemite Open House, August 25, 2010
Yosemite National Park will be hosting its monthly open house on August 25, 2010. The open house is from 1 to 4 pm in the Valley Visitor Center Auditorium. Park entrance fees are waived for attendees. Project managers will be on hand to discuss the Scenic Vista Management Environmental Assessment (EA), Tenaya Lake EA, the Wawona Road project, the Tioga Road EA, and many other ongoing projects. A one hour walking tour on the Scenic Vista Management Plan will depart the Auditorium at 2:30.