YOSEMITE LODGE & CURRY VILLAGE COMMENTS DUE OCT 11, 2003
(10-4-2003)
II. WHERE AND WHEN TO SEND COMMENTS
III. GENERAL COMMENTS:
IV. YOSEMITE LODGE EA
V. CURRY VILLAGE EA
Friends of Yosemite Valley (FoYV) has worked since 1997 to halt illegal and destructive National Park Service (NPS) development plans in Yosemite, to protect Yosemite's ecologic, archaeologic, ongoing traditional Indian cultural values, and equitable access. The first development we were able to halt was the 1997 Yosemite Lodge development Plan and multiple story employee housing units. We opposed the Yosemite Valley development Plan; and challenged the unprotective Merced River Plan in court. Now the Yosemite Lodge, employee housing, and other Yosemite Valley development plans are out for public comment.
While we await the court's decision on our appeal of the Merced River Plan, the National Park Service has released the Draft Yosemite Lodge and the Draft Curry Village Plans.
II. WHERE AND WHEN TO SEND COMMENTS:
*** PLEASE TURN IN YOUR COMMENTS ON THESE PLANS BY THE OCT 11, 2003 DEADLINE!!!
E-MAIL or FAX your comments (sign or type your name, include your mailing address) to:
ATTN: YOSEMITE LODGE EA; & CURRY VILLAGE and East Yosemite Valley
Campground Improvements Project EA
Superintendent, Yosemite National Park
Yose_Planning@nps.gov
Fax: 209 379 1294
Please cover points 1 & 2, and three or more other points. Copy these or better yet, put them in your own words.
1) Both the Yosemite Lodge and the Curry Village EA's (Environmental Assessments) should be put out to the public as Draft EIS's (Environmental Impact Statements). The scope and extent alone of these two development projects indicate significant negative environmental impacts which require EIS's.
2) The expectation that the public could read, absorb, and comment on these two large documents at the same time and within a 30 day period denies the public its right to make informed comments. I ask NPS to extend the comment period an additional 90 days.
3) These plans are not protection of the values of the Merced River and in fact, will degrade them.
4) Instead of bulldozing a new road close to the River and constructing multiple new buildings at the Yosemite Lodge area, I ask for the Yosemite Lodge lodging area to be turned into a campground. This would replace the 40% of the Yosemite Valley campsites closed by the National Park Service in 1997 in an already disturbed area, and create equitable access for the average family, and for those who wish to camp in Yosemite Valley.
Since 1997 hundreds of new lodging units have been built on the boundaries and in the gateway communities surrounding Yosemite, eliminating any rational for the major construction of lodging called for in the Y. Lodge Plan, and violating Park Management rules (if lodging exists in the vicinity, it is not the job of the NPS to construct lodging with public funds).
(and see especially Section V., B)
A. NORTHSIDE DRIVE: The existing Northside Drive road is moved very close TO THE MERCED RIVER -- creating many significant new impacts:
* This will degrade the river and its many values supposed to be protected by the Merced River Plan.
* Wildlife corridors will be disrupted as will the flow of the River's water processes, and the riparian zone.
* The current opportunity for a quiet river experience will be destroyed.
* The oil and pollution run-off into the Merced from the buses traveling the new road location and the asphalt will degrade the water quality and the aquatic plants and animals.
* The so-called "River Protection Zone" and the NPS designated River corridor completely ignore the existence of the river's backwater area -- a wetlands which will be degraded, if not destroyed, by the proposed new location to be bulldozed for a new Northside Drive. These zones are therefore delineated closer to the River than they should be.
* The new Northside Drive will be bulldozed through significant sections of a currently undisturbed ancient black oak woodland area.
* The proposed new bridge will destroy or degrade the Native American traditional mushroom gathering area, and other Native American cultural areas still continuing to be used.
* This place will create new disturbances of the main Native American archeological village Koom-i-ne. The entire area is an archeologic site and should be preserved and respected. Direct descendent of this village are alive today and it is their ancestors sites that will be disturbed. Would this be ok to be done to your ancestors' grave sites?
B. DESTRUCTION OF TREES: Nearly 1100 trees will be logged ( of which only 24 are considered hazardous).
C. SUNNYSIDE CAMPGROUND/CAMP 4:
* Camp 4 should NOT be expanded north of the existing Northside Dr. disrupting and for the most part destroying an oak woodland area which has been undergoing restoration since 1969 (IV-70) -- thus undoing 33 years of restoration! Some of the Yosemite Native Americans lived there in cabins up until 1969. At that time, the NPS decided to burn down the cabins and kick out the last remaining Native Americans who were still living in Yosemite, for all time. Also at that time, the NPS stated that that area from then on would be protected as an environmental restoration area. This area is already a narrow area by the Valley wall and the rim trail and a corridor used by wildlife. Putting a new campground in that area is a significant and unnecessary degradation.
* The Yosemite Valley Plan and the Yosemite Lodge Plan have been claimed by the NPS to REDUCE structures not ADD structures. Why does Sunnyside/Camp 4 need a "cooking pavilion" inviting human/bear confrontations? Why does Sunnyside/Camp 4 need a building constructed, "climbing display building," that would "feature interpretive displays and presentations on the climbing history of Yosemite National Park and would incorporate an interior lounge area for park visitors to congregate while viewing the displays?" These displays should be located in other existing buildings or in a public lounge, as discussed below.
* For visitors staying at campgrounds and in tent-cabins, especially during cold weather, it is beneficial to have an inside free public lounge located in the already developed food areas, in EXISTING structures and rooms -- as at Curry Village, Yosemite Lodge food area, and at the Ahwahnee -- not a new building as proposed at Sunnyside/Camp 4. The sports bars in Yosemite Valley should be returned to being just that -- public lounges -- places to get out of the cold and to gather with other visitors and in which families and children are welcomed and comfortable with no obligation to purchase anything. The liquor and the large-screen TVs should be removed, they have no place in a National Park. Coffee, tea, hot-chocolate would be more appropriate to be available and would be appreciated by many visitors.
D. ROCKFALL AND BOUNCE ZONES
* The proposal to turn the portion of Northside Dr. from west of Sunnyside/Camp 4 into a walking/biking path, rather than its role as the one way automobile/bus exit road in the existing long-time loop (which includes Southside Dr as the complimentary one-way entrance road) would create a greater risk to visitors. This portion of Northside Dr. contains many hazardous rockfall and boulder bounce zones (see the existing NPS rockfall zone maps and recent visitor experiences.) It would be more hazardous for visitors to be exposed on foot or bike or baby stroller moving slowly along this route than in an automobile or bus. This route is closed due to rockfall not infrequently and Southside Dr. is closed in winter, not infrequently from hazardous slippery conditions. The two way system works best. The new proposal makes new and potentially more problematic and hazardous situations.
E. SOUTHSIDE DRIVE WIDENING
* In addition, many hundreds, if not thousands of additional trees including ancient black oaks would be cut down to widen Southside Drive -- which would be in the Merced River Wild and Scenic corridor. Most of the beautiful flowering dogwoods which line Southside Drive in the spring would be bulldozed away.
A. Massive Development will create Curry CITY--forget village:
* NEW campground registration structure: 2,000 to 4000 sq. ft.
* NEW Mountain shop: 3,000 to 4000 sq ft.
* EXPANDED Grocery store: 8000 sq feet
* NEW employee cafeteria: 3,000 to 4,000 square feet
* NEW housekeeping/maintenance building: 6,000 to 8,000 square feet
* NEW Curry village registration building: 1500 to 1800 sq ft
* NEW fire station/security office and support building: 1,500 to
1,800 square feet
* NEW raft/bicycle rental building: 1,600 to 2,000 square feet> *NEW
ice rink retail building: 1,500 to 1,800 square feet
* NEW 460-seat amphitheater at Clark's Bridge
* NEW RV dump station
B. !!!! NO USAGE LIMITS: Removal of Day Visitor Parking at Curry Orchard resulting in mandatory mass transit and unlimited usage. Plan predicts upwards of 362 inbound buses daily. (That would mean approximately one bus would be arriving or leaving every 2 minutes.) (IV-219)
The Plans not only accommodate and encourage maximizing the 1980 Yosemite General Management Plan (GMP) daily limit of 18,241 TO EVERY DAY -- a giant increase in the visitorship!! Currently this number is reached or exceeded ONLY ON APPROXIMATELY 8 WEEKS PER YEAR (during July and part of August); but the plans accommodate and encourage EXCEEDENCE OF THIS NUMBER THROUGHOUT THE YEAR! The Yosemite Valley Plan threw out the GMP limit and here we can see the result in these plans, as FoYV has previously pointed out would be the case. (IV-215)
C. POTENTIAL ROCKFALL AND BOULDER BOUNCE ZONES for some of the above areas.
D. LOSS of 1300 MORE TREES to be cut down in the Curry Village Plan (which doesn't even include the employee housing part).
E. Relocate Curry Village Road; Convert Southside Drive to two-way traffic. (see Section IV., E. above, SOUTHSIDE DRIVE WIDENING)
****** To see the documents online go to www.nps.gov/yose/planning. It is probably easiest to start with a comparison of the Existing Conditions Map to the "Preferred Alternative" Map [preferred by NPS, not by FoYV -- none of these alternatives are preferred by FoYV].
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