FRIENDS OF YOSEMITE VALLEY UPDATE

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Friends of Yosemite Valley

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
5/20/02
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NOTICE OF APPEAL FILED ON YOSEMITE PARK'S MERCED RIVER PLAN

Fresno: The two citizen groups, Friends of Yosemite Valley (FoYV) and Mariposans for Environmentally Responsible Growth (MERG), filed a notice of appeal today to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The groups are asking the court to reconsider the Federal District Court ruling brought by Judge Anthony Ishii, March 22, 2002, in Fresno, CA, on Yosemite Park's Merced River Mangement Plan (FoYV and MERG v. the Department of the Interior).

The Plaintiffs (FoYV and MERG) will claim that the recent judgment was deficient in numerous ways and that the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was not correctly interpreted in the ruling. Bart Brown, Chair of MERG, observed, "Ours is a strong case, but the District Court's ruling did not reflect this." The groups had argued before the court that neither the Merced River nor the special values for which the River was designated Wild and Scenic are adequately protected by the National Park Service's Merced River Management Plan as required by the law. River protection groups throughout the country were disappointed by the unfavorable ruling. Close to sixty river advocacy and other groups and individuals had filed a friend of the court legal brief arguing that the River Plan was illegal.

Dr. Susan Sanders, a biologist who has studied the River Plan, observed, "I was disappointed to find that the Park Service's Merced River Plan fails to show the extent or nature of the Merced River's important biological resources. Without such knowledge this Plan cannot and has not provided for their protection."

"Yosemite's River Plan is a blank check allowing for more development and asphalt," said Joyce Eden, Co-Director of Friends of Yosemite Valley. "We argued, instead, for true resource protection based on science and argued that this is required under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to protect and enhance the River's values. In accepting less, we feel that the District Court has erred badly and put the future vitality of the River and its outstanding values at imminent risk."
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