Plan Calls for Extensive Improvements in Yosemite's Largest Giant Sequoia Grove
Yosemite National Park announces the opening of public scoping for the Mariposa Grove Restoration Plan Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The scoping period will begin Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2001 and extend through Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. Comments will be used to assist the park in a plan that will meet the purpose and need of the project.
The Mariposa Grove is the largest of the three giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) groves in Yosemite National Park and was part of the original Yosemite Grant signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864 (the rest of the grant included Yosemite Valley). The giant sequoias are the largest living things and can measure up to 35 feet in diameter and up to 300 feet in height. There are approximately 500 mature sequoia trees in the grove.
The proposed plan aims to restore the Giant Sequoia habitat in the Mariposa Grove. This would be accomplished through a range of actions including:
* Restoring the natural hydrology within the grove
* Removing unnecessary infrastructure
* Realigning roads and trails in sensitive sequoia habitat
* Relocating the existing visitor parking
* Reducing visitor trampling of soils and vegetation around the giant sequoias
The project also seeks to improve the visitor experience within the Mariposa Grove by assessing visitor facilities and transportation.
A public Open House will take place tomorrow, Aug. 31, 2011, and again on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Yosemite Valley at the Visitor Center Auditorium. Park staff will be available to discuss the project, answer questions, and accept comments.
Comments can be submitted either in person at public meetings, by mail, fax, or online.
Online comments can be submitted through the Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/yose/mariposagrove.
Written comments can be mailed to:
Yosemite National Park, Superintendent
Attn: Mariposa Grove Restoration Plan
P.O. Box 577
Yosemite, CA 95389
Comments can also be faxed to 209/379-1294
For more information about this project: https://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/mgrove.htm
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
