Far humbler corners of America have faced a similar dilemma: How much human activity should be allowed in a natural setting that is also promoted as a tourist destination? The National Park Service is proposing a significant makeover of Yosemite National Park that would change the way future generations of visitors experienced the park, especially the seven-mile-long Yosemite Valley at its heart. The Park Service’s plan would restore more than 200 acres of meadows, reorganize transportation and reduce traffic congestion. To shrink the human presence along the Merced River, park officials are also proposing closing nearby rental facilities for bicycling, horseback riding and rafting, and removing swimming pools, an ice rink and a stone bridge. As with most things related to one of the nation’s most beloved national parks, the plan has ignited fierce debate among environmentalists, campers, and officials in California and Washington. Representative Tom McClintock, a Republican whose district includes Yosemite, said at a recent House hearing that the idea of removing commercial facilities was meant to satisfy “the most radical and nihilistic fringe of the environmental left.” But some environmentalists said the plan did not go far enough in protecting Yosemite Valley and the Merced River, which flows through 81 miles of the park...
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Kick the public outta there! Who do they think owns these lands? Certainly not the public...they are the enemy.
Yosemite National Park - 748,000 acres and they can't manage 4 million visitors.
Central Park, NYC - 850 acres and they manage 38 million visitors.
Draw you own conclusion.
1 comment:
Only a tiny fraction of Yosemite's acreage is accessible to the public. The rest is rugged wilderness.
The damage being done to the trees by car exhaust is proven.
They've turned it into, not only a tourist destination comparable to 6Flags or Disneyland but a small city with all the pollution, traffic and crime as well.
There is a better way to manage the park and still allow millions of visitors without the damage since I was there in the 60's.
Central Park doesn't allow RV's and tent cities.
I'm far from being a tree hugging greenie but many of our National Parks are being raped by the unappreciative bermuda shorts/flower shirt crowd.
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