Our campaign to restore Hetch Hetchy is deeply rooted in the sanctity of our national parks, that Hetch Hetchy’s damming was a singular historic insult, a wrong that must be made right.
Hetch Hetchy in 1908 (Photo Matt Ashby Wolfskill)
Recent massive widespread terminations of Rangers are a modern day insult, as we realize our wildly popular national parks cannot handle visitors without adequate staff, especially with the busy summer season approaching.
Let’s restore Hetch Hetchy. And let’s ensure we have enough full-time and seasonal Rangers to protect our lands as we welcome visitors, and let’s treat those Rangers with the dignity they deserve.
Hetch Hetchy’s place in history extends beyond the flooding of the valley. Less than three years after sacrificing the valley to a dam and reservoir for San Francisco, Congress passed the National Park Service Act – legislation that created the National Park Service itself and helped to insure that our parks would be better protected from parochial interests in the future.
So the story of Hetch Hetchy is directly linked to today’s Rangers.
As President Franklin D. Roosevelt explained, “There is nothing so American as our national parks … the fundamental idea behind the parks … is that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us.”
In a 2005 editorial opinion for the San Francisco Chronicle, Congressman John Garamendi wrote “As we encourage economic growth in California, we should also make a commitment to cherish and sustain our spectacular natural heritage. I can think of no better way than restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley for our children and grandchildren.
Yes, our national parks belong to all of us – a venerable part of our identity that dates back to Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Yosemite Grant in 1864 “upon the express conditions that the premises shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation [and] shall be inalienable for all time.”
Yet these conditions are threatened today as the Department of Government Efficiency has terminated positions in Yosemite and other parks from thousands of miles away with disregard to staffing needs and job performance. As NBC notes, fewer employees could mean longer entry lines, dirty bathrooms and unsafe conditions for hikers and campers.
There’s hope that DOGE’s chainsaw will be scaled back. We are grateful to the 22 Senators who wrote Secretary Burgum asking him to “immediately reissue seasonal employment offers”. And the Associated Press has reported that at least some employee terminations have in fact been rescinded.
Still, what happens next is uncertain. 2025 will be an interesting year at Yosemite National Park. Will a new Superintendent be hired? Will a reservation system be in place. Will there be staff to open the Tuolumne Meadows Campground? How much public access will be allowed at Hetch Hetchy? Inquiring minds want to know, but we will have to wait.
Let’s get Yosemite and all our parks back to their “normal” operating status. Then let’s return to what needs to be done to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley to its natural splendor