For your last day, enjoy a short hike on the shores of the beautiful Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. In contrast to the utilitarian view, the preservationist approach denied the assumption that the natural world existed solely to serve mans purposes. Proponents of the dam replied that out of multiple sites considered by San Francisco, Hetch Hetchy had the "perfect architecture for a reservoir",[43] with pristine water, lack of development or private property, a steep-sided and flat-floored profile that would maximize the amount of water stored, and a narrow outlet ideal for placement of a dam. Ultimately, San Francisco sold hydropower from the dam to the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), which led to decades of legal wrangling and controversy over terms in the Raker Act. The locations of these two formations roughly correspond with those of Cathedral Rocks and El Capitan seen from Tunnel View in Yosemite Valley. SPUR wholeheartedly agrees that planning for water quality and reliability is important. A) 5 billion B . It's dumb, dumb, dumb. The O'Shaughnessy Dam is near Yosemite's western boundary, but the long, narrow, fingerlike reservoir stretches eastward for about 8 miles (13km). People have died after being swept off the bridge and onto the rocks below. If you delight in getting off the well-beaten path, or if you are looking for a peaceful natural retreat, its perfection. In 1913, Woodrow Wilson appointed Lane his Secretary of the Interior. Could you imagine building a dam inside a national park today? From our petition "The cost of replacing water storage in Hetch Hetchy Valley to maintain the current levels of water service and electrical power production by CCSF would be approximately 2 billion dollars, including 199 million dollars for additional interties, 372 million dollars for water supply, 387 million dollars for water treatment, 669 Not to be outdone by Los Angeles, San Francisco had a greater feat in mind: dam the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park and pipe the water into San Francisco. The proposed study would also have been required to identify potential replacements for the water storage capacity and hydroelectric power production.[87][88]. Like Muir, she felt the beauty of the valley was a national treasure which ought to be preserved. The Tuolumne River originates in the peaks above Tuolumne Meadows and is the major drainage system for the northern part of Yosemite. In the 21st century, Ken Brower, son of the renown environmentalist David Brower, wrote a fascinating account of the failed campaign to save Hetch Hetchy and the modern effort to Reverse an American Mistake, complete with speculation about how the rebirth of a wild valley might evolve. [citation needed], The Hetch Hetchy Valley began as a V-shaped river canyon cut out by the ancestral Tuolumne River. To do so, it would either have to buy out the private monopoly at an exorbitant price or outmaneuver or outbid Spring Valley for a potential new reservoir., (Source: Natural Rivals: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the Creation of Americas Public Lands, John Clayton). Use good judgment and stay safe. Photo: Theresa Ho, Of course, the proposal was immediately opposed by environmentalists including the Sierra Club and John Muir. In 2006, the California State Department of Water Resources (DWR) and Department of Parks and Recreation evaluated the cost estimates of multiple feasibility studies conducted between 1988 and 2005. The Hetch Hetchy Road drops into the valley at the dam, but all points east of there are roadless, and accessible only to hikers and equestrians. [2], Wapama Falls, at 1,080ft (330m), and Tueeulala Falls, at 840ft (260m) both among the tallest waterfalls in North America are both located in Hetch Hetchy Valley. [8], Before damming, the valley floor contained abundant stands of black oaks, live oak, Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and silver fir bordering the meadows, with alder, willow, poplar and dogwood in the riparian zone along the Tuolumne River. It is part of our More than Just Parks Environmental Heroes series. Most of the dam would remain in place, both to avoid the enormous costs of demolition and removal, and to serve as a monument for the workers who built it. It carried workers and materials for the dam, as well as tourists, postage and other amenities. Would that be an improvement? The imputed motive was to divide the environmental movement: to see residents of the strongly Democratic city of San Francisco coming out against an environmental issue. Without Hetch Hetchy as its primary reservoir, San Francisco will be forced to pump and filter its water for the first time in a century, and lose out on the 726 million kilowatt-hours produced by . "[32], In 1867, Charles F. Hoffman of the California Geological Survey conducted the first survey of the valley. [57] Pipelines 3 and 4 end at the Pulgas Water Temple, a small park that contains classical architectural elements which celebrate the water delivery. Photo: Chris Migeon. . A Dam Removal in Progress. We would be trading flooded acres in one place for flooded acres in another. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. [2] The dam and reservoir are the centerpiece of the Hetch Hetchy Project, which in 1934 began to deliver water 167 miles (269km) west to San Francisco and its client municipalities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Put another way, if Congress denied the city of San Francisco the Hetch Hetchy Valley, the California Progressive leaders suspected that it would only be a matter of time before the emerging Pacific Gas and Electric Company would grab the area. Plus, the granite walls converge into a narrow outlet at the bottom of the valley the perfect location for a dam. It spans 900 feet (270 m) with a 17-foot (5.2 m) wide trail across the top that hikers use to cross to the opposite side. But the reservoir has spared it some of the indignities of Yosemite Valley", "San Francisco Department of Elections, November 2012 Results", "San Francisco vote to study draining Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is defeated", "Hetch Hetchy Water and the Bay Area Economy", "Thesis: Water Supply Implications of Removing O'Shaughnessy Dam", "New Irvington Tunnel latest in Hetch Hetchy water system improvements", Current Conditions, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, California Department of Water Resources, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission: Hetch Hetchy Water and Power, California Resources Agency Hetch Hetchy Restoration Study, Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency on Hetch Hetchy dam, National Register of Historic Places in Yosemite National Park, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hetch_Hetchy&oldid=1131920349, History of the Sierra Nevada (United States), Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the National Park Service, Articles with dead external links from May 2019, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2022, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Pages using infobox bridge with empty coordinates parameter, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from October 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 6 January 2023, at 11:49. Download the official NPS app before your next visit. The battle for the Hetch Hetchy Valleys future was not simply preservation versus conservation. strongly against restoration. Building a dam there was off the table. Hetch Hetchy was the first major battle of the environmental movement. [28][29] About 1853, his brother, Joseph Screech (credited in some accounts for the original discovery of the valley)[27] blazed the first trail from Big Oak Flat, a mining camp near present-day Lake Don Pedro,[30] for 38mi (61km) northeast to Hetch Hetchy Valley. The restoration of Hetch Hetchy would be a simple task compared to some dam removal efforts. Start by hiking across the OShaughnessy Dam then turn east along the shore of the reservoir. Most importantly, San Francisco would lose its source of high-quality mountain water, and would have to depend on lower-quality water from other reservoirs which would require costly filtration and re-engineering of the aqueduct system to meet its needs. OPTION 3Give control to the local people of Hetch Hetchy Even a short stroll from the car gives a magnificent view of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir from the OShaughnessy Dam. [41], In 1906, after a major earthquake and subsequent fire that devastated San Francisco, the inadequacy of the city's water system was made tragically clear. One route begins six miles beyond the entrance station. It also was an early battle of conservatives vs progressives. In its natural state, the valley floor was marshy and often flooded in the spring when snow melt in the high Sierra cascaded down the Tuolumne River and backed up behind the narrow gorge which is now spanned by O'Shaughnessy Dam. [21][33] Albert Bierstadt, Charles Dorman Robinson and William Keith were known for their landscapes that drew tourists to the Hetch Hetchy Valley. [47] On October 28, 1934 twenty years after the beginning of construction on the Hetch Hetchy project a crowd of 20,000 San Franciscans gathered to celebrate the arrival of the first Hetch Hetchy water in the city. Over the next decade, he produced fifteen large oils that transformed the valley into a dreamland unlike anything that ever met mortal eye.. Show More. This valley was isolated and remote, twenty miles northwest of the original. In the 19th century, the first white visitors to the valley did not realize that Hetch Hetchy's extensive meadows were the product of millennia of management by Native Americans; instead they believed "the valley was purely a product of ancient geological forces (or divine intervention) this was fundamental to its allure as a destination and subject. Slow-moving reservoirs heat up, resulting in abnormal temperature fluctuations which can affect sensitive species. This trail is 13 miles round-trip with 3,700 feet elevation gain. There is plenty to see and do right here, from kayaking on the water to climbing the magnificent domes above. Franklin Lane served as the attorney for the city of San Francisco in 1903. Finally, with the railroad complete, teams broke ground on the OShaughnessy Dam on August 1, 1919. [54] An additional hydroelectric system comprising Cherry Lake, Lake Eleanor and the Holm Powerhouse is also part of the Hetch Hetchy Project, adding another 169 megawatts of generating capacity. The OShaughnessy Dam was completed in 1938 and is 430-feet tall. This is a place considered by John Muir to be equal in beauty to Yose. In the early 20th century, San Francisco flooded the Hetch Hetchy Valley, destroying "one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples." This is why the city can now ban new natural gas. William Howard Taft became president in 1909. Restore Hetch Hetchy and the Environmental Defense Funds own studies support a lower cost estimate, ranging from $1 billion to $2 billion. Furthermore, they provided a place for the wild plants and creatures to live out their own lives, according to their purposes. [5] Chief Tenaya of the Yosemite Valley's Ahwaneechee tribe claimed that Hetch Hetchy was Miwok for "Valley of the Two Trees", referring to a pair of yellow pines that once stood at the head of Hetch Hetchy. Winter weather conditions may cause road closures. Eighty-five percent of the water comes from Sierra Nevada snowmelt stored in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir situated on the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park. Animals were principally driven along Joseph Screech's trail from Big Oak Flat to Hetch Hetchy. San Francisco Mayor James Phelan led the fight to build a dam at Hetch Hetchy. No picture of the giant sequoia trees in Yosemite National Park manages to fully capture their immense size and majesty. [40] By the 1880s, San Francisco was looking to Hetch Hetchy water as a fix for its outdated and unreliable water system. Muir observed:[3]. Friday, enjoy an evening about bats starting at 7 pm. What should be the fate of prairies, wetlands, or coastal marshes? If the dam were not to be built, it would only benefit the small percentage of Americans who actually visited the site and were concerned about the park's pristine condition. 2023 Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau, Yosemite Itineraries: What to Do in Yosemite. This can lead to algal blooms and decreased oxygen levels. In November 2012, San Francisco voters soundly rejected Proposition F,[86] which would have required the city to conduct an $8 million study on how the flooded valley could be drained and restored to its former state. Gifford Pinchot: A 2021 Lesson From Americas First Forester, Meet The Real Life Batman & Robin Of The National Parks, Natural Rivals: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the Creation of Americas Public Lands, Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism, Son of the Wilderness: The Life of John Muir, General Sherman Tree: Everything You Need to Know About The Largest Tree in the World, 11 BEST National Parks Near San Francisco to Visit (Expert Guide), 7 EPIC National Parks Near Santa Ana Youll Love (Photos + Guide). Day 6: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to San Francisco. [58], Water from Hetch Hetchy is some of the cleanest municipal water in the United States; San Francisco is one of six U.S. cities not required by law to filter its tap water, although the water is disinfected by ozonation and, since 2011, exposure to UV. [8], While its cousin Yosemite Valley to the south had permanent Miwok settlements,[25] Hetch Hetchy was only seasonally inhabited. The extensive amount of storage, which is designed to benefit the Bay Area as droughts become more severe with climate. First, the beauty of the valley which they felt should not be sacrificed to build a dam. As surely as forests provided timber, so did they provide beauty, inspiration, and the renewal of over-citified spirits. Yes, the plan to drain Hetch Hetchy involves causing new ecological damage. [35] Muir, who himself had briefly worked as a shepherd in Hetch Hetchy, was known for calling sheep "hoofed locusts" because of their environmental impact. Loss of the reservoir would decrease the Bay Areas water and energy security, requiring new water storage (possibly in reservoirs not owned by San Francisco) and the development of new water and energy supplies. As well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been . While youre at it, plan to add to the historic flavor of this route with a stop the Northern Mariposa County History Center. Due to large cataracts on the Tuolumne River upstream, Hetch Hetchy Valley may have been in the uppermost range for native rainbow trout in the river. This effort was famously and vociferously fought by John Muir and was the subject of a national debate for years; the loss later galvanized the Sierra Club to successfully oppose large dams in Dinosaur National Monument and Grand Canyon National Park. Shasta, Oroville, Hetch Hetchy and many others were built by damming large rivers. Yet it also highlighted the division within the conservation movement over two fundamental principles: utilitarian conservation versus preservation. [4] A broad, low rocky outcrop situated between Kolana Rock and Hetch Hetchy Dome divided the former meadow in two distinct sections. Impounded by O'Shaughnessy Dam, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir water passes through hydroelectric powerhouses before it enters the San Joaquin Pipelines, the Tesla Ultraviolet Treatment Facility, and the Coast Range Tunnel on its journey to the Bay Area. As well dam for water tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.'. As a 13.4-mile (21.4 km) round-trip hike, Rancheria Falls gets fewer day-hikers than Wapama Falls but is a popular backpacking stop. [2] Coming from the San Francisco Bay Area youll pass right through Buck Meadows on Highway 120. Those who did visit it were enchanted by its scenery, but encountered difficulties with the primitive conditions and, in summertime, swarms of mosquitoes. At the time, neither side understood the long-range consequences of human actions to manage the environment. A bigger population will increase demand, meanwhile climate change could significantly reduce supply through drought and hydrological cycle changes. Slow down and spend the day at Tenaya Lake a beautiful and easy-to-get-to alpine lake cupped by granite domes. The new. They poured an estimated total of more than 398,000 cubic yards (304,000 cubic meters) of concrete to form the dam. The battle over Hetch Hetchy was a fight to determine whether a beautiful valley would remain in its natural state or service the growing city of San Franciscos water needs. [8] Rancheria Falls is located farther southeast, on Rancheria Creek. As the Hetch Hetchy Valley was part of Yosemite National Park, Hitchcock preferred to protect the parks natural wonders. The National Park Service concluded that two years after draining the valley, grasses would cover most of its floor and within 10 years, clumps of cone-bearing trees and some oaks would take root. Albert Bierstadt was known for his sweeping landscapes of the American West. Horace Albright, the second director of the National Park Service, wrote that Franklin Lanes appointment to the cabinet was made specifically for the purpose of pushing this [Hetch Hetchy project], the so-called Raker-Pittman Bill. (Source: The Battle Over Hetch Hetchy, Robert W. Righter). The network goes from the Sierra Nevada mountains, across the Central Valley and out to the coast, and serves 2.5 million Californians in 30 cities across four counties. Congress, confronted with rising public opposition, refused to act on the measure. Above all, one's behavior Argument Against The Hetchy Dam 587 Words | 3 Pages In this unmanaged scenario, where nature is left to take hold in the valley, eventually a forest would grow, rather than the meadow being restored. When youre standing at the shore overlooking what appears to be a lake, picture yourself looking down into a verdant valley filled with the tall native grasses that give the valley its name. Upcountry and the Bay Area. Annie Li, a senior engineer at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, points to the yellow and brown squiggly lines on the map, revealing our water's path from Hetch Hetchy to the Bay Area. The San Francisco Bulletin printed a Dec. 1, 1913, story calling the bills opponents a crowd ofnature lovers and fakers, who are waging a sentimental campaign to preserve the Hetch Hetchy Valley as a public playground, a purpose for which it has never been used.. Another popular trail crosses the OShaughnessy Dam and then takes a left turn to climb steeply out of the Hetch Hetchy valley. [5], The valley is fed by the Tuolumne River, Falls Creek, Tiltill Creek, Rancheria Creek, and numerous smaller streams which collectively drain a watershed of 459sqmi (1,190km2). This is why environmental impact statements, which were not required prior to 1969, are so important today. Dam the Hetch Hetchy! Today, descendants of these people still use milkweed, deergrass, bracken fern, willow, and other plants for a variety of uses including baskets, medicines, and string. [54] The entire system produces about 1.7 billion kilowatt hours per year, enough to meet 20% of San Francisco's electricity needs. A full breakfast is served in the dining room. In 2019, Restore Hetch Hetchy commissioned another study that found enormous recreational value from removing the dam. Due to its high-altitude location at 3,900 feet above sea level and its snowmelt-fed water supply, water from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir behind O'Shaughnessy Dam does not require filtration. This option favors building a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley to provide hundreds of thou- sands of San Francisco residents with water and electricitybasic necessities for health and well-being, as well as urban development and economic growth. Photo: Kim Lawson. But if you still have energy, continue past the bridge to Rancheria Falls. If youre especially in the mood to relax and let yourself be taken care of, The Blackberry Inn is a luxury bed and breakfast situated on 36 acres and surrounded by National Forest land. I will agree to take down Hetch Hetchy, when we first replace it with a bigger new reservoir such as a bigger taller Yosemite Valley dam at El Capitan. John Muir, the first president of the Sierra Club, condemned plans to build the dam, saying, "Dam Hetch Hetchy!
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