Merced River Plan

Merced River Plan

• Merced River Plan
• Merced River Plan Documents

Overview
The Merced Wild and Scenic River Final Comprehensive Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, released in February 2014, addresses the renowned Merced Wild and Scenic River's 81 miles within Yosemite National Park and the El Portal Administrative Site and functions as the guiding document to protect and enhance river values and manage use within the river corridor for the next 20 years.
 

The Final Merced River Plan/EIS protects the Merced River's free-flowing condition, water quality, and the unique values that has made the celebrated river worthy of special protection under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA). The final plan represents a rich collaboration amongst the public, research scientists, park partners, traditionally-associated American Indians, and park staff to explore visions for the future of Yosemite Valley and the Merced Wild and Scenic River. The final plan brings forward the best in science, stewardship, and public engagement to ensure continual protection and enhancement of the rare, unique, and exemplary qualities of the Merced River.

The Final Merced River Plan/EIS will:

• Establish the Wild and Scenic River's boundaries and segment classifications and provide for protection of the river's free-flowing condition in keeping with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act's Section 7.

• Present descriptions of the river's outstandingly remarkable values (ORVs), which are the unique, rare, or exemplary river-related characteristics that make the river worthy of WSRA designation.

• Document the conditions of ORVs, water quality, and free-flowing condition.

• Identify management objectives for the river, and specific actions that will be implemented to achieve these objectives.

• Commit to a program of ongoing studies and monitoring to ensure management objectives are met.

• Establish a visitor-use and user-capacity management program that addresses the kinds and amounts of public use that the river corridor can sustain while protecting and enhancing river values.

• Fulfill the 1987 legislation designating the Merced River as a component of the National Wild and Scenic River System. Make appropriate revisions to Yosemite's 1980 General Management Plan.

Specific Highlights of the Final Merced River Plan

Protecting the Merced River's Health and Other Resources

• Restoring 189 acres, mostly in meadows and riparian areas. This includes the removal of 6,048 linear feet of riprap (stones and cement in and near riverbeds used for stabilization).

• Planting native vegetation to stabilize riverbanks and improve scenic views along the river.

• Retaining the historic bridges.

• Implementing the Scenic Vista Management Plan to protect views from historic vista points.

• Removing informal trails, non-essential roads, and infrastructure causing impacts to archeological sites.

• Retaining and preserving the Ahwahnee Hotel, Wawona Hotel, Wawona Covered Bridge, LeConte Memorial Lodge, Merced Lake High Sierra Camp, and other historically significant properties.

• Improving meadow hydrology by removing artificial fill, filling ditches, and adding culverts.

Preserving and Enhancing Recreational Opportunities

• Camping will be increased by 37% in Yosemite Valley. This includes building 72 sites in the location of the former Upper and Lower River Campgrounds, 35 walk-in sites east of Camp 4, and 87 sites at the existing Upper Pines Campground. An additional 40 drive-in campsites will be provided at the Trailer Park Village in El Portal.
• The ice skating rink in Curry Village was be moved to its historical 1928 location outside of the river corridor.
• Lodging will be increased slightly corridorwide (3%) and in Yosemite Valley (5%).
• Bicycle and raft rentals will remain available in the park, with rental facilities located outside of the river corridor.
• Picnic and day-use opportunities will be improved and expanded at Yosemite Village, Church Bowl, and Happy Isles.
• Wawona stables services will be expanded.

Improving Transportation System

• Additional shuttle bus service in Yosemite Valley will alleviate private vehicle congestion.
• Regional transit to the park is expanded.
• Park roads will be rerouted to improve traffic flow and visitor safety by reducing vehicle-pedestrian conflicts.
• Significant changes to traffic circulation patterns will be made to meet ecological restoration goals and reduce traffic congestion.
• There will be an 8% increase in parking for day use visitors to Yosemite Valley. This increase includes a new 300-car parking lot located in El Portal with shuttle service to the Valley.

Managing Visitor Use to Ensure High Quality Visitor Experience

• Marked improvements in parking availability, traffic flow, and signage, along with the removal of administrative and industrial facilities will give visitors an enhanced "sense of arrival" to Yosemite Village and the heart of Yosemite Valley.
• Visitation levels will be similar to those seen over the past several years. A user capacity of 18,710 people at one time is established for Yosemite Valley, which will accommodate a peak visitation of approximately 20,100 visitors per day.
• User capacity for East Yosemite Valley will be managed using advanced monitoring and communication systems and rerouting traffic at the El Capitan Traffic Diversion prior to reaching established limits.
• Overnight-use capacity will be managed through wilderness permits and reservation systems for lodging and camping.

Planning Process

Public involvement was a cornerstone of the planning process for the Merced River Plan. Over 30,000 comments were received on the draft plan during a formal public comment period, which ran from January 8, 2013 through April 30, 2013. Originally, the 100-day comment period was slated to close on April 18, 2013. In response to several requests for an extension, the comment period was extended through April 30, 2013. The NPS hosted ten public meetings and four webinars. The NPS received 4,098 individual unique correspondences and 25,302 form letters. Throughout the entire plan's development, the park conducted over 60 public meetings, both in the park, and throughout the state. The park also conducted several webinars to help people understand some of the more complex elements of the plan so they could provide informed comments. Many of the changes between the draft and final plan were the direct result of concerns raised during public meetings, agency and tribal consultation, and in public comments.

The Final Merced River Plan/EIS presents and analyzes six alternatives. Alternative 1 (No Action) would have continued current management and trends in the condition of river values. Alternatives 2, 3, 4, and 6 would have protected and enhanced river values by improving conditions that threaten sensitive meadows, archeological resources, and scenic vistas. The action alternatives varied primarily with regard to the degree of restoration proposed and the amount of visitor use that would be accommodated.

The final preferred alternative (Alternative 5: Enhanced Visitor Experience and Essential Riverbank Restoration) is based on guiding principles that include restoring natural conditions to riparian areas, riverbanks and meadows, modifying the transportation system to provide a better visitor experience in Yosemite Valley, enhancing recreational opportunities, and reducing or eliminating unnecessary facilities and services in the river corridor.

Under the selected alternative, visitors to Yosemite Valley will see marked improvements in the transportation system, including more efficient parking and traffic flow. Coupled with enhancements to meadows, improvements to river access, and extensive riverbank restoration, the visitor experience will be significantly improved. Visitors to Yosemite Village will experience an enhanced "sense of arrival" to the heart of Yosemite Valley, as the plan fully integrates the primary day-use parking area with pathways to visitor services, restrooms, and food service.

Yosemite National Park announced the release of the Merced Wild and Scenic River Final Comprehensive Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on February 14, 2014.

After a 30-day no-action period, the plan was finalized and a Record of Decision was prepared and signed.

Final Documents

Record of Decision (March 2014)

• Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan Record of Decision [8.9 MB PDF]

Merced Wild and Scenic River Final Comprehensive Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (February 2014)

The Merced Wild and Scenic River Final Comprehensive Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (Final Merced River Plan/EIS) is divided into three volumes (The complete five-volume Plan and EIS (approximately 3,000 pages). Volume 1: Chapters 1-8 provides the framework for comprehensive management plan, as well as the range of alternatives. Volume 2 contains Chapters 9-13, which provides the analysis of impacts associated with each alternative and information about consultation efforts. Volume 3 contains Appendices A-T which provide additional detail and specific evaluations to support the plan's framework and decisions.

• Volume 1: Chapters 1-8 [23.8 MB PDF]
• Executive Summary [76 kb PDF]
• Volume 2A: Chapter 9 [21.4 MB PDF]
• Volume 2B: Chapters 9-13 [21.4 MB PDF]
• Volume 3A: Appendices A-L [36 MB PDF]
• Volume 3B: Appendices M-T [16 MB PDF]
• Appendix P: Public Concerns and Responses Report [4 MB PDF]
• Overview Fact Sheet [228 kb PDF]
• Restoration Fact Sheet [214 kb PDF]
• Merced River Final Plan and EIS Fact Sheet [201 kb PDF]

Comprehensive list of documents related to the Merced River Plan.