New Park Boss Faces Dissent as He Implements Valley Plan

by Mark Grossi
Fresno Bee - February 18, 2003

New Yosemite Superintendent Michael Tollefson is embracing public policy more literally than any other park boss in two decades.

He plans to live only a year amid the postcard views of Yosemite Valley, then move outside the park. He's setting an example by getting out of nature's way in the valley.

"The [Yosemite] Valley Plan says we need to focus development outside the park," said the 55-year-old National Park Service veteran who has been on the job five weeks. "There are great opportunities to get housing outside the park."

The last superintendent to live outside the park was Robert Binnewies, who did it in 1980 when officials were struggling to frame the issues Tollefson faces today.

Binnewies' core dilemma from two decades ago remains: Officials must reduce the impact of people in the 1-mile-wide, 7-mile-long valley while still allowing the public to see such sights as Half Dome, El Capitan and Yosemite Falls.

That's the mission for Tollefson, who in early January replaced David Mihalic. Mihalic retired from the Park Service rather than accept a job-swap transfer to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where Tollefson had been superintendent for two years.

Tollefson enters Yosemite with clear marching orders, thanks to 20-plus years of study, sweat and negotiation by others. He must finish the first 15 valley projects by fall 2004. He has more than $105 million for the work.

Tollefson is inviting the public to learn about the projects at an open house from 2 to 6 p.m. Feb. 26.

The larger task of completing hundreds of projects in the valley plan will be addressed in the coming years. The full cost of the valley plan is about $440 million.

During Tollefson's first year, visitors will probably see lots of movement as workers realign trails and remove restrooms at high-profile Yosemite Falls, the site of a $12.5 million restructuring.

Yosemite spokeswoman Deb Schweizer said the parking lot near the falls will probably be closed in April and the bus drop-off site for visitors will be moved down the road. The trail approaching the falls from the east is being rebuilt now to be accessible for wheelchairs.

As with almost any major project in Yosemite, not everyone likes the idea. Lloyd Morrissey, a visitor from San Francisco, said he likes the area the way it is.

"This doesn't sound like it's worth the money," said Morrissey, 37, who was touring Yosemite with his wife, Stacey, 45, on Valentine's Day. "I think it's fine the way it is. Why spend that much money on this?"

Tollefson will face differences of opinion from many angles -- gateway communities, American Indians, Congress, businesses and environmentalists.

For instance, environmentalists are questioning the $14 million replacement of the diesel shuttle-bus fleet in the Valley. They point out that California considers diesel exhaust to be more than an air pollutant -- it is considered toxic.

But Tollefson said he is leaning toward diesel-electric hybrid engines, which would reduce emissions dramatically over the older diesels. The buses have both a diesel engine and an electric motor, operating as much as possible on the clean-running electric motor.

"Why not use propane, instead of diesel?" asked George Whitmore, chairman of the Sierra Club's Yosemite Committee. "I've written a letter to the park about diesel buses. Propane hybrids would be cleaner."

Propane would be too expensive and impractical at this point, said park spokesman Scott Gediman. He said the park is not equipped to maintain and support propane-powered vehicles.

Tollefson added that he believes new diesel engines and fuels are much cleaner.

"The diesel-electric hybrid seems to be the power source of choice now," Tollefson said. "The goal is to get people to park their cars and ride the shuttles to reduce emissions and noise."

Transportation issues are familiar for Tollefson, who confronted them regularly at Great Smoky Mountains, a park that straddles the Tennessee and North Carolina state line.

Great Smoky has more than double the number of annual visitors that Yosemite has -- about 9 million compared to 3.4 million. The number of people actually passing through Great Smoky is double the reported recreation figure because people use the park's main road to travel between Tennessee and North Carolina.

Great Smoky's smog problems rank it among the worst national parks for air quality, well beyond Yosemite's problems.

"On a busy day, you might wait three or four hours to go 11 miles," Tollefson said. "We need to avoid anything like that here."

Tollefson's background also includes a five-year stint at Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, where old rental cabins and structures were successfully removed at Giant Forest in the mid-1990s. The removals helped preserve 2,000-year-old giant sequoias.

Overnight accommodations were moved several miles away to Wuksachi Village, where the National Park Service spent more than $50 million on a new development. Tollefson encountered little opposition to the Giant Forest changes.

But Sequoia-Kings Canyon, with only 1.7 million visitors annually, is not in the same international spotlight as Yosemite. For example, Tollefson will have to face high-profile opposition -- namely Rep. George Radanovich, a Mariposa Republican -- to reduce parking spaces and campsites in Yosemite Valley.

"People pay a lot more attention to Yosemite," said the Sierra Club's Whitmore. "There's so much pressure for access to Yosemite Valley. He's going to have to expect more conflict here."

Photo by Mark Crosse courtesy of The Fresno Bee.