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COMMENTS ON DRAFT YOSEMITE VALLEY PLAN |
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by Kirk Helland June, 2000 Mr. Mihalic, my name is Kirk Helland. I have been a resident of Wawona for most of my life. My sister and I attended the one-room Wawona School. When I was a kid, I raced for the Yosemite Ski Team coached by Leroy Rust. During breaks in my education I worked for the Yosemite Park and Curry Company as a gas station attendant, a bus boy, a desk clerk, and a ski instructor. For a time I was a member of the management team at the Wawona Hotel with Ranger Mike Durr’s wife, Judy. Ten years ago I assisted the US Geological Survey conduct their review of Wawona water resources. Last year I worked for the National Park Service as a seasonal member of the NPS Fire Crew. Many of my friends in Wawona are employed either by the National Park Service or by Yosemite Concession Services. I would like to take a few minutes to review the recent history of NPS policies in Wawona. In the 1960’s a private developer sold lots on a steep hillside in North Wawona and began excavation. The development threatened local ecology and cheated the buyers because it was improperly engineered. The NPS condemned the development, and only now have the hillside scars receded. In the 1970’s and 1980’s the NPS conducted a program to acquire private properties in Wawona by offering fair market value to the owners plus lifetime tenancy for a nominal fee. The stated intent of this policy was to reduce the level of development in Wawona by leveling the homes and cabins so acquired. We, the remaining private property owners thought that condemnation was just around the corner. Instead the NPS reversed course and assigned the residences so acquired to NPS and concessionaire employees. Now the NPS has become the largest landlord in Wawona. Mr. Mihalic, in your February 17 letter (addressing the issue of planning and issuance of permits in Wawona) to Bob Pickard, County Supervisor of Mariposa, you state: However, the mission of NPS is, " …to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such a manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Based on the congressionally mandated mission, the NPS cannot agree to any amendments to the town plan which change the small mountain community atmosphere of Wawona or which allow for more intensive development of the area. Mr. Mihalic, how do you reconcile your recent signed statement to Mr. Pickard with the construction of a 200-unit YCS residence complex on the south side of Wawona, as now proposed by the Draft Yosemite Valley Plan? Are you arguing that private development will harm the environment, but government development will not? Do native conifers and hardwoods understand the difference between a private chainsaw and a government chainsaw? We (private landowners, NPS employees, and YCS employees), the residents of Wawona, have long been baffled by inconsistent NPS policies. But we are appalled by the proposition that a new 200-unit complex will not "change the small mountain community atmosphere of Wawona." |
