Park service unveils Yosemite restoration plan 

BRIAN MELLEY / AP 15nov00

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. -- Add the Sunday driver to the list of endangered species at Yosemite.

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt unveiled a $441 million plan Tuesday to restore Yosemite National Park to a more natural state over the next two decades by getting rid of many parking spaces, tent cabins and one of the most heavily used roads running through Yosemite Valley.

Tourists no longer will be able to park their cars at the base of Yosemite Falls, North America's tallest waterfall. Instead, many will have to see Half Dome, El Capitan and other sights from shuttle buses running from three outlying parking lots.

``My problem is not too many people. It's too many cars,'' Babbitt said.

The long-awaited plan, whose pricetag ballooned nearly $100 million since the draft proposal was released in March, is the result of three decades of battles over the future of one of the jewels of the National Park system.

While developers and others who saw the draft plan criticized it for restricting access to a public preserve, environmentalists said it doesn't go far enough to protect Yosemite.

``It sounds wonderful on the surface -- more protection, less development,'' said Joyce Eden of the Sierra Club and Friends of Yosemite Valley. ``Is it that? The indication from the draft and just the blaring fact that it's an additional $100 million makes you wonder if restoration and protection cost that much money.''

Babbitt said the plan strikes a balance between the two sides.

``It's taken quite a long time because Yosemite has a worldwide fan club,'' he said. ``For a century, people have been coming here and forging relationships with the park. This plan changes the way people relate to the park. Most for the better.''

About 30 sign-carrying protesters stood silently as Babbitt spoke with the snow-dusted Half Dome in the background. One sign said ``John Muir Would Be Crying,'' referring to the 19th-century naturalist and Sierra Club founder whose writings first drew attention to Yosemite.

``He considered this sacred ground,'' protester Chris Kantarjiev said. ``The plan we've seen is about more development, more hotel rooms and more diesel buses.''

With nearly 4 million visitors a year, Yosemite has lost some of its serenity. A hike through the valley's meadows or along the scenic Merced River is often accompanies by the sight and sound of cars -- some 7,000 of them on a typical summer day.

The clash between man and nature in Yosemite dates back decades. The bowling alley, dance hall and candy factory are gone, but dorm-style employee housing, grocery stores, restaurants and hotels remain.

The goal of the plan is to reduce some of those amenities and relocate others so that meadows will return to their wild state and stately black oaks will survive.

Bowing to criticism that the draft plan sought to remove cheaper lodging for pricier accommodations, the park service will add campsites and slash the number of mid-scale motel rooms nearly in half.

Overall accommodations, including rooms and campsites, will drop by 274, from 1,735 to 1,461.

• Yosemite National Park: http://www.nps.gov/yose/

• Sierra Club: http://www.sierraclub.org

Details of Yosemite Valley Plan

AP 15nov00

Details from the $441 million federal plan unveiled Tuesday to restore the Yosemite Valley, the jewel of Yosemite National Park, Calif.:

• Cut parking spaces from 1,662 to 550 at Yosemite Village, home to park headquarters. Visitors will take expanded shuttle service to the valley from three satellite lots that can hold 1,490 vehicles.

• Restore 176 acres to natural state by removing roads and buildings.

• Increase number of campsites from 475 to 500.

• Replace 3.2-mile section of Northside Drive, a main artery through the valley, with paved foot and bike trail.

• Cut valley lodging from 1,260 to 961 rooms by removing cabins at Curry Village and Housekeeping Camp. Yosemite Lodge would replace six units lost to a 1997 flood, bringing to 251 the number of rooms.

• Cut employee housing from 1,277 beds in the valley to 723. Housing outside the valley will be increased from 414 to 1,361 beds.

• Eliminate commercial horse stable and guided rides from valley.

• Remove dam and at least one bridge to reduce erosion along Merced River. A 150-foot wide protection zone imposed along most of the river.