Congress Spells Out Yosemite Priorities

Subcommittee chairman Radanovich emphasizes visitor-oriented projects

by Michael Doyle and Mark Grossi
The Fresno Bee, November 20, 2001


WASHINGTON-Impatient lawmakers are nudging Yosemite National Park managers to get on with rebuilding plans almost five years after a flood devastated Yosemite Valley.

Yosemite already has the flood-recovery money - plenty of it, by some accounting. But in a new National Park Service funding bill signed by President Bush, park officials also get unusually explicit directions on how to spend the money.

"What we all wanted to settle on is something that would allow the park to proceed to the things that there's agreement on," said Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, the new chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands. "This deals with a lot of the non-controversial aspects of the park's plan."

This means Congress wants Yosemite to emphasize near-term, visitor-oriented projects such as reconstructing the Yosemite Lodge area, expanding Camp 4 and seeking new campsites. It means that working on the park's Indian Cultural Center is a priority, but planning for an ambitious out-of park transportation system is not at the top of the list.

Yosemite Superintendent David Mihalic said the message from Congress has been received, and that park officials are encouraged to see support for their projects, particularly so in light of legal action and controversy that continue to dog some efforts.

"It makes sense," Mihalic said. "They're grouping projects logically and telling us to be smart - work on them together as a whole. We agree."

Denis Galvin, deputy director of the Park Service, added that the "language gives us a road map for priorities," and he indicated that Park Service headquarters officials are content with Congress' request.

But a lasting agreement can be elusive in Yosemite, where 3.5 million annual visitors form their own heartfelt opinions about the world-famous outdoor haven. Lawsuits bloom like alpine wildflowers, even as the park has stashed an estimated $100 million for putting park plans into action.

The park faces a federal lawsuit in Fresno over its plan for managing the Merced River, which flows through sensitive Yosemite Valley. If the Park Service loses, it would probably stop the long-awaited Yosemite Valley Plan which became final a year ago after more than two decades of debate.

The situation frustrates some environmentalists.

"Promises were made years ago that flood rebuilding would be implemented," said Jay Watson, regional director of the Wilderness Society. "Further delay is unacceptable."
Some lawmakers agree with Watson's take.

This year, 22 California congressional Democrats wrote to the Interior Department, urging imme-diate work on the Yosemite Valley Plan. Tellingly, though, San Joaquin Valley Democrats-including U.S. Reps. Gary Condit and Cal Dooley - did not sign the environmental-minded letter.

The debate will be elevated a notch late this month. Yosemite Superintendent Mihalic and his planners are scheduled to brief National Park Service Director Fran Mainella in Washington, D.C. Radanovich then hopes to get Mainella out to Yosemite for the director's first on-the-ground visit to the park.

Congress funds Yosemite, other parks, national forests and related resource programs through the annual Interior Department appropriations bill. Sequoia National Park, for instance, gets $1.4 million to complete work on the Giant Forest visitor center.

Yosemite and Sequoia also can keep much of what they collect through their vehicle admission fees, which run $20 a car at Yosemite.

The spending bill signed Nov. 5 also tells the Forest Service to give priority to displaced workers in Tulare, Kern and Fresno counties when working on the new Giant Sequoia National Monument Lawmakers likewise used the Interior Department spending bill to pin down their priorities for Yosemite.

Thus, Congress has now required Yosemite to report in a year on efforts to expand park camping opportunities. In the next 60 days, the park also must come up with a list of projects that can be completed by 2004.

"We've got that list put together already," Mihalic said.

Congress also is telling Yosemite to "actively co-operate and participate with local counties" in regional planning efforts. This is a slightly coded way of saying lawmakers will be watching closely to see how the park handles its sometimes-touchy relations with towns such as Lee Vining, Mariposa and Oakhurst.

"It's no secret that there are some differences of opinion among the gateway communities," Galvin said. "We have to work our way through that."