Letters to the Editor

Rebuttal to "The Tip of the Iceberg? A Commentary on the Lower Yosemite Falls Project" in the October 2005 Tehipite Topics

Syd Bluestone, Fresno, CA

October 13, 2005

The October Tehipite Topics front page article, "A Commentary On the Lower Yosemite Falls Project", deserves, in my opinion, some rebuttal remarks.

Let us not forget that Yosemite National Park has some three million visitors each year and the safety and rewarding experience of each one is of concern. Generally the overwhelming majority of the visitors choose to visit Yosemite Falls and the new, improved, enhanced and handicapped accessible pathway is a welcome addition. I have had some personal experience pushing a wheelchair in a National Park and am grateful for accessibility to various sites.

I take exception to showing a picture in the article of the underside of a footbridge, allegedly showing massive construction in the lower Yosemite Falls area. Let us leave the construction of bridges to a civil engineer, who designs bridges to withstand the torrents of Yosemite Falls, etc. The bridges (topside) are aesthetic and in harmony with the surroundings. Very few park visitors view their underside.

Remember the parking lot in the Yosemite Falls area, which housed at times 10-20 tour buses belching diesel fumes and dozens of cars. The parking lot has been eradicated and replaced with a meadow area. The anonymous writer of the October articles complains about the invasion on non-native plants in the area. I have just spent a week as a Yosemite Association volunteer (second year) helping Ranger Noreen Trombley with various projects in Yosemite Valley. In one project 18 volunteers spent the better part of 2 days in the meadow (in the little Yosemite Falls area) pulling weeds, such as ambrosia (a stink weed), and replanted the area with mug worts, milkweeds, etc. After we left, the meadow appeared to be in good shape, though we know the non-native plants will make a comeback. Next year the Yosemite Association will call for volunteers to help with this ongoing work. I have also learned that work trucks entering Yosemite are washed (hosed down) in El Portal to eliminate unwanted seedlings from entering Yosemite. The park service is trying to eradicate the non-native plants and the author of the October article is not fully informed about restoration efforts. Visit this meadow in the future - be surprisingly astonished.

Look at the photograph on page 5 of the October Topics and view the improvement over yesteryear. People in the little Yosemite Falls area transported by new quiet Hybrid shuttle buses, not cars. For the new restroom and shuttle bus kiosk, think 3 million visitors to Yosemite and their 'size' becomes understandable. Lastly I agree with the author for "taking the high road" with the Lower Falls project and let us move on to other restoration projects. The Yosemite Association and the Sierra Club (I once spent a week removing social trails) has numerous projects next year awaiting volunteers.

RESPONSE
John Rasmussen, Tehipite Topics Editor

We must first look at one of the primary objectives of National Parks "...which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife 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." The Yosemite Falls project is scenic and well done, meeting the objective of providing for public enjoyment of Yosemite Falls. It fails, though, in protecting the natural scenery and processes for future generations. The bridges are built to withstand floods using very deep pilings. Instead of creating trails that would allow the natural braided stream process to continue, the bridges have been designed to channelizing the streams. We included the picture of the bottom of the bridge to identify the strength of a bridge needed to withstand and channelize the floods of Yosemite Creek. The civil engineers did what was necessary for a design that has failed to protect the natural environment.

Accessibility is a very important issue. The Sierra Club's Yosemite Committee believed that wheel chair access could have been provided by modifying the original paved trail. Use of the pre-existing primary route would have had far less environmental impact and provided access to the more well known of the Lower Yosemite Falls views.

Tour busses are a significant issue for Yosemite as you point out. They should have never been allowed to park in the Yosemite Falls parking area in the first place. Protection of Yosemite's environment should drive the type, size, and numbers of tour busses.

I'm am sorry the writer of the article had to remain anonymous. It took courage as a park service employee, even as an anonymous writer, to speak out in the age of the Bush Administration. From the information that I received I believe that the writer of the article is highly qualified to speak on the subject.