Addressing user capacity at Yosemite National Park

Like multitudes of others inspired by its jaw-dropping grandeur, I have been quite fond of visiting Yosemite National Park on a regular basis over the years. With three summits of Half Dome to my credit and a few harrowing bear stories to tell, it seems that I can’t let a season go by without stopping in at least once, even if my intention is merely to cross the Sierras via Tioga Pass on my way east or west. With the Valley’s polished granite cliffs, massive monoliths, and incredible waterfalls – not to mention its myriad trails that beckon so many of us into the backcountry – Yosemite is a true California destination like no other.

Yosemite’s appeal, however, does not go without the problems inherent in finding places to put all the people who regularly visit this shining gem of the national park system.

We love Yosemite, but we risk loving it to death. Source: National Park Service.

Between protecting the park’s resources and providing an excellent experience for park visitors exists the Yosemite Planning Committee. Because the National Park Service is mandated to protect and preserve the park’s natural and cultural resources while providing for the enjoyment and education of park visitors in such a means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations, the very mission of the National Park Service calls for allowing use of parks, but not to the detriment of the values that make them unique.

Thus, user capacity is determined by what types and levels of visitor use can be accommodated while maintaining social and resource conditions consistent with the purposes of the park and the goals of its mission. The planning committee, however, does not keep this kind of important decision-making unto itself, and actually does a pretty fair job of seeking public input and providing workshops at the park that involve people in Yosemite’s future.

One of these workshops occurs next February 6th through 8th, wherein Yosemite National Park will be hosting a User Capacity Symposium and has invited the public to attend (though RSVPs are required, a specific Yosemite location has not yet been determined). The purpose of the workshop is to continue a dialogue about best practices for addressing user capacity in national parks and other public lands by bringing together professionals and researchers versed in visitor use and user capacity and, of course, to make the topic accessible to the public.

If you’re interested in attending, please RSVP by February 1st, 2008 to Jim Bacon at (209) 379-1067 or email at: jim_bacon@nps.gov. I’m sure Jim would like to hear from you, and you might find it worthwhile to take a personal stake in the future of Yosemite.

~winehiker

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 at 3:59 pm and is filed under grape squeezins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.