Yosemite Can Add 204 Campsites, Study Finds

by Michael Doyle, Bee Washington Bureau
Fresno Bee - February 8, 2003

Yosemite National Park can offset the loss of some campsites a 1997 flood destroyed, a study concludes.

With money in hand and space available, Yosemite can reasonably add 204 sites, according to the study.

That goes more than halfway toward replacing the campsite deficit created by the Merced River flood and the park's subsequent ecological restoration plans.

It also offers at least a measure of satisfaction for those pressing Yosemite to add back tourism services.

"The demand is much greater than they can handle," said John McCamman, chief of staff for Mariposa Republican Rep. George Radanovich.

Before the 1997 flood, Yosemite Valley had 849 campsites. There now are 475. The park service has proposed bumping this slightly to 500, as part of its overall Yosemite strategy of keeping developments off the Merced River flood plain.

Letting the Upper River and Lower River campgrounds relax back into natural habitat would restore "a mosaic of meadow, riparian and California black oak woodland communities" according to the park's Yosemite Valley Plan.

The loss of campsites, though, worries those in neighboring communities who've come to rely both on the campsites and the tourist traffic they invite.

"There are people who've spent their summers there, and now there's no space," said McCamman, who formerly served as Mariposa County's chief administrative officer.

Thursday, National Park Service Director Fran Mainella and Yosemite Superintendent Mike Tollefson briefed Radanovich about the study a private con-sultant recently completed. Yosemite officials budgeted $2.1 million for the study.

Radanovich ordered the new Yosemite campground study, a sign of the considerable sway he has gained over the park's future. The 761,000-acre park is in his district, and he is chairman of the House national parks, recreation and public lands subcommittee.

The consultants examined how many sites could be established, given the availability of level ground and utilities. One alternative not considered, though, was whether to leave the number of campsites at the level the park service proposed.

Using flood-recovery money and entrance fees, the study found, Yosemite relatively easily could add 204 sites in the short term.

"They're all over the place," McCamman said of the new sites. "They're everywhere in the park, except the valley."

This option could be attractive to Yosemite, which would not have to push for more money to complete pricier alternatives.

The study has not been released, pending official park service review, and no cost figures associated with the proposals could be obtained Thursday. It's been much awaited, though, as the latest effort to make the Yosemite Valley Plan acceptable all around.

"They've (apparently) found a way to put campsites back into the park, without jeopardizing the integrity of the plan, and they should be congratulated for that," said Jay Watson, California director for the Wilderness Society.

At the same time, Watson cautioned that "there is only so much money available in the park service's budget," and he raised questions about whether the campground construction would take away from other Yosemite Valley restoration priorities.

On Earth Day in late April, Radanovich expects to take his subcommittee on the road for a hearing at Yosemite that will include investigation of the campground situation.