One claim in particular from the conservervation groups is, It says the logging requires building a road through two areas of virgin forest, which would make them ineligible for future wilderness designation (Juillerat, OPB). As a boy Aldo Leopold thought by killing the predators on the mountain, there will be more deer to hunt which is an advantage for the hunters; however, he did not know that his action could affect the sustainability of the mountain. But there are signs all over Yosemite about not drinking the water because of the Giardia parasites. We can produce power from dams because of the kinetic energy of the water movements as it causes turbines to spin. Hardin defines a technical solution as one that uses science or technology to save the commons (1968, pp. Brown mentions many ways to fix the ever growing problem at hand, and at the time, most seemed very radical. I also asked San Francisco Water Public Records the following: Ive been curious about the water purity issue and that one of the features of the Tuolumne River is its purity and that it could be delivered without filtration. The values are at the heart of our legal petition filed April 21, 2015. The club continues opening National Parks, building monuments and dams in rivers and protecting the sequoia trees in many other parks (The Sierra Club). A society as advanced as the humans on earth must have areas of wilderness regulated by the government. They also cannot pass through because there is going to be a dam in there way. Given that the valley was flooded, restoration would be an ideal opportunity to witness, first hand, its rebirth. In 1961 they all participated in an expansion of the reservoir creating a larger dam increasing storage from just short of 300,000 acre-feet to a bit over 2,000,000 acre-feet. Hetch Hetchy would never get built today, but restoring it is something for the long haul, Lund told the Monitor. If the logging of Crater Lake is to impel, many of the natural treasures in the park would be wiped out and unsuitable as a wilderness destination (Juillerat, OPB). This November, a group of environmental advocates will put forth a ballot measure that would require the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to develop a plan to drain Hetch Hetchy. The name Hetch Hetchy is derived from a Sierra Miwok word for a type of wild grass. It is my goal to use this site to share, not only my experiences and photos, but also some of its history and the tales of those who forged it. One of the most positives outcomes was that came from the control of the colorado river was that the crops were able to be saved because the unpredictable floods were no longer occurring. And Im in favor of that. As pollution and environmental destruction become a more imminent threat, humans must control their use of energy, preferably making sure not to use more than is necessary to sustain them. Not only would restoration make Yosemite entire once more, but would also encourage others that we don't have to continue making . Don Pedro Dam was originally put up by the Modesto and Turlock Irrigation Districts to better control their acquired water rights of the Tuolumne River. However, the term was really able to come to prominence after economist Garret Hardin invoked the analogy in his 1968 paper Science. He convinced Theodore Roosevelt, president at the time, to go camping with him in Yosemite to get Roosevelts support for the National park. A non-technical solution is one that uses other means such as legislation and education to solve the problems with the commons by changing peoples values or morals (Hardin, 1968, pp. RestoreHetch Hetchy Valley. Its very clean; theres very little sediment. The water is disinfected with ultraviolet light but, in contrast to almost all other reservoirs in the U.S., filtration is not required. After Muir dies the club established National Park Service, who Stephen Mather was director of in 1916. However, the Preservationists ultimately failed to convince Congress to stop the damming of the Hetch Hetchy due the ability to make money off the reservoir and the resources Hetch Hetchy provides that would benefit the people of San Francisco. He felt that the act conflicted with the conditions of the Yosemite Act of 1890 that made it a park in the first place. . Royalty-free Creative Video Editorial Archive Custom Content Creative Collections. Muir believed that people coming back from the rough backwoods will support the protection of Yosemite National Park. Up to 24% cash back (the hetch hetchy was a part of yosemite national park.) . Rainer National Park and Glacier National Park. Ive posted on this subject a number of times (see the links below). It is recommended that the water is either boiled for 5 minutes before drinking, heavily filtered, or an iodine based purifier is used.. The Hetch Hetchy Dam is destroying a piece of land that is the homes of multiple types of animals. There is a waiver for FILTERING but not for TREATMENT. The battle for hetch hetchy was perhaps the first effort at what is now known as. Rules were not set in the early stages of the parks, so people would overkill the animals and damage the trees by puncturing the outer layer . Many worry that it will intrude on property rights, while others believe that it will be a danger to the environment. This created conflicts between the Conservationists and the Preservationists over the thought of building a dam in Hetch Hetchy. Basically, that is what the petition (suit) filed by Restore Hetch Hetchy is all about; that is, to come up with a plan to rework the water system so that Hetch Hetchy Valley does not need to be used to store the water. Then What? Select from premium Hetch Hetchy Dam of the highest quality. San Francisco's water system, which includes Hetchy Hetchy, is expected to fill this winter for the first time since 2019. Every person uses the commons in accordance with their individual interests. . Issues that bring about this conflict such as population growth and pollution, cannot be solved through technical solutions alone (Hardin, 1968, pp. Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States.The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River.For thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from the United States in the 1850s, the valley was inhabited by Native Americans who practiced subsistence hunting-gathering. 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. . Yet, on September 19th, 2011 the demolition of the dam began and was the largest dam removal in history. The dam had been built in the early 20s and remained there, blocking the flow of the river for about 100 years before it was finally taken down. Hetch Hetchy is an iconic, uncommon, and stunning terrain. Fortunately, humans have governments that will manage our areas of natural wilderness. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite delivers water to 2.6 million Bay Area residents every day. The proposed dam in Hetch Hetchy Valley was to supply fresh water and electricity to San Francisco. Feb 13, 2022. This park is more than mere scenic opportunities; it is a virtual wonderland wrought by yesteryear. In a brief filed with the appellate court, they said, The trial court did not determine that the continued use of the dam and reservoir was reasonable rather, it concluded that the question could not be examined at all. In other words, they say the trial court did not address the substance of Restore Hetch Hetchys argument. This decision concluded a decade-long, highly contentious debate over the dam-and-reservoir complex to supply water to post-earthquake San Francisco, a battle that was . The money was used for city to make more towns. My personal Yosemite tales, knowledge and park information. The new 68-mile (109 km) railroad wound its way up the narrow canyon of the Tuolumne River past sharp curves and up steep 4% grades. The dam had been completed by the city of San Francisco in 1923, after years of controversy over flooding the magnificent Hetch Hetchy Valley, the smaller twin of Yosemite Valley. Up to 24% cash back (the hetch hetchy was a part of yosemite national park.) You own frozen Arctic tundra, endless southern wildflower fields and refreshing cool northern forests. Everyone has at least seen or heard of an argument or dispute involving the environment. Maybe well find a legal one, allowing all parties to see alternative ways to handle the water system that would benefit both San Francisco AND visitors to Yosemite. Only AFTER the Raker Act was put into place and AFTER the establishment of the National Park Service, was there any supportable cause to dissuade such usage in the future, but certainly NOT retro-actively. It started with some basic facts; that it stores up to 117 billion gallons of drinking water; it is a clean, efficient water delivery system for 2.6 million residents daily; and it generates 1.6 billion kilowatt hours of clean hydroelectric power annually. I reached out to Restore Hetch Hetchy and asked them, WHY Restore Hetch Hetchy wants the valley restored. In response, Spreck Rosekrans, Executive Director said (among other things): Restore Hetch Hetchys mission remains, to return the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park to its natural splendor while continuing to meet the water and power needs of all communities that depend on the Tuolumne River.. As in Yosemite, the sublime rocks of its walls seem to glow with life, whether leaning back in repose or standing erect in thoughtful attitudes, giving welcome to storms and calms alike, their brows in the sky, their feet set in the groves and gay flowery meadows, while birds, bees, and butterflies help the river and waterfalls to stir all the air into musicthings frail and fleeting and types of permanence meeting here and blending, just as they do in Yosemite, to draw her lovers into close and confiding communion with her. This link will take you to the page; just scroll down from there. In fact . Taking a long view, I look at what we might do with a restored Hetch Hetchy in this post from August 6, 2015. But there are signs all over Yosemite about not drinking the water because of the Giardia parasites. Sad to say, this most precious and sublime feature of the Yosemite National Park, one of the greatest of all our natural resources for the uplifting joy and peace and health of the people, is in danger of being dammed and made into a reservoir to help supply San Francisco with water and light, thus flooding it from wall to wall and burying its gardens and groves one or two hundred feet deep. Ultimately, Muir lost in his long battle to protect Hetch Hetchy, but what was established was that to infringe upon the resources of the national parks was simply not worth the money and time because of the long legal battle that would occur. Low maintenance cost: Although the cost of construction is very high, they have low operational and maintenance cost. hetch hetchy valley. Theodore roosevelt approved the concept of the o'shaughnessy dam, which ultimately created the hetch hetchy reservoir within yosemite. These arguments were brought before congress to make a decision about the fate of the valley. Why is it so controversial? It would not take much to increase the capacity to store all of what Hetch Hetchy currently stores. So when all of those people go and pass through they decided to put yuma on the map. They did not so much respond to where they stood on the issue, rather they outlined why they like the system as it is; they shared a previously published flyer: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System. I think I can partially answer your question. Ever since the establishment of the Yosemite National Park, strife has been going on around its borders and I suppose this will go on as part of the universal battle between right and wrong, however much its boundaries may be shorn, or its wild beauty destroyed. . The sturdy and concrete material can help store water for a long time. During 19th century, the Hetch Hetchy Dam was being inhabited by the Native Americans who usually practiced the so called hunting-gathering. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. The reason why DAPL is important is because of the fact that it is running over ancient indian land, and not only that it is going over their water source.The clean water the Sioux once had could be gone in just a few months with DAPL going over the standing rocks water (Michael Bennet). Posted on May 6, 2013 by Galen Hiltbrand. However, the source of that contamination is in contention and that more analysis was necessary. As Leopold moves along in A Sand County Almanac, the reader finally understands the full scale of thought that is placed in front of them. We havent built a major dam in this state since 1979, McClintock said. Hetch Hetchy is just 15 miles north of Yosemite Valley and the two are often called twins. Which made yuma need more food and money and that is where irrigation come out of to help make more, With the Colorado River dammed, it drives away all of the steamer boat companies in Yuma that were using the Colorado as a source of transportation of cargo, goods and passengers. True, a smaller Lake Eleanor was already there. He argued that conservationists only wished to dam Hetch Hetchy as it would be low cost and saw no value in its natural state. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. This is proven through several of documents written by Gifford Pinchot and John Raker, San Francisco District, The yuma project both had positive and negative impacts. Although Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is the most well-known, it stores less than 25% of the system's water. Activity 1: Analysis. 1244). Ultimately, passage of the passage of the Raker Act in 1913 by Congress granted San Francisco the right to flood the Hetch Hetchy Valley. students will explore the divisions this controversy exposed within the conservation movement by using teacher selected documents and text representative of both sides of the debate along with actual records of the congressional hearings held to decide the valley's fate. Against Pipeline Pros And Cons 120 Words | 1 Pages. The Hetch Hetchy Dam is destroying a piece of land that is the homes of multiple types of animals. Today, hetch hetchy valley is a dammed and flooded reservoir. Pinchot was a smart man and knew that if he wanted to gain the support from all over that he had to push his ideas not in an aggressive way. The Fresno appellate court disagreed. With that, San Francisco looses its gravity-fed, filtration-free water source as well as some Hydro-electric generation (at least by a measurable degree).