Spring 2008 - Yosemite Conservancy

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GET INVOLVED! For more information about Wild and Scenic River planning in Yosemite National Park, please visit the following web sites for the most current information about upcoming planning workshops and materials for review and comment. Also, please feel free to contact the Project Mangers for either effort. If you would like to receive their periodic e-newsletter, please email yose_planning@nps.gov and ask to join the mailing list. New Merced River Plan http://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/newmrp.htm Elexis Mayer, Project Manager (209) 379-1377 elexis_mayer@nps.gov Tuolumne River Plan/Tuolumne Meadows Plan http://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/trp.htm Kristina Rylands, Project Manager (209) 379-1175 kristina_rylands@nps.gov South fork of the Merced River in Wawona. ROBIN WEISS To learn more about the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, visit www.rivers.gov forging connections to rivers. Once designated, the law calls for permanent protection and enhancement of the river’s free-flowing character, water quality and unique values. October 2, 2008, marks the fortieth anniversary of the passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. THE LAW AND THE PLAN While the law protects wild rivers, it is up to the managing agency to put a plan in place that spells out how the river will be preserved. In 1986, Congress amended the Act to require land managers to develop a comprehensive management plan to guide future actions in the river corridor. Currently, the National Park Service is preparing individual management plans for both the Merced and Tuolumne Wild and Scenic Rivers in Yosemite National Park. As a central part of these planning efforts, the National Park Service welcomes public participation through all facets of the plans’ development. Through a series of PLANNER-FOR-A-DAY public workshops, participants engage in many of the milestone steps taken by the NPS planning teams. For example, one of the primary and foundational steps involved in managing the river is asking the following questions: “what are the characteristics that are truly special about the river” and “what do we envision them to be like in the future” This process— known as establishing desired future conditions—creates the management vision and is the proactive planning piece from which all other actions and decisions are based and measured. This is just one aspect of the process that park planners have opened to the public for input and involvement. Both the Tuolumne River Plan and the Merced River Plan will be accompanied by an environmental impact statement to analyze the effects of a range of management scenarios. These draft documents will be available for public comment in 2009. But this summer, the NPS will give the public a chance to review and comment on early versions of several river management plans. Kristina Rylands has spent nearly ten years working for the National Park Service in Yosemite on wild and scenic river issues and also serves as the president of the River Management Society’s Pacific Chapter. She fell in love with Yosemite along the Tuolumne River as a kid 35 years ago. 6 YOSEMITE ASSOCIATION, SPRING 2008
BY JUN KINOSHITA A LEGACY OF FIRE LOOKING BACK TO LOOK FORWARD IN YOSEMITE VALLEY The landscape that awed early Euro-American visitors to Yosemite Valley was, and is, remarkable for a natural beauty seen nowhere else on earth. But as wild as that landscape looked, its untouched appearance was deceptive. Humans had used fire to manage the vegetation of the Valley for hundreds if not thousands of years. The open vistas onto El Capitan and Half Dome, the lush meadows, and the rich American Indian culture early Euro-American visitors encountered, were the result of a naturally fire-adapted ecosystem harnessed for human benefit. All across North America, from the deep eastern forests, to the Midwest’s broad prairies, to the steep slopes of the Sierra Nevada, the first human inhabitants had observed the effects of natural lightning-caused fire. They watched closely as entire ecosystems first seemed to succumb to the flames, then sprang back rejuvenated. Over time, these first peoples learned to harness the power of fire to shape the landscapes in which they lived. Historic accounts suggest that Native Americans lit wildland fires for many reasons: to herd game into elaborate traps, reduce opportunities for enemies to hide, encourage certain plants to grow, take away resources from enemies and cover retreats. While some of these effects were immediate, others suggest long-term planning and a deep understanding of complex ecosystems. Fires encouraged new growth the following season that would attract game, or straight growth in plant material used for baskets and tools. Fires set on a regular basis favored the growth of certain staple plant communities over others. A culture whose diet depended heavily on rich acorns would find advantage by encouraging oak growth in open meadows and reducing shade-tolerant species such as cedar and pine. Regular burning, they knew, would kill small, encroaching conifers and reduce the buildup of litter and duff that might fuel a hotter, more severe fire that could destroy oaks. For these reasons, cultural groups across North America, including the native inhabitants of Yosemite Valley, developed a knowledge base delineating when to burn, where to ignite and what effects fire might have on a given plant community. This information was the result of hundreds of years of observation intertwined into cultural traditions and practices, and passed down through the generations. The arrival of Spanish explorers into California, and then other Euro-Americans in the Yosemite region, challenged these cultural traditions. Diseases that raced BRENT JOHNSON, NPS ahead of actual contact decimated populations, changing cultural practices. After Euro-American contact, Native American lifeways were fundamentally altered. Efforts to protect the beauty of Yosemite Valley and other areas led to the suppression of all wildland fire. Later, as large tracts of land were set aside as preserves and national parks, the role of fire in ecosystems came to be reexamined. By the middle of the twentieth century, land managers had begun to observe disturbing changes to their parks and forests. Fires were becoming more severe and harder to control. Certain species of trees were being crowded out or were not reproducing. Some critical element was missing, and that element was fire. Concern for public safety and other factors meant that land managers could not allow fire to run freely across the landscape. But it became clear that fire had been, and needed to be, a part of the ecosystem that shaped the beauty of the landscape. From that realization came the start of a complex fire management program that now utilizes a variety of tools and techniques to protect infrastructure and visitors while allowing fire to play as natural a role in the ecosys- Smoke from the prescribed burn curls up past Half Dome. YOSEMITE ASSOCIATION, SPRING 2008 7
Page 1 and 2: A JOURNAL FOR MEMBERS OF THE YOSEMI
Page 3 and 4: BY KRISTINA RYLANDS FOLLOWING YOSEM
Page 5: Nevada Fall is one of the most uniq
Page 9 and 10: used as tinder. Burning sticks and
Page 11 and 12: chairs in front of the cabin. When
Page 13 and 14: BY DAVID GUY ART CONNECTING PEOPLE
Page 15 and 16: PARK PROFILE TOM MEDEMA RAY SANTOS
Page 17 and 18: Two Great Valleys Connected One hun
Page 19 and 20: May We Share Your Address With Othe
Page 21 and 22: YOSEMITE CATALOG BOOKS AWARD WINNER
Page 23 and 24: Edible and Useful Plants of Califor
Page 25 and 26: Robert & Carol Lewis, David & Berni
Page 27 and 28: James Harris, Lorraine Hern, Joyce

Spring 2008 - Yosemite Conservancy

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