Judge Refuses to Block Yosemite Valley Projects

by Mark Grossi
Fresno Bee - March 30, 2004

A federal judge refused to shut down more than $100 million in Yosemite Valley construction projects, saying environmental arguments for delay in a long-running lawsuit were unconvincing.

But U.S. District Court Judge Anthony W. Ishii did order Yosemite National Park to decide a limit on how many people could visit the sensitive Merced River, which runs through the glacial valley.

Environmentalists last week argued that officials needed to consider the river visitor limit before building motel units, employee dormitories and new utilities.

Park officials, poised to begin major work this spring, had worried about another in a long line of delays.

"We're very pleased," Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said Monday. "In May, we can start the work on upgrading and consolidating the utilities."

Environmentalists were surprised and disappointed.

Spokeswoman Joyce Eden of Friends of Yosemite Valley, one of the groups involved in the legal action, said activists will consider further moves.

"We disagree with this ruling," she said. "Clearly, the river isn't being protected. Clearly, the interests of Yosemite Valley and the public are not being protected."

Many environmentalists consider the valley projects a development scheme to bring more people into the park. They believe the projects should be stopped for a year until the visitor limits are established to prevent overuse of the river and surrounding habitat.

Lawyers for both sides last week presented arguments before Ishii on how he should carry out a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling requiring the visitor limits. The appeals court last year overturned part of an earlier Ishii decision that generally affirmed Yosemite's river protection plan.

The lawsuit was filed in 2000 by Friends of Yosemite Valley and Mariposans for Environmentally Responsible Growth and was supported by more than 50 other environmental groups.

Environmentalists believe the appeals court ruling invalidated the river plan. Since the river is at the heart of the valley, they said, changes in the protection plan also must be considered in the Yosemite Valley Plan, which contains the construction projects.

Sharon Duggan, representing environmental groups, told Ishii last week that officials must protect the valley while they are correcting the river plan.

"The decision couldn't be more clear," she said.

Charles Shockey, a federal lawyer representing Yosemite, said the appeals ruling does not invalidate the river plan. He said it only required the visitor limits and a refiguring of river planning boundaries at El Portal.

He added that park officials are in the process of establishing visitor limits, which will involve public meetings and assessments of how each part of the river is used.

In a defeat for environmentalists, Ishii declined to rule on whether a new or revised river protection plan was needed. And his refusal to stop parts of the Yosemite Valley Plan lifted uncertainty from seven projects.

Park officials maintain that many of the projects will help the environment by restoring some areas to natural conditions while shrinking the amount of land being developed in other areas.

The valley projects are part of a $441 million overhaul that was jump-started by a large flood in 1997. Since the 1980s, officials have tried to renovate the 7-square-mile valley, encountering delay after delay because of lawsuits and a lack of funds.

Congress authorized almost $200 million for repairs and reconstruction at Yosemite. Park officials used some of the money for repairs and now are prepared to begin such massive projects as an upgrade and relocation of utilities in the valley.

"There are 14 places where utilities cross the river right now," said spokesman Gediman. "It will be reduced to three. And we will be replacing an aging sewage system that has spilled into the river in the past."