YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

Background

Located in the heart of the Sierra Nevada, Yosemite Valley was first set aside by the federal government on June 30, 1864. The State of California managed the area. On October 1, 1890, Yosemite became the third national park. (Yellowstone was designated in 1872, and Sequoia on Sept. 25, 1890.) Now encompassing 760,917 acres, Yosemite features famous granite landmarks like Half Dome and El Capitan, as well as two of the world's highest waterfalls, giant sequoias, alpine meadows, rivers, and mountain peaks that reach as high as 13,114 feet. Wildlife includes mountain lions, black bear, deer, and more than 200 bird species. In addition, at least 1,300 species of flowering plants can be found in Yosemite. Ninety-four percent of the park has been designated as wilderness, thus off-limits to roadbuilding and other development. In 1984 Yosemite was designated a World Heritage Site.

Visit Yosemite

Problems

The most serious problem is the urbanization of the seven-square-mile Yosemite Valley, in the heart of the park. Visitation has spiraled, growing from 821,000 in 1950 to 2.6 million in 1980 and to 3.8 million in 1992. On Memorial Day Weekend, 1984, some 7,500 cars created a four-hour traffic jam in the valley, forcing the Park Service to limit the number of vehicles admitted to the valley's east end. On busy summer weekends, valley visitors often engage in the urban hunt for the elusive parking space.

The 1980 General Management Plan

Yosemite Valley contains 1,300 buildings and 17 acres of asphalt parking lots. Recognizing the need to deal with the urbanization of the valley, the Park Service drew up a plan to undo the damage. Issued in September, 1980, the General Management Plan set goals for the valley, including: Reduce overnight accommodations by 17 percent (from 1,528); reduce employee housing by 68 percent (from 1,510); move headquarters and administrative facilities of both the Park Service and the concessioner out of the park; remove 49 percent of the 2,513 day parking spaces as part of an effort to limit, and eventually eliminate, private car traffic in the valley; and remove tennis courts, a golf course, and the permanent ice skating rink.

These objectives were to be accomplished by 1990, with most of the functions being located at the Park Service-owned El Portal administrative site, just outside the park, 17 miles west of the valley. Almost no progress has been made. Overnight accommodations have increased, to 1,549; employee housing has been cut by only 14 percent; the headquarters and most of the administrative facilities remain in the valley; the number of day parking spaces is 5,055; and the tennis courts and rink remain in place. The Park Service has not budgeted the money to fully carry out the plan and has not pressed the concessioner (the Yosemite Park and Curry Company) to follow through. Meantime, the Curry Co. has resisted the plan's goals. The Park Service has released various draft plans to implement the 1980 plan. None of them goes far enough. A proposal to relocate employee housing would put the units near vital habitat for the great gray owl, listed as an endangered species by the State of California.

In June, 1992, The Wilderness Society issued a comprehensive plan for solving the park's transportation problems. It called for satellite parking lots outside Yosemite and a system of shuttle buses to move visitors into and around Yosemite Valley.

Concessions

The Curry Co. provides most of the lodging, food, and other commercial services. The most recent contract took effect in 1963 and expires Sept. 30, 1993. That contract requires the concessioner to pay the Park Service only three-quarters of one percent of its total revenue (or $635,000 of about $85 million in 1989).

In December, 1990, the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. finalized a buyout of MCA, the owner of the Curry Co. On January 8, MCA agreed to sell the Curry Co. to the non- profit National Park Foundation (NPF) for $49.5 million in September, 1993, and lend NPF the purchase money at 8.5 percent. Under this agreement, the Curry Co. waived its preferential right of renewal and makes no claim to any possessory interest in park structures.

In December, 1992, the Park Service chose the Delaware North Companies, from a field of six bidders, to be the concessioner for the next 15 years. Congress has a right to review the contract, and there was a March 24 hearing before two subcommittees of the House Natural Resources Committee.

For More Information

Joan Reiss (415-541-9144), Brien Culhane (202-429-2681), or Ron Tipton (202-429- 2668)

Yosemite National Park, (209-372-0200)