Radanovich, National Park Official Discuss Yosemite Plan

by John Ellis
The Fresno Bee - January, 12, 2002

As the congressman representing Yosemite National Park, George Radanovich had the opportunity this week to play tour guide for a visit by National Park Service Director Fran Mainella.

But this was more than simply a tourist visit to Yosemite, one of the few national parks Mainella hasn't visited. It also was a chance for Radanovich and Mainella to talk about the park's future and for the Mariposa Republican to put forth his vision of that future.

In particular, they discussed the $441 million Yosemite Valley Plan, which maps out the future of parking, camping, hiking and more in the most heavily visited portion of the park.

"We discussed points I had problems with," Radanovich said Friday.

In particular, Radanovich thinks the number of campgrounds and day-use parking spaces need to be increased. For instance, the plan calls for 550 day-use spaces. Radanovich would like to see that increased to around 1,200.

The plan calls for about 500 valley campsites, compared with about 800 that existed before the January 1997 flood.

Last September, Radanovich was named chairman of the House national parks, recreation and public lands subcommittee, so he will have some say in the park's future -- and that of the Yosemite Valley Plan.

The subcommittee, part of the House Resources Committee, does not provide the annual funding for Yosemite, but it can conduct oversight hearings and write legislation shaping how parks and public lands are managed.

Jay Watson, regional director of the Wilderness Society, expressed concern over Radanovich's vision for the famed valley.

"We want to see the [Yosemite Valley] plan fully implemented over time," he said. "The reduction in day-use parking is the heart of the plan, and the soul of the plan is restoring habitat."
He said the reason for reducing the number of campsites in the Valley is to restore habitat. "It is vital that those be allowed to go forward."

It is a battle likely well down the road. Watson said it is early in the process, and Radanovich said he and Mainella agreed to "do the simple, common sense things first" and defer action on the more controversial items such as the number of campgrounds.

Radanovich said he would be releasing a list of a dozen or so valley projects that work can begin on now. They are less-controversial items, such as construction of employee housing that was lost in the 1997 flood.

Right now, Congress has provided more than $100 million as part of a flood-recovery package for the valley.

The plan, two decades in the making, was adopted during the final days of the Clinton administration. George W. Bush, a Republican, is now in the White House, and he has different environmental priorities.

Radanovich said his goal is to "make sure tourism is viable." He said the number of park visitors has dropped recently, and that adversely affects tourist-dependent towns near Yosemite such as Oakhurst, Mariposa and Lee Vining, which have had a sometimes-rocky relationship with the park.

"A lot of people want zero parking spaces and for people to hike in," Radanovich said. "All I'm trying to do is find a balance between environmental protection and public access."