Our Spring Newsletter has been delivered to mailboxes and is posted online. If you have not received a hard copy but would like one – send an email to admin@hetchhetchy.org. Read about the follow up with elected officials to our Cherry Report, our early May trip to Hetch Hetchy, and our work with the National Park Service to improve access at Hetch Hetchy.
A bit more about fishing at Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. We’d heard rumors that access at Hetch Hetchy for fishing at might be allowed before we wrote the newsletter, but we did not know when it might happen – the government can take a while to change. As we have noted, fishing itself that was explicitly prohibited. Going below the high water mark of the reservoir was prohibited so it was not possible to fish for most of the year.
We hope park visitors are able to climb over the rocks to reservoir’s edge and can catch some nice trout. The real fishing, however, will not take place in the reservoir but rather in the Tuolumne River when the reservoir is relocated and the valley is restored.
The San Francisco Chronicle published a provocatively titled article about these new rules for fishing in Yosemite: Yosemite National Park’s permissive new fishing policies spark controversy. The article is really two stories. The first, about allowing fishing year-round, addresses the controversy – concerns that the park might be overfished. The Hetch Hetchy piece, not part of any such controversy and includes some nice quotes from our friend David Gregory of Yosemite Outfitters.
Also, if you support restoring Hetch Hetchy to its natural splendor, please do not forget to sign our petition. We plan to share a long list with elected officials!
