We are thrilled that, in its latest episode, America’s National Parks podcast explained the Hetch Hetchy story. Host Jason Epperson’sinterview with Executive Director Spreck Rosekrans covers our campaign to restore the valley as well as our five recommendations for improving access until the reservoir can be relocated.
Epperson does a nice job of recognizing Hetch Hetchy for the spectacular resource that it is. We thank him for spreading the word. Please listen – it is only about 14 minutes long – and share it with a friend.
Wapama Falls, descending from the canyon wall on the north side of Hetch Hetchy, is a sight to behold. During spring runoff, it is impressive even from the top of O’Shaughnessy Dam – 3 miles away. To really appreciate the majesty and thunder of Wapama, however, you need to hike around the reservoir to the footbridges which cross Falls Creek.
At Wapama, the water’s descent is not entirely vertical as it is at nearby Tueeulala and at most of the falls in Yosemite Valley. It twists and turns as its torrents plummet over the precipice. Wapama Falls, sometimes likened to a woman’s braided hair being continually unfurled in a windstorm, is one of a kind and best experienced up close.
Like most falls, Wapama is at its most spectacular during the peak of spring runoff. Unfortunately, the footbridges can be unsafe – 4 people have been swept off the bridges to their deaths in the last 10 years. It is hard to say exactly what flow level is safe, but the most recent deaths occurred in 2017 and 2019 when the flows were well over 1000 cubic feet per second, more than twice the levels during recent weeks in this very dry year.
Restore Hetch Hetchy has asked the National Park Service to ensure that Wapama Falls can be safely viewed in two ways. First, the footbridges should be reconstructed so they are safe – even at high water. Second the NPS should employ a quiet, non-polluting, electric tour boat that would let visitors see Wapama from the reservoir. (Visitors could also be allowed to disembark from a tour boat to explore Hetch Hetchy’s side canyons.)
These recommendations are included in our new report – Keeping Promises: Providing Public Access to Hetch Hetchy Valley, Yosemite National Park. When Congress passed the Raker Act in 1913, it clearly intended to provide park visitors with a level of access to the Hetch Hetchy canyon that is not available today. Improved access will provide additional opportunities at a time when our national parks are more popular than ever.
Restore Hetch Hetchy also believes providing improved access to Hetch Hetchy’s majesty will generate public support for relocating the reservoir so the Valley can be restored while fully protecting San Francisco’s water supply.
If you’ve not been to Wapama during the spring, the video below gives a sense of what crossing the footbridges can be like.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed has nominated City Attorney Dennis Herrera to be the next General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. If confirmed by the Commission, Herrera will replace Michael Carlin who has been Acting General Manager since Harlan Kelly’s resignation last fall.
We respect and honor Herrera, as we do all members and staff of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Providing reliable water to San Francisco and other Bay Area communities is an essential task.
Our issue with San Francisco, as Senator Lois Wolk explains, is not over its use of Tuolumne River water but rather how it is stored. No other city has destroyed a national treasure to find a place to store its water.
At Restore Hetch Hetchy, we will always acknowledge the importance of providing reliable water supplies as we contest San Francisco’s continued use of Hetch Hetchy as a storage tank. In our view, San Francisco officials should reciprocate by recognizing the merits of our campaign. Unfortunately, most of the City’s public statements in opposition to Restore Hetch Hetchy, such as the one Herrera made in 2018, fail to acknowledge that the reservoir lies inside Yosemite National Park.
We can do better. We can restore Hetch Hetchy without losing a drop of water. We suspect City leaders in San Francisco will be among the last to endorse restoration. Until they do, we ask that they pay us a modicum of respect by acknowledging our worthy objective of restoring a spectacular landscape in a national park.
We ask that all readers, including both supporters and skeptics of restoration, review Keeping Promisescarefully and consider its merits. Let us know if you’d like a hard copy (510-893-3400 or admin@hetchhetchy.org).
As Keeping Promises shows, when Congress passed the Raker Act allowing San Francisco to build a dam in Hetch Hetchy Valley, it expected the area would still be fully available to park visitors. Unfortunately, for the past century public access to Hetch Hetchy has been limited and few recreational opportunities have been made available.
Camping, lodging, boating and fishing are not available at Hetch Hetchy. There are few trails (and the most popular trail must be closed for safety when Hetch Hetchy’s waterfalls are at their most spectacular). The entrance gate is open only during limited daylight hours, so it’s the rare visitor who sees a sunrise or sunset at Hetch Hetchy. As a result, Hetch Hetchy is the least-visited and most under-appreciated area of Yosemite, receiving barely 1% of the park’s visitors.
We want people to visit Hetch Hetchy and learn its story. While the valley floor lies underwater, the surrounding area is still one of earth’s most spectacular landscapes. We believe improved access will both provide public benefits to today’s park visitors AND build support to empty the reservoir and return Hetch Hetchy Valley to its natural splendor.
It’s time for a change. Keeping Promises documents an incontrovertible history that has been ignored for far too long. Restore Hetch Hetchy has asked the National Park Service to initiate a public dialogue to review and modify how it manages the Hetch Hetchy area. There are ways to improve the visitor experience, consistent with both the letter and spirit of the Raker Act, that would retain the wild character of the Hetch Hetchy canyon and, of course, the water quality in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.
Yosemite National Park has announced that most visitors will require reservations to enter the park between May 21 and September 30 this year. Due to the pandemic, masks and socially distancing etc. will be required.
Just like the people who operate grocery stores, work in health care and provide so many other public services, staff in Yosemite will be working harder than ever under challenging conditions to ensure public safety.
So, if you go, be patient and courteous. Thank, but do not hug, a ranger.
It might also just be a good time to visit Hetch Hetchy. As Carmen George noted in her Fresno Bee article, reservations are not needed to enter Yosemite through the Hetch Hetchy entrance.
That’s good, or not so good, depending on how you look at it.
It’s good, because you can indeed go without a permit. Even with the reservoir covering the valley floor, Hetch Hetchy is a spectacular landscape.
The reason, however, that Hetch Hetchy is so uncrowded is that the National Park Service has never provided the opportunities for visitors that were widely dicussed when the Raker Act was passed and Congress expected would be available at Hetch Hetchy.
Camping, lodging, boating and fishing are not available. There are few trails and Hetch Hetchy’s most popular trail must often be closed for safety when waterfalls are at their most spectacular. The entrance gate is open only during limited daylight hours, so it’s the rare visitor who sees a sunrise or sunset. It’s no wonder Hetch Hetchy is the least-visited and most under-appreciated area of Yosemite and receives barely 1% of the park’s visitors.
Hetch Hetchy can accommodate more visitors in 2021 and in future years while protecting the area’s wilderness quality and wildlife, and without harming water quality in the reservoir. Restore Hetch Hetchy will be asking the National Park Service to provide improved public access. We believe people need to see the wonderful landscape and learn the story of the valley’s damming, so they will then support the opportunity to return Hetch Hetchy to its natural splendor.
