Hugging the Wrong Trees
It is axiomatic that the more beautiful a place, the more people it attracts, thereby ruining the beauty of the place. Is this the case for the Yosemite Valley in California?
Years ago while living in the San Francisco Bay area, I went camping every chance I had in the Yosemite Valley. It was a camping paradise. There were spectacular views of geological wonders including Half Dome, Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, the El Capitan granite monolith, open meadows, oak and pine trees with the Merced river flowing through the length of the valley floor.
I moved back to Texas and did not get back to Yosemite until 40 years had gone by. When I did, I was shocked! But, it was not the crowds of people. IT WAS THE TREES!
The Park Service had diligently protected the conifers from fire and disease. Pines and firs had grown to the point where spectacular views had been obscured. They had encroached on the meadows. Oak trees, which the Yosemite Indians had depended upon for acorns as a food source had been crowded out.
I thought at first that my memory was deceiving me. I asked a park ranger. He said, “No, it is true. In the past, one could ride a horse at full gallop the seven mile length of the valley and not get brushed by a tree branch”.
In fact, early photographs bear this out. A photo taken from Glacier Point in the mid 1800’s, shows the valley floor and surrounding slopes having only scattered trees. It is believed the Yosemite Indians maintained oaks for the acorn crop and burned off the conifers. It is estimated that two thirds of the meadows have been lost to conifers.
A few months after this visit, I received a letter from an environmental organization requesting a donation to help them offset the impact of the thousands of visitors to the park. I wrote back the major impact was not the visitors but the conifers overrunning the park. I suggested logging out the offending trees and the sale of the lumber would far outweigh any pittance I could contribute. Needless to say, I never heard back from them.
A couple of years have gone by and to my surprise and pleasure the National Park Service seems to agree with me! The Los Angeles Times and several web sites have come forth with the news that plans are in the works, starting in 2012, to start cutting down conifers in selected areas of the valley to once again open up the vistas that have been lost..
I recognize many will be against the cutting down of any trees. The question is, what is important. Is it a matter of maintaining a “pristine wilderness”. Is it a matter of what is the “climax vegetation” of the valley that must be achieved? Is it a matter of maintaining the appearance of the Valley as it appeared when President Lincoln declared it a national park?
“Climax vegetation” is the collection of plant types that establish themselves at any given site over a long period of time if left undisturbed. If a collection of conifer types should be considered the “climax vegetation” of the Yosemite Valley it would have been periodically destroyed by naturally occurring forest fires. If not naturally, then definitely by the Yosemite Indians. I don’t know if anyone really knows what the climax vegetation may have been before the Indians.
In any event, the dominant beauty of the valley is the geological features produced during the ice age by the glacier that carved out the valley creating the spectacular waterfalls and stone monoliths. .In this case, it is not the hoards of people that are ruining the beauty of Yosemite Vally, it is the hoards of trees that have cut off the beautiful views from the hoards of people. .
P.S. I admit the hoards of people are a problem, too, insofar as getting around in the valley because of the traffic. It is probably a good idea to go in the spring when it is warm enough for snow water to be cascading over the falls and before California schools have let out for the summer. Winter is not bad either if you don’t mind freezing and don’t care to drive to the Mariposa Grove of the giant sequoias as the road will be snowed in.
P.P.S. Merry Christmas to all the Whipples and friends.
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