Hwy 140 gets bigger bridge (Jul 2, 2008)
For  over 2 years vehicles on California Hwy 140 out of Mariposa to Yosemite were met with 4 sharp 90 degree
turns to get across the Merced. All this caused by the spring 2006 Ferguson Rockslide. It completely covered
the highway and World War 2 vintage “Bailey Bridges” were erected to allow traffic to cross over then back and
continue to the park. However, only vehicles 28 feet or shorter were allowed due to the tight turns. Garbage
trucks from the park, tour buses and oversize vehicles had to take the long way to the Valley if arriving from the
south. Mariposa traffic was impacted for 4 years. The Governator just snipped the ribbon opening the new
bypass bridges. They are larger and at a shallow angle so all vehicles can now go on the highway.  If you have
the time, drive 140 to see the giant rockslide…. And buy something in Mariposa – they can use the business!

Merced River Plan Planning meeting postponed
The new Merced River Plan public planning workshop scheduled for Saturday, May 10, 2008, has been
POSTPONED. Issues relating to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on the 2005 Revised Merced River Plan
need to be resolved by the park. To keep abreast of developments, see the Yosemite Planning page at  http:
//www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/newmrp.htm

Minutes of the 2008 Yosemite Assn Spring Forum posted HERE.

Judge turns down Yosemite appeal (March 27, 2008)
The 9th District court again denied the National Park Service's request for appeal on the
ruling previously made in the Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan Litigation.
The Park must now redo the Plan for the 3rd time.  Key issue is coming up with a fixed number of visitors that
are permitted in the park. So the injunctions stopping planned rebuilding after the 1997 flood remain in place.

Yosemite opens kimono to public (Jan 24, 2008)
The Park Service is hosting Open Houses, working sessions and releasing documents for public input.
Included topics are the User Capacity Symposium and  the Oral History Project, click HERE for more details.
The Tuolumne River Plan Public Planning Workshop will be on February 9. The Merced River Plan Public
Planning Workshop will be  Saturday, February 23. Comments for the Vogelsang Backcountry Utilities
Improvement Project opened on Tuesday, January 15, 2008, and will be open until February 13, 2008. See
HERE for details.


2005 Merced River Plan Court Appeal (Nov 29, 2007)
From the Yosemite Planning Website:  
UPDATE - Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan Litigation
On Wednesday, November 28th, Yosemite National Park representatives Kevin Cann, Bill Delaney, Mark Butler,
Kristina Rylands, Elexis Mayer, Scott Gediman, and Linda Dahl joined Department of Justice Attorneys Charles
Shockey and David Shilton at the hearing in Pasadena in front of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the matter
of the Merced River Plan litigation. Mr. Shilton represented the Department of the Interior and Yosemite in the
appeal of the U.S. District Court's decision regarding the 2005 Merced River Plan. The panel of judges listened
to arguments from the park and the plaintiffs, "Friends of Yosemite Valley" and "Mariposans for the
Environment and Responsible Government". Watch this site for news of a decision as soon as one is
rendered For more information go to the Park Planning website www.nps.gov/yose/planning/litigation, or
contact Mark, Linda, Kristina, or Elexis. (L. Dahl - 11/29/07) See BLOG Nov 30 for complete story and audio file.

2005 Merced River Plan: Status of Appeal (Nov 6,2007)
The appeal for the 2005 Merced River Plan/Environmental Impact Statement has been rescheduled for
November 28, 2007 in Pasadena, California at 125 South Grand Avenue. This is open to the public. If you
do attend,please email a summary to info@hikehalfdome.com.

Yosemite Assn Fall Member Forum held (Sept 8, 2007)
The annual event was held at the Tuolumne Lodge on the Tioga Road. Speakers included Christy Holloway,
David Guy, Mark Tollefson, and Jack Laws.  A complete summary is here. Tollefson said no changes to Half
Dome will be made  without hearings. The annual Spring  Forum is set for March 29 at the Valley.

Yosemite goes to Court (Sep 24, 2007)
Yosemite National Park will be at the San Francisco 9th Circuit Court of Appeals - on Wednesday Oct 10. If you
are free that day, you might want to see how our "system" works. The NPS will be presenting their response on
case 07-15124 Friends of Yosemite Valley vs. Kempthorne. To get you up to date, the "Friends" is a group of
environmentalists who have blocked reconstruction projects dating back to the 1997 Flood. "Kempthorne" is
Dirk Kempthorne, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior – parent of the National Park Service. See
picture above.
9 projects have been enjoined including a revamp of campground configurations, restoring employee housing,
visitor lodges and the Happy Isles Bridge - all damaged by the record flood. The Park is on tap to provide an
acceptable management plan for the Merced River. The formal title is "the Merced Wild and Scenic River
Comprehensive Management Plan". The major issue is how to deal with overuse and the role of the
"wilderness". The law that created the NPS is called the "1916 Organic Act". It dictated 2 themes: Access for all
citizens and preservation for future generations. The Friends of Yosemite Valley want the park to revert to a
more wilderness environment while 21st century visitors are proving to be more "day users" than rugged multi-
day back country campers. If you want to attend:
James R. Browning US Courthouse
United States Court of Appeals - 9th Circuit
95 Seventh Street
San Francisco, California 94103
Wednesday, October 10, 2007 3:00 p.m. Courtroom 1, 3rd Floor

NPS Cententenial Initiative (Aug 24, 20070 - NPS Press Release)
Today at Yosemite, US Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne announced the National Park Service's
“Centennial Initiative” This program allow projects that are eligible for centennial challenge matching funds.
The proposals represent a total investment of $370 million with nearly $216 million in private financial
commitments. The initiative calls for $1 billion over 10 years to strengthen basic park operations, beginning in
FY08, or October 1. Under the initiative, partners commit to provide at least a 50 percent public-private funding
cash match.
The remaining hurdle will be to get Congressional approval to include centennial challenge money in the next
budget. The approved projects must comply with the 5 NPS Centennial (2016) centennial vision goals of:
stewardship, environmental leadership, education, recreational experience and professional excellence. At
Yosemite, this includes $4M to “Rehabilitate Premier Visitor Use Trails” i.e. restoration of more than 50 miles
of important foot trails. Prime is the Mist Trail. Another project will be the $3.1M  “Creation of a Signature
Yosemite Institute Environmental Education Campus” program.  Also, Yosemite will institute a quarterly
meeting of its 5 major partners to share resources and coordinate objectives and activities. For a complete
read of the Centennial Initiative, click here. Read all the attachments – especially the one called “Park &
Program Centennial Strategies” – go to Yosemite and read the 14 page Implementation Strategy.

Man dies on Half Dome Trail (July 19, 2007)
Jose Vasquez, 53, of Lodi, California, died about a half mile up from the Sunrise trail intersection. This is
roughly at 7000 ft and about 2 miles from Half Dome. This occurred early on the afternoon of  Wednesday, July
11th. The cause of death has not yet been determined, but it is believed he had a heart attack.  He had hoped
to one day climb Mt. Everest. Wednesday was his first time at Yosemite and he went alone.  He was a  lab
technician for more than 30 years, most recently at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Stockton. He was a big
soccer fan.

Yosemite Fees NOT going up (June 22, 2007)
Contrary to a plan discussed in January (see below) fees for entering Yosemite will not be raised. NPS
Director, Mary Bomar said that YNP entry fees will remain at $20 a car and other types of entry fees willstay the
same. It was felt that this would allow visitors an affordable vacation. No decision on increaes at the other
National Parks has been made.

Highway 140 repair plans  (May 27, 2007)
In a follow-up to the Dec 22 story (below), CalTrans has announced alternatives for the Hwy 140 landslide
mess. Here’s a summary. One will be chosen by 2008 with the solution in place by 2012.
·        $378M – a mile-long tunnel
·        $ 77M – a short tunnel
·        $ 71M – Removing the debris pile and building a tunnel thru the sensitive area
·        $ 53M – Cutting a road on other side of Merced
·        $ 35M – Elevating the road above the slide area

Yosemite visitors find more solitude (Jan 23, 2007)
San Jose Mercury News Cover story - By Paul Rogers
In this front page story, it's reported that Yosemite National Park attendance for 2006 was 3.36
million,  down from the high in 1996 of 4.19 million. The cause for the drop was attributed to many  
factors. The record flood of 1996 (which saw over 500 campsites and over 200 rooms at the Yosemite  
Lodge lost. In addition, the Highway 140 landslide closed that road from April through August.
Increased admission prices and other forms of entertainment also were cited. Ranger Scott Gediman
was quoted as saying: "Half Dome is now competing with PlayStation and
XBox."  Attendance at all U.S. National Parks is down 5% since 1999.


Highway 140 Access Solution Pondered (Dec 22, 2006)
The summer of 2006 was not a good one for visitors to Yosemite arriving via Highway 140 from Merced. In May,
90,000 cubic yards of debris slide off Ferguson Ridge blocking the highway for months. This is not far from the
park entrance. A temporary bridge was build to by-pass the slide. It worked, but many park employees and
visitors were greatly inconvenienced. A long term solution is being sought by the state – cost estimates range
upwards of $100M for a fix. Restoring the highway is high priority for the California Department of
Transportation. The final solution may be years away, but mother nature could rain down more debris in the
future. About 10 times what has fallen sits on the slope and winter rains could dislodge more. Be advised if you
plan to travel 140 to the park. A very dramatic picture!
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Ferguson Rock Slide - Hwy 140
Bailey Bridge by-pass