Yosemite Falls Restoration Project Set to Begin in June

By Karen Gaudette, Associated Press Writer
Fresno Bee - May 20, 2002

Within two years, the roughly 1 million annual visitors who flock from around the globe to gaze at majestic Yosemite Falls no longer will be distracted by smelly garbage dumpsters, an aging restroom and exhaust fumes from a crowded parking.

It's the first major leg of a $441 million plan to revive Yosemite National Park by reducing human impact along the breathtaking 7-mile long valley nestled in the Sierra Nevada. The project is set to begin late next month, officials announced Monday.

"A visit to Yosemite Falls is not what it should be," said Chip Jenkins, the park's assistant superintendent. "A trip to Yosemite Falls is marred by confusion, by a jarring juxtaposition of noise and smells.

"This project's going to change all that," he said, standing before a series of colorful watercolor paintings and sketches depicting the falls' upcoming makeover.

On tap is a $12.5 million plan to revamp a 56-acre area at the base of Yosemite Falls, which cascades 2,425 feet and ranks among the world's tallest. Part of that plan involves removing eyesores such as garbage bins and a restroom.

The project will replace a large parking lot with a meadow and picnic area, restore stream side and forest habitat and improve viewing areas, footbridges and trails. The new site also be wheelchair accessible - allowing the disabled a closer look at the falls - and feature educational exhibits discussing the area's natural and cultural history.

Buses with bike racks will shuttle visitors from a distant parking lot, and a staggered schedule will keep the popular spot open to tourists throughout construction.

The restoration project is part of a larger parcel of improvements slated for the park over the next 10 to 15 years. Congress and the Department of the Interior recently approved the plan's first phase despite ongoing debate over the number of camping and parking spots that will remain in the valley. Phase one includes the falls project and the rebuilding of employee housing and parts of Yosemite Lodge that was damaged after a 1997 flood.

Some environmental groups have criticized the plan as a development scheme that's masquerading as restoration. On Monday, however, Jay Watson of The Wilderness Society said his group supports any efforts to protect the valley, including the falls project.

The nonprofit Yosemite Fund and the National Parks Service have donated or raised about $10 million for the falls restoration, with $2.5 million still needed, said Sam Livermore, the Yosemite Fund's chairman.

The Lower Yosemite Falls Project was designed by Lawrence Halprin, a landscape architect and environmental planner known for building San Francisco's Ghiradelli Square, the FDR Memorial in Washington, D.C. and Sea Ranch, a residential development on California's coast recognized for its environmental sensitivity.