Yosemite - Bad News

[Vallonelee@aol.com]

Hi All:

I forwarded the Yosemite information on to my sister who is active in Trails 
in Pennsylvania.  She circulated and this was the feedback she received from 
her contacts and I thought I would send it on to Ridecamp.

<On the Yosemite thing the proper target would seem to be the head of the
NPS, not the local managers who can lose the paper work with copies to
US Senators for the states involved and your home state as they can ask
questions of the NPS.

It seems the most impacted are the concessionaires (who are out of
business now anyhow due to the flood) and the travel agents who book the
tours.  There are no local residents, the use of private horses by
non-residents is unlikely (Would you haul your horse to Yosemite?).

The best tactic would appear to be to cite that 1) horses mean no roads
and no engines; 2) modern access to the valley has been on horse back
since the reappearance of the horse in the West in the late 1500's; 3)
it is probable that Teddy Roosevelt, creator of the Park System, saw the
valley from horse back on his visits. (The National Geographic or the
Smithsonian probably has pictures of TR camping in the valley).
A side issue is that since all off road motorized vehicles are banned
from the park disabled persons can only be accommodated on horse back, a
reasonable accommodation these days.>



Maybe a good approach.

Lee