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Environmental
groups fought agency's proposal for Merced River.
by Jerry Bier
Fresno Bee, March 27, 2002
Backers of a management plan for an 81-mile stretch of the Merced River through
Yosemite National Park were hailing a major court victory Tuesday.
In a 78-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii generally upheld
the National Park Service's protection plan for sensitive areas along the
river.
The judge denied almost every challenge of the river plan that had been under attack by a bevy of environmental groups and had been hammered at during a daylong court trial in November.
Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Robert Wright, who defended the plan during the trial, said Ishii's ruling will have national significance.
"This is a huge victory for the Park Service and other agencies, such as the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, being able to adopt strong plans protecting wild and scenic rivers without spending years, if not decades, studying and collecting data before adopting the plans," Wright said.
The Friends of Yosemite Valley and Mariposans for Environmentally Responsible Growth, supported by more than 50 other environmental groups including the Sierra Club, filed a lawsuit 18 months ago attacking the plan. Ishii ordered the park to finish the plan after a reconstruction project on Highway 140 following a huge Merced River flood in 1997.
Lawyer Julia Olson, representing opponents of the plan, said she had not read the ruling and withheld detailed comment.
"I know we lost on a lot of our claims," Olson said. "Obviously, we are disappointed."
Efforts to reach other opponents of the river plan were unsuccessful Tuesday.
In addition to conducting the court trial, Ishii reviewed 500 pages of legal briefs and a 30,000-page administrative record.
Although he was generally favorably inclined toward the National Park Service, he did uphold challenges that contended the river plan has to conform to Yosemite's general management plan.
In her arguments during the trial before Ishii, Olson had accused the National Park Service of failing to adopt a plan that protects the river or the surrounding area and sets no limits on the number of visitors to the park, which total almost 4 million a year, calling it "an open, blank check for future managers."
But Wright had argued the plan was praised by groups such as the Wilderness Society, Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Parks and Conservation Association.
Wright said the plan, which includes a seven-mile stretch of the river through Yosemite Valley, limits development to existing uses and creates a tough review process for any changes.
"We are delighted with the ruling," said Jay Watson of the Wilderness Society, one of a handful of environmental groups that backed the plan, "and are pleased the judge has soundly upheld the river plan and the government's efforts."
The river plan court fight may be a precursor to a legal battle over the $441 million Yosemite Valley Plan, which the Friends of Yosemite Valley and Mariposans for Environmentally Responsible Growth also have criticized.
No complaint has been filed against the Yosemite Valley Plan, but opponents promised in an earlier hearing that a lawsuit would be filed.
The valley plan, two decades in the making, was adopted during the final days of the Clinton administration.
It spells out the future of parking, camping, hiking and more in the most heavily visited portion of the park.
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