Letter to the editor from Fresno Bee :
Be honest in Yosemite

04/01/08 22:14:31

The appellate court ruling on Yosemite isn't about projects (story March 28), it is about the National Park Service failing for 17 years to adopt a plan protecting the Merced River. It cannot continue to develop the river corridor until it does so. The park service made no effort to convince the court that further disturbance and construction should be allowed.

The park continues to propagandize that "a few people with narrow views" hinder big-dollar projects when objections came from some 52 environmental and resource groups, including Madera and Tuolumne counties. And calling groups who supported the park in their costly appeal "conservationists" is quite a stretch.

There were 800-plus family-friendly campsites in Yosemite Valley before the flood, and the park service plans to reduce that to 500. By stopping the proposed Upper Pines expansion, the court stopped the closure of the existing North Pines campground.

Yosemite park spokesman Scott Gediman bemoans a failing utility system and Valley Loop Road. This type of work has been allowed to proceed; legitimate infrastructure repairs have never been contested. It's time for Yosemite management to be honest with the public.

Bridget McGinniss Kerr