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Towns Won't 'Drive' Yosemite,
New Chief Says Park mission beats gateway concerns,
he says. David Mihalic has been on the job for only about three weeks, but the new Yosemite National Park superintendent has already laid down the law when it comes to the financial concerns of nearby communities. If there's ever a conflict on Mihalic's watch between what's best for Yosemite and these so-called "gateway communities," the park will win every time. "Those gateway communities shouldn't drive the park." Mihalic said. Mihalic, 53, replaced Stanley Albright as Yosemite's top official in October. One key issue on Mihalic's agenda is tackling the Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System, which is trying to develop a network to bus day visitors into the park from outlying areas. YARTS's goal is to cut down the number of cars traveling into Yosemite. The National Park Service is behind the project, as are Merced, Mariposa and Mono counties. But not everyone supports YARTS. Madera and Tuolumne counties dropped out of the effort this year, fearing that the system would hurt tourist spending in its gateway communities. Other critics say YARTS is a way for the Park Service to control the number of Yosemite visitors. Mihalic said he understands the worries of people in Yosemite's gateway communities. These communities provide important visitor services that the park can't or won't, he added. But Park Service's primary charge from Congress is doing what's best for Yosemite, not entrepreneurs, he said. "In the end, you may have to admit you can't please everybody. But you can fulfill the Park Service's mission, which is using Yosemite for today and preserving it for tomorrow." Speaking to The Bee's editorial board Monday afternoon, Mihalic said he doesn't know how many visitors would be too many at Yosemite. The park gets about 4 million tourists per year. But the question is not whether the park should focus on preservation or tourism at Yosemite but how it can do both, Mihalic said. "The easy way out is to drop the gate. If we do that, we have failed our mission." Mihalic said he hopes the Park Service and gateway communities can find "common ground" on the issues. There is no doubt where Mihalic comes down on the issue of BASE jumping. He's against it. In late October, veteran sky diver Jan Davis died when she jumped from an El Capitan cliff and her parachute failed to open. BASE is an acronym for Building Antenna Span Earth, objects from which parachutists jump. She and other parachutists were protesting the National Park Service's ban of their sport. "The unfortunate outcome of Davis' jump was a reaffirmation of the Park Service's wisdom," Mihalic said. Mihalic had heartfelt words of encouragement for Yosemite employees who endured too much tragedy this year, particularly the killings of three Yosemite sightseers and a Yosemite naturalist. Motel handyman Cary Stayner has been charged with the murders. "I have found that they have been wounded," Mihalic said of Yosemite Park Service employees. " When it is so close to home, it really hurts. On the other hand, they are hopeful and they have bounced back."
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