Lower Yosemite Fall Project - Chapter 1 Purpose of and Need for Action

Yosemite National Park - National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior

Chapter 1
Purpose of and Need for Action
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Introduction

At its full force in spring, Yosemite Falls inspires all who view it. It has been the subject of countless artists, from the famous 19th century landscape painter Albert Bierstadt, to writer/naturalist John Muir, to contemporary poets such as Gary Snyder. The Yosemite Falls were the focus of the first published drawing and the first photograph of Yosemite, and it was a newspaper article describing a "thousand-foot waterfall" that attracted the first tourists to Yosemite.

At nearly half a mile in height (2,425 feet), Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America and the fifth highest in the world. Emerging from the upper reaches of Yosemite Creek, which begins on a slope of Mt. Hoffmann some 10 miles from Yosemite Valley, Yosemite Falls makes three distinct plunges before reaching the floor of Yosemite Valley: the 1,430-foot Upper Yosemite Fall, an intermediate 675-foot chain of cascades, followed by the 320-foot Lower Yosemite Fall.

Today, Yosemite Falls is the most highly visited natural feature in Yosemite National Park (see figure 1-1). Rehabilitation of the Lower Yosemite Fall area has been a priority of the National Park Service for nearly 10 years, beginning with a workshop held in 1992. Three years later, the National Park Service and The Yosemite Fund, the primary nonprofit fundraising organization for Yosemite National Park, agreed to work jointly on a proposed rehabilitation of the area. Planning for the rehabilitation started in 1997.

Other individual planning efforts, including plans for housing, restoration of areas to natural conditions, transportation, and visitor services, were accelerated by necessity following the January 1997 flood in the park. Through both extensive public comment and litigation, questions were raised about the appropriateness of pursuing separate, yet connected planning efforts in Yosemite Valley. As a result, the National Park Service combined four distinct planning projects (including the Lower Yosemite Fall Project) together into one comprehensive planning effort for Yosemite Valley—the Yosemite Valley Plan.

Figure 1-1 Project Location

The purpose of the Lower Yosemite Fall Project is to implement the actions called for in the Final Yosemite Valley Plan/Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) (referred to hereafter as the Yosemite Valley Plan¹) for the Lower Yosemite Fall area. Actions called for in the Yosemite Valley Plan were guided by the goals of the 1980 General Management Plan and the 2001 Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan (Merced River Plan). The specific purposes of the Yosemite Valley Plan (see Final Yosemite Valley Plan/SEIS, Volume Ia, Chapter 1, page 1-5) within Yosemite Valley are to:

Restore, protect, and enhance the resources of Yosemite Valley
Provide opportunities for high-quality, resource-based visitor experiences
Reduce traffic congestion
Provide effective park operations, including employee housing, to meet the mission of the National Park Service

The specific purpose of the Merced River Plan is to provide direction and guidance on how best to manage visitor use, development of lands and facilities, and resource protection for projects within and adjacent to the river corridor. A part of the Lower Yosemite Fall Project area falls within the river corridor. The National Park Service developed a series of planning goals to guide management decision-making in these areas (see page 25 of the Merced River Plan). The Merced River Plan is a template against which project implementation plans will be judged to determine whether such projects will protect and enhance the values for which the Merced River was designated Wild and Scenic. As a result, the Merced River Plan provides general direction and guidance for future management decisions; it does not address the specific details of future projects.

To implement the purposes listed above, the objectives of the Lower Yosemite Fall Project are as follows:

Restore the area to a more natural state with the removal of the existing parking area and relocation of the restroom and cars and tour buses from viewing areas and departure points. The visitor would see an environment that is more natural. A more dynamic creek system would be achieved by relocating bridge abutments to upland areas, thereby allowing Yosemite Creek to migrate more freely.
Enhance visitor experience by providing educational interpretive exhibits and better seating areas. Themes related to Yosemite American Indian culture, early pioneers and the birth of the conservation movement, and natural history would be presented in wayside exhibits. Visitors would be able to linger at seating areas where they could sit, listen, and experience not only Yosemite Falls but also the adjacent forest and views.
Improve trails and bridges to better facilitate visitor circulation and access. The overall area, including the base of Lower Yosemite Fall, would be more accessible to people with mobility impairments.
Improve the visitor experience and protect natural and cultural resources by constructing an adequate restroom and adequate site furnishings such as an informal seating area and picnic area, bicycle racks, and drinking fountain. The new restroom would also reduce the current environmental and sanitation problems in the area.
Increase both natural and cultural resource protection by more clearly defining visitor trails, thereby minimizing damage to the forest floor and streams from persons traveling off trails.

The purpose of this environmental assessment is to analyze site-specific impacts that would result from the Lower Yosemite Fall Project, including actions that have changed slightly from actions called for in the Yosemite Valley Plan. These slight changes were identified during the development of site designs for the Lower Yosemite Fall Project subsequent to completion of the Yosemite Valley Plan.

Need for Action

The need for an environmental assessment of this project is in direct response to the tiering requirements of the Yosemite Valley Plan, which was published in November 2000. On December 29, 2000, the Yosemite Valley Plan Record of Decision was signed adopting the preferred alternative of the Yosemite Valley Plan. Preliminary site design concepts prepared for the Lower Yosemite Fall Project need to be evaluated as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) if any of the following four criteria are met:

Actions would benefit from further site-specific environmental compliance.
Proposed actions extend beyond the area identified and analyzed in the Yosemite Valley Plan.
Proposed actions involve an appreciable change in function and capacity from that discussed in the Yosemite Valley Plan.
Previously unknown resources are discovered (e.g., an archeological site or any special-status plant or animal species) during the design phase.

Regulations, Policies, and Management Goals

This environmental assessment is written with the guidance of a set of regulations and policies. The project must not only comply with requirements of NEPA, but it must also comply with other legislation that governs land use, natural resource protection, and other policy issues within Yosemite National Park (see Appendix A).

Following is a brief overview of planning documents, regulations and polices, management goals, and issues and concerns that relate to the development of this environmental assessment and form the context under which the Lower Yosemite Fall Project would be implemented. The relationship of this environmental assessment to other Yosemite National Park plans is shown in figure 1-2.

Planning in Yosemite National Park takes two different forms: general management planning and implementation planning. General management plans are required for national parks by the National Park and Recreation Act of 1978. The purpose of a general management plan is to set a "clearly defined direction for resource preservation and visitor use" (National Park Service [NPS] 1998a) and provide general directions and policies to guide planning and management in the park. The 1980 General Management Plan is the overall planning document for Yosemite National Park.

The Merced River Plan is a planning document with weight equal to that of the General Management Plan. In designating the Merced River as a Wild and Scenic River, Congress authorized the National Park Service to prepare its management plan for the river by making appropriate revisions to the park's 1980 General Management Plan (16 United States Code [USC] 1274[a][62]). River management plans must also be coordinated with plans for adjacent federal lands (16 USC, Section 1283). The Merced River Plan provides a framework for decision-making on future management actions within the Merced Wild and Scenic River corridor.

Implementation plans, which tier off the General Management Plan and the Merced River Plan (if appropriate, given the project's location), focus on "how to implement an activity or project needed to achieve a long-term goal" (NPS 2001a). Implementation plans may direct specific projects as well as ongoing management activities or programs and provide a more extensive level of detail and analysis.

Figure 1-2
Relationship to Yosemite National Park Plans

The Yosemite Valley Plan is an example of an implementation plan that outlines specific actions that will enable the National Park Service to meet the broad goals of the General Management Plan for Yosemite Valley and modifies other provisions based on more current information. Because of changes proposed by Yosemite Valley planning efforts to the General Management Plan (guided by new information developed since 1980), the National Park Service prepared the Yosemite Valley Plan to amend the 1980 General Management Plan for Yosemite National Park.

Site-specific actions for the Lower Yosemite Fall Project were identified and analyzed in the Yosemite Valley Plan. Further site-specific design and related activities resulted in new information about potential impacts; therefore, this environmental assessment tiers from and supplements the analysis of the Yosemite Valley Plan and the Merced River Plan.

National Park Service Organic Act

In 1916, the National Park Service Organic Act established the National Park Service to "promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks, monuments, and reservations . . ." and defined the purpose of the national parks as "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." This law, along with its amendments and other national park legislation, provides overall guidance for the management of Yosemite National Park.

The Prohibition on Impairment of Park Resources

and Values

The Organic Act establishes the management responsibilities of the National Park Service. While Congress has given the National Park Service management discretion to allow certain impacts within parks, that discretion is limited by the statutory requirement that park resources and values be left unimpaired, unless a particular law directly and specifically provides otherwise. This cornerstone of the Organic Act establishes the primary responsibility of the National Park Service. It ensures that park resources and values will continue to exist in a condition that will allow the general public to have present and future opportunities for enjoyment of them. The National Park Service Management Policies provides guidance on addressing impairment.

Management Goals and Criteria

Management goals identify the long-range direction for Yosemite National Park. Any proposed project must carefully balance multiple goals, especially in a park as large and varied as Yosemite National Park. The General Management Plan (NPS 1980) for Yosemite National Park sets forth the following five broad goals for management of the park as a whole:

Reclaim priceless natural beauty
Allow natural processes to prevail
Promote visitor understanding and enjoyment
Markedly reduce traffic congestion
Reduce crowding

The Merced River Plan works in concert with the goals set forth in the General Management Plan. It also outlines an additional set of specific goals for management of the Merced Wild and Scenic River. The Merced River Plan's five goals, listed below, were developed to further the policy established by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, namely to preserve designated rivers in their free-flowing condition and protect and enhance the river's Outstandingly Remarkable Values. (A description of Outstandingly Remarkable Values is provided in Chapter 5, Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan, of this environmental assessment and on page 40 of the Merced River Plan.)

Protect and enhance river-related natural resources
Protect and restore natural hydrological and geomorphic processes
Protect and enhance river-related cultural resources
Provide diverse river-related recreational and educational experiences
Provide appropriate land uses

The Yosemite Valley Plan carries forward the goals of the General Management Plan and the Merced River Plan. The criteria listed below provide guidance for accomplishing these goals in Yosemite Valley.

Protect highly valued natural and cultural resources (see the Final Yosemite Valley Plan/SEIS, Vol. Ia, Chapter 2, page 2-9 for a discussion of highly valued resources).
Remove unnecessary facilities from and locate new facilities outside of highly valued resource areas unless there is no feasible alternative.
Place new facilities in such a way as to avoid or minimize disruption of natural processes.
Apply criteria from the Merced River Plan for areas affected by actions approved in the Yosemite Valley Plan in Yosemite Valley (see Final Yosemite Valley Plan/SEIS, Vol. Ia, Chapter 1, page 1-12).

Public Involvement

After public comments on the Draft Yosemite Valley Plan/SEIS were received by the National Park Service, an extensive process to screen public concerns and identify planning issues was undertaken. This process was used to effectively manage and respond to the 693 public concerns derived from the 10,240 public comments received on the Draft Yosemite Valley Plan/SEIS, and the 178 public concerns related to Yosemite Valley planning derived from the analysis of public comment on the Draft Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan/EIS. Of the 871 concerns identified (the 693 from the Yosemite Valley Plan and the 178 from the Merced River Plan), 10 related to the Lower Yosemite Fall area. For this environmental assessment, these 10 concerns were reviewed and evaluated as part of the public involvement process for the Lower Yosemite Fall Project.

On July 17, 2001, the National Park Service requested public scoping comments related to preparation of an environmental assessment for potential relocation of the restroom (from the location approved in the Yosemite Valley Plan). The purpose of the restroom relocation environmental assessment was to consider alternate locations for the restroom so that impacts to important resources could be avoided.

A total of 261 letters, including emails, faxes, comment forms, and U.S. mail, were received. From these letters, 514 public comments were extracted, and from the comments, 164 concern statements were generated. Thirteen concerns were characterized as Management Issues, which fell into nine issue categories. In general, the public wanted more information about the overall Lower Yosemite Fall Project. A theme found in several issue categories was that the restroom relocation project should be described as a part of the overall project; the preparation of this environmental assessment addresses the restroom relocation.

The nine issue categories raised by the public include:

Traffic/Circulation – The Lower Yosemite Fall Project should ease current circulation problems in the Valley.

Congestion – Placement of facilities in the Lower Yosemite Fall area should reduce congestion of people and cars in the area.

Lodging – The restroom location should recognize its proximity to Yosemite Lodge.

Health and Safety – Facilities built in the Lower Yosemite Fall area should emphasize safety for visitors.

Other Alternatives – The National Park Service should consider alternative locations for the restrooms beyond that which was indicated in general terms in the Yosemite Valley Plan.

Development – The Lower Yosemite Fall Project should not introduce inappropriate development in Yosemite Valley.

Visitor Services – The Lower Yosemite Fall Project should emphasize appropriate access opportunities for visitors, including foreign visitors and persons with disabilities.

Compliance – It is important that any implementation project comply with NEPA, the Yosemite Valley Plan, the Merced River Plan, and all other relevant regulatory requirements, including consultation with associated American Indian groups and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. In addition, the scope of the environmental assessment should encompass all of the Lower Yosemite Fall Project rather than be confined to only portions of the project.

Cultural Resources – Placement of the new restroom at the Lower Yosemite Fall area should be at a location that has minimal impact to American Indian cultural resources.

In direct response to these public concerns expressed during the scoping process for the restroom replacement project, the National Park Service has prepared this environmental assessment for the entire Lower Yosemite Fall Project. Tiered from the Yosemite Valley Plan, this environmental assessment focuses on specific elements of the Lower Yosemite Fall Project.

Organization of this Environmental Assessment

The remainder of this environmental assessment includes the following chapters, followed by a bibliography, glossary, and appendices:

Chapter 2, Description of Proposed Action and Alternatives, presents the project alternatives considered by the National Park Service for the Lower Yosemite Fall Project and proposed mitigation measures to protect natural, cultural, and social resources. A discussion of the environmentally preferable alternative is also presented. This chapter also includes the No Action Alternative and alternatives considered but dismissed. A summary table comparing the alternatives and environmental consequences of the alternatives is provided at the end of Chapter 2.

Chapter 3, Affected Environment, provides an overview of the affected environment, describing the existing condition of natural resources, cultural resources, and social resources in the Lower Yosemite Fall area.

Chapter 4, Environmental Consequences, presents an analysis of the potential environmental impacts of each alternative, including impacts analyzed in the Yosemite Valley Plan, impacts specific to actions that have slightly changed from the Yosemite Valley Plan, and cumulative impacts. In addition, an analysis of potential impairment of park resources resulting from the alternatives is presented.

Chapter 5, Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan, evaluates the Lower Yosemite Fall Project in the context of the seven management elements of the Merced River Plan.

Chapter 6, Consultation and Coordination, summarizes the process relied upon in preparing and reviewing this document. It also lists the government agencies and organizations that will receive this environmental assessment.

Chapter 7, List of Preparers and Reviewers, lists the names and qualifications of the persons who were primarily responsible for preparing and/or reviewing this document.

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¹As approved by the Final Yosemite Valley Plan/SEIS Record of Decision and as presented and analyzed in the Final Yosemite Valley Plan/SEIS, Alternative 2.

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