National Park Service Goals for Yosemite

National Park Service Mission

"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 manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."
(from the 1916 Organic Act)

National Park Service 1980 -- General Management Plan Goals

Reclaim Natural Beauty
Yosemite is too valuable to use for administration, maintenance, parking, or any commercial services that do not contribute directly to a quality park experience. All facilities not contributing directly to a quality park experience, including non-essential staff housing, office space, National Park Service and concessionaire headquarters are to be removed.

Markedly Reduce Traffic Congestion
The single greatest threat to the enjoyment of the natural and scenic qualities of Yosemite is automobile traffic. The ultimate goal of the National Park Service is to "remove all private vehicles from Yosemite Valley" and substitute public transportation.

Promote Visitor Understanding and Enjoyment
The amount and kinds of information and traditional interpretive programs for visitors should greatly increase. Creative audiovisual programs and park displays will help visitors to understand the processes and events that have shaped Yosemite's natural features and the relationship of our cultural values to preservation of the park.

Reduce Crowding
Relocate most visitor facilities outside the national park, where local businesses can compete for visitor dollars, in the best spirit of the American free enterprise system. Allow visitors to tour the Park for the beauty of the natural wonders, not because they are attracted to concession activities, food services, or "profit centers."

Allow Natural Processes to Prevail
The primary objective of natural resource management is to restore and perpetuate the natural processes of the park's ecosystems, recognizing that Yosemite is a dynamic natural system of interrelated and evolving forms, and not a static accumulation of geologic and biologic features. In developed areas like the Valley, facilities should be removed from floodplains and geologic hazard areas in deference to these natural phenomena.

National Park Service General Management Plan Examination Report

In a review, published in August 1990, of the status of implementing the 1980 General Management Plan, the NPS received 19,035 letters and comments from individuals. Of these responses, over 54% supported the 1980 GMP as is, 10% asked for revisions, and 37% had no opinion. As to transportation, while two individuals stated that more cars and congestion were acceptable to them, 37% preferred fewer cars and less congestion, and 13% believed existing levels are acceptable.

National Park Service Task Directive (March, 1993)

In a Yosemite Valley Implementation Plan, the NPS will, with public involvement, create "a detailed zoning plan for Yosemite Valley that will provide more definition than the zoning included in the 1980 GMP, a cultural landscape plan, a transportation plan, and an analysis to determine what essential functions must remain in the Valley. All existing and approved plans for Yosemite Valley will be used as planning constraints and will not be substantially altered by the new plan.

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