How Many People Does it Take to Clog Up Yosemite Valley?

November 9, 2006

You've been there - after a 4 hour drive from the city, you're sitting in a traffic jam, breathing bus fumes on the loop road in Yosemite Valley. Once you make it to the campground, there's nowhere to park. You're one of the 3 million people who visit Yosemite each year. And though it's a gorgeous place, you've gotta wonder whether there's room for all of us to enjoy it at once.

Eric Bailey writes in an LA Times story, Federal judge halts 9 renovation projects in Yosemite Valley , that a judge has ordered a halt to renovations in Yosemite National Park that would have upgraded visitor facilities like roads, hotels, utilities and campgrounds. The Park has been ordered for the 3rd time to produce a protection plan for the Merced River running through the Valley. Park officials say the public wants the improvements. Environmental groups say the Park is being loved to death. At the heart of the fight is just how many people it takes before the Yosemite experience is diminished.

Read the article for ideas about how to handle the problem from Friends of Yosemite Valley, which brought the lawsuit. And see the Park's responses to protecting the visitor experience.

I personally havent been to

Public comment on Mon, 2007-05-07 13:46

I personally havent been to yosemite, but from what my close friends have said, the place is crowded and like Catherine mentioned, there is no place to park. the bathrooms could be cleaner and more bathrooms could be built. everyone wants to enjoy the place, but really can we with the condition of the camping place, the traffic jams. many people enjoy the view and maybe the weather, but since cars are everywhere, they cause pollution. i think more public transportation needs to be placed in yosemite. the place seems to be gorgeous and we have to treat it with more respect. roads can be built, so less traffic, but are we going to have the same beautiful place? yes many will profit with the building of the road, but one of the most beaitiful places in this nation could be ruined because of population growth, pollution and construction work on roads.

Would like to visit...

Public comment on Sun, 2006-12-10 07:15

I'm just visiting the site and wanted to comment. I haven't been to Yosemite yet simply because my husband talks about all the people and how it's not the same experience because of tourism. It's just not like it used to be. It's good that so many people want to visit there, but many people don't think about taking action to care for the park. Not because they don't want to, but just because they don't KNOW to. I agree that making bigger roads isn't the solution. I'm sure we'll visit someday but I just hope it can still have the beauty that I have heard it has.

Good point

Public comment on Thu, 2006-12-07 19:17

I think it is true that Yosemite is recieving more visitors then it can probably handle. However what kind of impact to you think this judges ruling is going to have?

Good point.

Submitted by Justin Wages on Fri, 2006-11-10 16:55.

One that I do not have a direct answer for simply because I have not studied it in depth and can only comment from basic observations. The foothills are definately in danger and as one of our richest areas of biodiversity we should all be concerned. In fact, pretty much all of California is under pressure from migration and overpopulation and having the 6th? largest economy in the world (LAO's 2004 fact sheet)and a population growth of over 500,000 people annually isn't helping matters

Is there any other info you can link us to? I will check out the book in the mean time but this is a very important issue and one I would like to know more about so that I may vote for the right measures as they come about. ;)

OK, then what about the rest of the Sierra?

Submitted by Catherine Stifter on Fri, 2006-11-10 15:25.

Population growth expected to triple by 2040, foothill counties are the faster growing in the state. Folks are heading up hill. And what's up here ain't no delicate amusement park. Fine and dandy for National Parks, but where do you think the line will be drawn? Some counties welcome the growth willy-nilly, others are more cautiously entertaining the options.

Who do you hear that is a voice of reasonable solutions in this "capacity" debate?

Tim Duane, (an advisor to STS) writes about the What and How in his lovely, large book, "Shaping the Sierra: Nature, Culture and Conflict in the Changing West."

Who else? Catherine Stifter

The park is..

Submitted by Justin Wages on Fri, 2006-11-10 00:32.

A reflection of our world population problem really. Everyone wants to be there but the place just can't handle it in its current design. Bringing more people there by conventional means is going to further destroy what people are coming to see, natures beauty. Building more and bigger roads is a terrible idea. If we want to increase capacity then we need to scrap current logistical systems and rehtink the whole plan. We would have to incorporate more public transit and treat the place more like a delicate amusement park. IE, leave your polluting, traffic causing cars outside the park and enjoy the sites by energy efficient busses, vans, bikes, or your own two feet. A pipe dream I know but I just can't stomach the thought of building more and bigger roads into the heart of one of the most beautiful spots on earth simply for profit.. Because that's really the motive behind it all in my opinion.

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