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Yosemite
river plan too fast, critics say
Study is now before the public, which has until March 14 to comment by Mark
Grossi Now, with officials poised to finish a plan that could help jump-start building and restoration work, the critics say things are moving too fast. Such debate has become as common in Yosemite as breathtaking views of Half Dome. For decades, each time a major turn has approached for Yosemite, park managers and environmental advocates have found themselves at odds. This time, environmentalists say the Merced River draft plan made public last week should be studied a full year to provide an understanding of river biology in all four seasons. Park officials last year invested four months in the study. Environmentalists argue officials are rushing to finish the river plan by July so they can quickly begin a broader Yosemite Valley fix. "We believe that the Park Service has short-circuited the necessary preparations and studies for this plan," said Joyce Eden, a member of the Sierra Club's Yosemite Committee. Park officials, finishing the study under court order in an environmental lawsuit, say they already have a lot of biological, hydrologic and geologic background on the Merced. The court order set a July 12 deadline for the study, but an extension could be granted if necessary. Park officials are trying to meet the July deadline, saying all the previous study will compress a process that usually takes many more months. "We had a draft plan in 1993 that never got to the public," said Amy Schneckenburger, project manager for the river plan. "Funding was not adequate to finish it. We've studied the river throughout the '90s." No matter who wins this argument, the study is now before the public, which will be able to comment until March 14. Several public meetings will be held at locations across the state during the next six weeks. The plan may be final by June, which is considered a fast track for this kind of document. Even at this pace, the National Park Service already is a full decade late, unlike two other federal agencies with public land around the river. The Sierra National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management met the 1990 deadline for Merced River planning. Congress set the deadline in 1987 when 115 miles of the 140-mile river were protected under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. But the majority of the protected river - 81 miles - was in Yosemite. It remained mired in the park's controversial, delayed and underfunded Yosemite Valley restoration because part of the river runs through the valley. The Merced River solved the funding problem in 1997 when it swelled above its banks in a widespread, destructive flood. Congress committed more than $175 million to repair and restore the valley and the Highway 140 corridor at the western gate. The valley plan, which had languished since 1980, would be largely completed. Controversy and delay soon followed, however. Officials were working on the valley and the river plans simultaneously last year when the Sierra Club and the Mariposans for Environmentally Responsible Growth sued. Environmentalists were upset at the amount of habitat being destroyed along the river in the Highway 140 reconstruction and road-widening project. A federal judge in Fresno ruled the park must complete the long-overdue Wild and Scenic Rivers Act study before completing any other work. Most of the Highway 140 work will conclude by September, but one phase has been delayed until after the river plan. Park officials responded to the judge's order with 1,000 pages of information and maps in the park's draft study, which shows a diverse river. The river's main stem drops about 8,000 feet through 24 miles of a granite canyon amid the spires and domes of the park's high country. But in Yosemite Valley, where the river's Ice Age glaciers carved El Capitan and Half Dome, there are 11 bridges between Happy Isles and Pohono Bridge, restricting the natural flows. Some bridges - including historic bridges - could be removed under the park's proposed alternative. The plan also looks at the option of removing Upper and Lower River campgrounds, which were inundated in the flood three years ago. The campgrounds are next to the river. "The river campground areas are very significant to the river processes," said project manager Schneckenburger. "This plan does not get into details, but we knew we couldn't place campsites back in that area." But the Wild and Scenic Rivers law is not intended to stop people from using the river, officials said. In their plan, officials allow rebuilding of damaged Yosemite Lodge units in a location within one-quarter mile of the river, the corridor width considered generally acceptable in the law. Environmentalists consider the boundaries to be "gerrymandered" for development. "This is totally unacceptable," said Greg Adair, representing Friends of Yosemite Valley. "The National Park Service should use the uniform and standard measure of one-quarter mile on each side of the Merced." Officials said science data indicate most of the proposed lodge units would not be in the flood plain, though they would be within the quarter-mile corridor. Officials also are being criticized for designated areas at Camp Six and Taft Toe where controversial parking might be allowed. People fight the idea of taking any more Yosemite Valley land for parking. Environmentalists say the lodge and parking considerations are proof that Yosemite officials are allowing valley planning to influence river protection. Yosemite officials deny that the Merced River plan is being structured around the valley planning. The river plan reflects knowledge gained in seven years of valley research, said Chip Jenkins, chief of strategic planning at the park. "We've gradually increased our knowledge of the valley," Jenkins said. "We move forward from that level of knowledge. We don't just chuck it out the window." |
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