Yosemite Climbers Sue National Park
A coalition of rockclimbers and mountaineering organizations filed a lawsuit
today in federal District Court to stop the National Park Service from
constructing employee and visitor lodging in a campsite and adjoining
woodlands known throughout the mountaineering world as Camp 4. Listed as
plaintiffs are many of the greatest names of Yosemite's renown climbing
history, including Tom Frost, Yvon Chouinard, Royal Robbins, David Brower,
Warren Harding, Lynn Hill, Galen Rowell, and many others (biographical
information listed below).
Citing the National Environmental Policy Act, the plaintiffs allege that the
National Park Service and the Department of the Interior failed to comply with
federal law in planning to develop an expansive housing complex for 340
employees and guest facilities for an additional 192 visitors at the very edge
of the Camp 4 campground, and in an adjacent undisturbed woodland. Camp 4 has
been the meeting area and cultural center for both American and international
rockclimbers planning their ascents in the Valley since before WWII. Camp 4 is
also known to the camping public as the only campsite in the Valley where
reservations are not required and the fee is a mere $3 nightly. The plaintiffs
contend that the construction plans ignored the cultural and historic value of
Camp 4 by siting a three-story dormitory multiplex, and a parking area the
size of one and one half football fields on the edge of Camp 4. Plaintiffs
contend the plans similarly ignore the environmental and public enjoyment value of the
adjacent forest and boulders, where twelve lodging "fourplexes"- each the size
of a mid-sized home - would be constructed in the currently undeveloped
woodland.
The suit grows from strong public objection by climbers and environmentalists
to the new construction plans for the Yosemite Lodge in Yosemite Valley,
unveiled in April 1997. Early protest to the planned expansion argued that it
violates the Park's General Management Plan (which calls for the progressive
reduction of manmade facilities in the Park) and that the cost of lodging
under the proposal would increase by replacement of inexpensive rustic cabins
with motel-style units. Plaintiffs in the current legal action further
contend that alternatives to the proposal (including removal of the facolities
from the Valley) were not considered, and that the plan would improperly spend
public flood-relief money to construct the new commercial complex.
Plaintiffs have emphasized their support for the National Park Service mission
of preservation, and question the influence of the Park's private concessioner
in the planning process. Yosemite's concession contract is managed by the
Delaware North Corporation, a privately held Fortune 400 company. Plaintiffs
include the American Alpine Club, The Friends of Yosemite Valley, The Access
Fund, and many individuals, including:
- WARREN HARDING, who was the first man to climb El Capitan;
- ROYAL ROBBINS, YVON CHOUINARD, and TOM FROST, who began
climbing in the 1950s and established the key first ascents on El Capitan. Chouinard
and Frost engineered climbing equipment which became the world's standard,
later founding the pro-environmental company Patagonia. Royal Robbins has
been credited with establishing the ethics and standards of rockclimbing that
dominate the sport today.
- GALEN ROWELL is the former photographer laureate of Yosemite Valley, and an
internationaly recognized nature photographer, author and publisher.
- LYNN HILL is considered by many to be the premier American woman
rockclimber. She is a recipient of the Underhill Award for her achievements
in the sport.
- DAVID BROWER is the former president of the Sierra Club, and recognized as
one of this nation's leading preservationists. He established many first
ascents as a climber in Yosemite in the 1930s. He has been nominated three
times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Letter to RD from Dick Duane regarding the proposed Yosemite Lawsuit