Responding to the public outcry over a plan to ban the rentals of bicycles, horses and river rafts in Yosemite Valley, the director of the National Park Service on Tuesday said that his agency is studying alternatives that could allow many of those activities to continue after all.
Final details won’t be out until December, parks director Jon Jarvis told a congressional hearing at the U.S. Capitol, but the park service is considering a plan to store river rafts outside Yosemite Valley and bring them to tourists — and to set up some kind of self-service kiosks or bicycle-sharing program that could allow bike rentals in the valley to continue without as many staff members and buildings near the Merced River as are there today.
The goal, Jarvis said, is to comply with a federal court ruling requiring protections for the river, while also moving as many facilities and campgrounds away from the flood-prone river corridor as possible — but not too close to the valley’s huge granite walls where falling rocks regularly pose a risk to visitors.
“Every planning process in Yosemite is challenging because people care so passionately about the park,” Jarvis said. “We share two goals: first to ensure that the public will be able to continue to enjoy the variety of recreational opportunities that the river and its surrounding areas offer, and, second, to preserve the resources.”
Several Congress members blasted Jarvis during Tuesday’s hearing at the House Subcommittee on Public Lands, however, contending that his agency was trying to eliminate activities that families have enjoyed at Yosemite National Park for generations.
“Ninety-five percent of the park is already in wilderness,” said Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Granite Bay, whose district includes Yosemite. “Yet the overwhelming majority of park visitors come to that 5 percent where amenities are available for public recreation. Where they can rent a bike. Where they can stop at the snack shop to get ice cream cones for the kids. Where they can pick up souvenirs at the gift shop. Where the family can cool off at a lodge swimming pool. It is precisely these pursuits that the National Park Service would destroy.”
The proposed changes are part of a 2,500-page document known as the Merced River Plan, which the park service released in January. The plan, which follows years of lawsuits by two small environmental groups, seeks to restore the park’s natural setting by reducing the human footprint. As part of the plan, parks officials call for tearing out swimming pools at the Yosemite Lodge and Ahwahnee Hotel, along with the ice rink at Curry Village. Rafting rentals on the Merced River would end. Bike and horse rentals in Yosemite Valley would be removed.
The plan also recommends increasing the number of campsites in Yosemite Valley from 466 to 640, although that total still would be far fewer than the 872 campsites that were in the valley before a major flood swept through the area in 1997, wrecking many of them. The plan also calls for restoring 203 acres of meadows and improving parking. Visitors still would be allowed to bring their own bikes, horses or rafts to the park. But critics say the plans go too far.
“We are talking all the time about the need of having more visitors going to our national parks,” said Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, at the hearing Tuesday. “And yet if we make our parks less visitor-friendly, how can we expect ever to achieve that?”
Some residents worried that the new proposals could harm business in surrounding towns by reducing visitors.
“The plan discriminates against minorities, those of modest means, the very young, the elderly and the disabled,” said Wendy Brown, a Mariposa resident and founder of Yosemite for Everyone.
California Democrats offered support of the plan. But they acknowledged the recreational issues have hit a public nerve and that changes are needed.
“If we’re down to just horses, bikes, rafting and ice-skating, wow! A lot of progress has been made,” said Rep. John Garamendi, D-Fairfield. “I remember when we couldn’t even decide if there were going to be buses in the valley.”
Added Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno: “The horseback riding I’m concerned about, not only as it relates to day use, but the potential precedent it represents throughout the park system.”
Environmentalists said the director’s announcement that the park service is looking for a compromise is a good step.
“We think they are being responsive. The approach they are taking is the right one,” said Neal Desai, with the National Parks Conservation Association in San Francisco. The group supports the plan but doesn’t oppose keeping bike and raft rentals and a seasonal ice rink.
Bob Hansen, former executive director of the Yosemite Fund, said while he supports the proposed compromise, he wants to see the new rental systems tested first to see if they work before removing the existing facilities.
“I’m hopeful the park service will find a way to soften their plan,” said Hansen, who raised $92 million over 20 years to help restore Yosemite Falls, Glacier Point and other areas. “Eliminating these facilities or making it much more difficult for people to engage in these recreational activities reduces the public enjoyment of the park.”
Paul Rogers covers resources and environmental issues. Contact him at 408-920-5045. Follow him at Twitter.com/PaulRogersSJMN.
