Construction dust might finally fly next year at Yosemite Lodge after a legal snag was cleared for renovation projects in Yosemite Valley, but another delay is brewing.

Environmentalists this month filed an additional complaint in U.S. District Court in Fresno after a judge lifted an injunction dating back to last year. The complaint could further delay rebuilding of the lodge, damaged in a 1997 flood, and six other projects.

Activists want the National Park Service to rewrite its 5-year-old protection plan for the Merced River, which flows through the Yosemite Valley.

"We want a [river] plan that is not undermined by a evelopment agenda," said spokesman Greg Adair of Friends of Yosemite Valley, one of the groups involved. "Yosemite National Park hould be the standard bearer for protecting our natural resources, and that's not what we're getting."

Activists have long opposed parts of Yosemite National Park's $200 million renovation after the destructive flood of 1997, saying it is more like urban renewal with new buildings.

Park Service officials have said the renovation actually reduces the footprint of development in the valley. But they agreed to delay work on the lodge and other projects until at least the middle of December so legal filings can be made.

Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said the park's river plan protects the Merced. He said the park has answered the latest legal questions, which featured the issue of limiting visitors near the river.

U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii sided with the park last month when he lifted the injunction.

"It's a valid plan," Gediman said. "Asking for us to start over on the plan will stop a lot of projects. This is a chance to do some work that we probably won't be able to do again for 30 or 40 years."

Some projects are worth more than $100 million combined. They include the Yosemite Lodge rebuilding, the rerouting of Northside Drive and Curry Village cabin construction.

Eight projects already have been finished, such as Yosemite Falls trail improvement and the removal of the Happy Isles Bridge. The court had allowed work to continue on the construction of employee dormitories at Curry Village.

The overhaul of antiquated utilities in the valley also had been delayed. The utilities upgrade would help handle the millions of visitors who annually come to Yosemite Valley, which is 7 square miles and surrounded by features such as El Capitan and Half Dome.

Many environmentalists see the renovation as a development scheme to bring more people into the park and increase revenue.

Their legal action last year stopped the work until the park established visitor limits to prevent overuse of the river as well as settling a boundary issue in El Portal.

Ishii stopped the work only after twice receiving the case back from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Ishii had given the green light last year to the projects while telling the Park Service to address the visitor capacity and El Portal issues. The appeals court ordered the projects be halted.

Adair said there was no question in his mind that the appeals court invalidated the entire river plan. His group and the Mariposans for Responsible Environmental Growth filed the latest action to argue that point.

If somehow the park begins the projects in the next few months before the issue is settled, Adair said, the activists will file more legal action.

"The Park Service is on notice that we will seek preliminary relief if we need to prevent the work from starting," he said.

Park spokesman Gediman said the projects so far have been well-accepted among visitors. He said the work has resulted in the removal of both Cascades Dam and a large parking lot at Yosemite Falls.

"If it's a big development plan, where is that dam and where is the parking lot?" he asked. "They're gone. I have heard not one negative comment from visitors. They love what they see."