In his Pulitzer Prize winning series, Sacramento Bee editor Tom Philp opined “Californians don’t have to be prisoners of a 90-year-old debate. Change is coming to the river.”
Looking to the future, not dwelling on the past, is what Restore Hetch Hetchy is about. Water agencies through California have made investments to assure reliable supplies while lessening impact on rivers and wetlands (e.g. Mono Lake, the Bay-Delta, Central Valley wildlife refuges and Trinity River).
“…the scenic canyon was often compared to nearby Yosemite Valley. Rare photos show the transformation of Hetch Hetchy Valley from untouched paradise …”
It’s great to have the Chronicle acknowledge the spectacular landscape that Hetch Hetchy once was. We invite the Chron, and all San Franciscans, to think about Hetch Hetchy’s future as a valley once more.
We’d also love other newspapers endorse restoration as the Sacramento Bee has. The Los Angeles Times has not (yet) but they did publish the following letterlast Friday:
Letters to the Editor: Relieve the strain on Yosemite Valley. Drain Hetch Hetchy
To the editor: Yosemite Valley is too crowded? Then create a second Yosemite Valley. (“Yosemite has been at its best under pandemic restrictions. Keep the cap on crowds,” Opinion, Dec. 6)
Amazingly, it already exists at Hetch Hetchy, John Muir’s preferred valley in the national park. But it currently serves as a reservoir for San Francisco and is full of water.
Now is the time to empty it. There is more than enough unused reservoir space in California to accommodate all of that water and continue to serve San Francisco without any problem.
Just pull the plug and get to work restoring Hetch Hetchy to what it should be — another Yosemite Valley full of wonders.
William Bergmann, Hollywood
Thanks to Mr. Bergman for writing a great letter and to the Los Angeles Times for publishing. Let’s not be prisoners of the past.
Restore Hetch Hetchy’s 2021 Fall Newsletter is available online. If you’d like a hard copy, email admin@hetchhetchy.org and provide your name and address.
Included the Newsletter:
As expected, supporters want to visit a restored Hetch Hetchy Valley without the traffic and congestion that too often besets Yosemite Valley – most people prefer eliminating private automobiles. Thanks to everyone who has participated in the survey.
An impressive partnership between Yosemite’s Seven Traditionally Associated Tribes and
the National Park Service to restore black oaks in Yosemite Valley.
San Diego’s PureWater Program – such a program in San Francisco would fully replace Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.
Our shopping bag makes a great holiday gift. Email admin@hetchhetchy.org if you’d like to purchase one or more.
We’ve added both board and staff as we’ve begun to implement our strategic plan – adopted in September. Welcome Lucho, Mecia and Mike.
New Faces at Restore Hetch Hetchy (l to r), Board Member Lucho Rivera, Board Member Mecia Serafino, and Community Outreach Liaison Mike Gaffney.
Please consider a contribution to Restore Hetch Hetchy.
A longtime supporter of Restore Hetch Hetchy has generously offered to match contributions, up to $25,000, made during the week of Giving Tuesday. Contribute online or send a check, dated December 4 or before, to Restore Hetch Hetchy, 3286 Adeline St. Suite 7, Berkeley, California 94703.
At a time when our national parks are more popular than ever, Hetch Hetchy can be a new model. We can create a place where natural and cultural resources are truly honored, but without the congestion that too often diminishes the visitor experience.
At Restore Hetch Hetchy, we have been especially busy the last few months. We’ve adopted and begun to implement a strategic plan, invested in additional outreach to communities in and around Yosemite National Park, and are working closely with the National Park Service to improve access and recreation even with the dam in place. Finding Hetch Hetchy, our new rock climbing film, is due out very soon, and will help us tell our story to new audiences – climbers as well as all park lovers.
Opportunities for San Francisco to improve its water system, so it can sustain or improve water supply for its customers without Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, continue to expand. As legally mandated Groundwater Sustainability Plans are put into place, communities, including those along the lower Tuolumne River, will have additional incentive to recharge aquifers. Also, San Diego has embraced new recycling technology that will not only provide half of its water supply but will improve the quality of its beaches – technology that would not only allow Hetch Hetchy Valley to be restored but would improve water quality in San Francisco Bay.
Timmy O’Neill ascends Hetch Hetchy Dome, while Lucho Rivera watches from the portaledge below. Lucho and Timmy, like so many climbers, are passionate about Yosemite and great ambassadors for Hetch Hetchy’s restoration. (Photo: James Q Martin)
As we encourage economic growth in California, we should also make a commitment to cherish and sustain our natural heritage. I can think of no better way than restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley for our children and grandchildren.
Congratulations to Luke Morris of Hendersonville, North Carolina, for taking third place in the 2021 Next Generation Angels Awards Middle School Division. Have a look, we think Luke did a great job. The Henderson Lightning agrees.
The Better Angels Society, run by filmmaker Ken Burns, is dedicated to educating Americans about their history through documentary film. The competition that honored Luke’s documentary drew competitors from all 50 states, as well as China, South Korea, American Samoa, Guam and Singapore.
Hetch Hetchy’s compelling history, and the lesson it has taught us, continues to draw the interest of young people. Students from grade schools and grad schools, and all levels in between, are interested in environmental history and often come to Restore Hetch Hetchy for materials and/or interviews.
Luke Morris, however, did not come to us. His love of hiking in outdoor spaces and parks inspired him to research John Muir. His eighth grade teacher told him about Hetch Hetchy and Luke decided it would be the focus of his film. Luke found some great photographs and did thorough research, creating an excellent film.
Hetch Hetchy continues to loom large in American environmental history. The valley was dammed only after a protracted and bitter battle between San Francisco and “preservationists” (as they were called at the time). Hetch Hetchy Reservoir remains the most harmful development to take place in any one of America’s national parks. Finally, as the film explains, less than three years later, Congress passed the National Park Service Act in large part to ensure that such destruction would never again take place.
As inspiring as the story of Hetch Hetchy has been to date, we think the next chapter – restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley to its natural splendor – will motivate people everywhere to be better stewards of both their own communities and the grand landscapes of our natural world.
From left to right, Cherry, Eleanor and Hetch Hetchy – San Francisco’s three “upcountry” reservoirs. The City also stores water in Don Pedro, downstream on the Tuolumne River, and five reservoirs in the Bay Area. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is a significant, but wholly replaceable, piece of the system.
Sunday’s editorialin the San Francisco Chronicle strongly urged Dennis Herrera, the newly elected General Manager of the City’s Public Utilities Commission, to invest in alternative supplies and lessen the harm to habitats and wildlife caused by its diversions. It’s a positive thing that the Chronicle understands that San Francisco, like all cities and farms, cause harm when water is diverted from the natural world.
For those without a subscription, the editorial includes the following vignettes:
“Conservation won’t be enough. We still need to diversify our water portfolio.”
“There are rivers upon rivers of untapped, drought-resistant fresh water waiting to be captured — our treated sewage outflows.”
“Orange County has the sewage recycling capability to meet the water needs of 1 million residents. There is a not a single environmental sustainability metric in which San Francisco should be trailing Orange County.”
“Herrera has signaled that he’s up to the challenge. San Francisco residents need him to mean it.”
Unfortunately, however, the Chronicle continues its myopia when it comes to Hetch Hetchy. The City’s favorite reservoir is included in the editorial but not associated with the harm the water system has caused. The Chronicle thus continues its long history of supporting aquatic restoration just about everywhere throughout California with the exception of Yosemite – for a few decades of examples of this double standard, see here).
At Restore Hetch Hetchy, we understand the inclination of some San Francisco leaders to hold on to the special (and unprecedented) deal it made with Congress in 1913. It’s time for a paradigm shift. As a whole, San Franciscans need to recognize and undo the harm they have done to Yosemite.
Here’s our letter to the Chronicle – we hope they will print it:
Dear Editor:
San Francisco, like most of California’s cities and farms, do indeed cause harm to habitat and wildlife by diverting water from Sierra rivers. The Chronicle is right that the time to diversify the City’s portfolio with sustainable alternatives, such as recycling, in now.
San Francisco, however, stands alone as the only city in the United States to have inflicted such harm in a national park – something it did a century ago when it clear-cut, dammed and flooded Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Valley. Government agencies, universities and environmental groups have all shown that investments in recycling or groundwater storage would keep water supplies whole while allowing Hetch Hetchy to be returned to a natural and wild state. The time to reclaim all of Yosemite is now as well.
