Yosemite Foundation Document
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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Foundation Document Yosemite National Park California December 2016 Foundation Document k e k e e r e C r Upper C n Yosemite o h y c r Fall n k A a e C e l r Yosemite Point a n C 6936ft y a Lower o 2114m i North Dome e d R t 7525ft i Yosemite n I 2294m m Fall e s ek o re Y U.S. Yosemite Valley Visitor Center C ya Court a Wilderness Center n e Museum Royal Arch T Lower Yosemite Medical Clinic Cascade Fall Trail Washington Columbia YOSEMITE Column Mirror Rock VILLAGE ROYAL Eagle Lake T ARCHES 4094ft Peak H 1248m 7779ft R The Ahwahnee Half Dome 2371m Sentinel Visitor E 8836ft Bridge Parking E North 2693m B Housekeeping Pines Camp 4 R Yosemite Camp Lower O Lodge Pines Chapel Stoneman T Bridge Middle H LeConte Brother E Memorial Road open ONLY to R Lodge pedestrians, bicycles, Ribbon S Visitor Parking and vehicles with Fall Swinging Bridge Curry Village Upper wheelchair emblem Pines Lower placards Sentinel Little Yosemite Valley El Capitan Brother Beach Trailhead for Moran 7569ft Four Mile Trail (summer only) R Point Staircase Mt Broderick i 2307m Trailhead 6706ft 6100 ft b Falls Horse Tail Parking 1859m b 2044m o Fall Trailhead for Vernal n Fall, Nevada Fall, and Glacier Point El Capitan Vernal C 7214 ft Nature Center John Muir Trail r S e e 2199 m at Happy Isles Fall Liberty Cap e n r k t 5044ft 7076ft ve i 4035ft Grizzly Emerald Ri n rced e 1230m 1538m 2157m Me l Peak Pool Silver C Northside Drive ive re Sentinel Apron Dr e North one-way Cathedral k El Capitan e Falls 0 0.5 Kilometer id To Tioga Road, Tuolumne Meadows Bridge Beach hs y ed R ut a y J and Hwy 120; and Hetch Hetchy Merc iv So -w horse trail onl o 0 0.5 Mile er ne Clark hn Nevada o Sentinel M Point uir l Fall Valley Dome Trai Wilderness permit station EL Portal 8122ft 5907ft To El Portal Roa d View C 2476m Washburn 1801m A Food service and lodging and Hwy 140 TH Point Tunnel E Pohono D Restrooms RA View Bridge L To Glacier Point, Bridalveil R I Picnic area O L Park and use the free Yosemite Valley Shuttle Wawona and B C L Fall K I r Sentinel Dome/ L Mariposa Grove; ad i S Yosemite Valley John Muir Trail Horseback riding d Taft Point O o Taft Point R R Hwy 41, Oakhurst, and Fresno a 7503ft Trailhead Shuttle Route Waw U o l I na Cathedral Leaning v 2287m D Illilouette Other trail Campground e E Visitor Spires G T Tower il Fall Parking T C E Paved bikeway r E Walk-in campground e e Glacier Point Road and foot trail k closed November to May Yosemite National Park YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK il ra T STANISLAUS S E t K NATIONAL FOREST s LA e r C IN TW HUMBOLDT-TOIYABE c fi i c NATIONAL a P EMIGRANT FOREST WILDERNESS HOOVER WILDERNESS (staffed intermittently) (staffed intermittently) INYO NATIONAL R FOREST NO l LEA i E a E r LAK T (staffed YOSEMITE WILDERNESS intermittently) t s e Tueeulala Wapama Falls r C Falls Rancheria Lake Eleanor H HETCH C Y (summer only) ET R Falls H ES c ER VO fi I i Tuolumne R c a Hetch Hetchy P Meadows Backpackers Camp River Hetch Visitor Center (wilderness permit required) e n m Hetchy Tuolu Waterwheel Entrance Falls Tioga Pass (limited hours) Entrance r Glen Aulin lumn ve Tuo e Ri er MEADOWS olumne Riv NE M Tu TUOLUM Mather iddle May il Information White Wolf ra Lake T Tuolumne Meadows Station r i u M Big Oak Flat Porcupine P Entrance n a Flat h c i o fi 120 J c lumne R Yosemite o iv Tu e C r Creek Olmsted k r r e Fo South Point s t Hodgdon T Yosemite Valley r Sunrise a Meadow Vogelsang i l TUOLUMNE Visitor Center a GROVE Tamarack n Flat d Joh Upper n & Lower Merced M u Yosemite Lake ir MERCED Merce d Falls Tr ai l GROVE r Y Rive Crane Flat E Vernal L L Fall A Glacier V Point E Nevada Merced Lake I T (staffed intermittently) Y O S E M Fall STANISLAUS Bridalveil Falls NATIONAL Arch Rock FOREST Entrance 140 ed El Portal erc River M Badger Pass Bridalveil YOSEMITE WILDERNESS Yosemite Ski Area Creek West (winter only) ANSEL ADAMS WILDERNESS Wawona Visitor Center Developed (summer only) Campground Chilnualna Fall High Sierra Camps Buck Camp Wilderness (summer only) Wawona Campground S erced River outh Fork M National Forest Campground South MARIPOSA North Entrance GROVE 0 5 Kilometers Mariposa Grove 0 5 Miles 41 SIERRA Fish Camp NATIONAL FOREST Foundation Document Yosemite National Park Contents Mission of the National Park Service 1 Introduction 2 Part 1: Core Components 3 Brief Description of the Park 3 Park Purpose 5 Park Significance 6 Fundamental Resources and Values 8 Interpretive Themes 10 Part 2: Dynamic Components 12 Special Mandates, Special Designations, and Administrative Commitments 12 Special Mandates and Special Designations 12 Administrative Commitments 15 Assessment of Planning and Data Needs 16 Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values 16 Identification of Key Issues and Associated Planning and Data Needs 17 Planning and Data Needs 19 High Priority Planning Needs 20 High Priority Data Needs 22 Part 3: Contributors 25 Yosemite National Park 25 NPS Pacific West Region 25 NPS Denver Service Center – Planning Division 25 Appendixes 26 Appendix A: Enabling Legislation and Legislative Acts for Yosemite National Park 26 Appendix B: Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values 40 Appendix C: Basics for Wilderness Stewardship for Yosemite National Park 54 Appendix D: River Values for the Tuolmne Wild and Scenic River 66 Appendix E: River Values for the Merced Wild and Scenic River 70 Foundation Document Yosemite National Park Mission of the National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world. The NPS core values are a framework in which the National Park Service accomplishes its mission. They express the manner in which, both individually and collectively, the National Park Service pursues its mission. The NPS core values are: · Shared stewardship: We share a commitment to resource stewardship with the global preservation community. · Excellence: We strive continually to learn and improve so that we may achieve the highest ideals of public service. · Integrity: We deal honestly and fairly with the public and one another. · Tradition: We are proud of it; we learn from it; we are not bound by it. · Respect: We embrace each other’s differences so that we may enrich the well-being of everyone. The National Park Service is a bureau within the Department of the Interior. While numerous national park system units were created prior to 1916, it was not until August 25, 1916, that President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act formally establishing the National Park Service. The national park system continues to grow and comprises more than 400 park units covering more than 84 million acres in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These units include, but are not limited to, national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House. The variety and diversity of park units throughout the nation require a strong commitment to resource stewardship and management to ensure both the protection and enjoyment of these resources for future generations. The arrowhead was authorized as the official National Park Service emblem by the Secretary of the Interior on July 20, 1951. The sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water represent scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead represents historical and archeological values. 1 Foundation Document Introduction Every unit of the national park system will have a foundational document to provide basic guidance for planning and management decisions—a foundation for planning and management. The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park as well as the park’s purpose, significance, fundamental resources and values, and interpretive themes. The foundation document also includes special mandates and administrative commitments, an assessment of planning and data needs that identifies planning issues, planning products to be developed, and the associated studies and data required for park planning. Along with the core components, the assessment provides a focus for park planning activities and establishes a baseline from which planning documents are developed. A primary benefit of developing a foundation document is the opportunity to integrate and coordinate all kinds and levels of planning from a single, shared understanding of what is most important about the park. The process of developing a foundation document begins with gathering and integrating information about the park. Next, this information is refined and focused to determine what the most important attributes of the park are. The process of preparing a foundation document aids park managers, staff, and the public in identifying and clearly stating in one document the essential information that is necessary for park management to consider when determining future planning efforts, outlining key planning issues, and protecting resources and values that are integral to park purpose and identity.