Hetch Hetchy and Salmon

In Saturday's Fresno Bee, columnist Bill McEwen opines that "the dam in Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley must come down if salmon are to thrive again in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta". He cites numerous dam removal and reoperation efforts underway to accomplish salmon restoration across the country as well as the historic importance of spawning grounds within the Tuolumne watershed.

Let's be clear that there is no evidence that salmon ever spawned as far upstream as Hetch Hetchy. All dams and diversions from rivers do, however, have downstream effects. We at Restore Hetch Hetchy support management of the Tuolumne and other rivers in a way that sustains healthy fisheries downstream and provides for urban and agricultural water needs as well.

Restore Hetch Hetchy has not previously considered salmon restoration as a primary reason for restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley. Instead we have focused on the benefits that would take place upstream in Yosemite National Park, where the spectacular valley has been unavailable to human visitors, as well as to fish and wildlife, since completion of O'Shaughnessy Dam in 1923. We look forward to developing a plan to restore the valley that improves conditions for salmon as well.

San Franciscans are generally open-minded about restoring Hetch Hetchy

My wife and I spent a pleasant morning at the Noe Valley farmers' market in SF with RHH volunteer coordinator Jonathan Silverman. We chatted with supporters, skeptics and folks who did not understand that it would not be especially difficult (from a technical perspective) to continue to provide reliable high-quality Tuolumne River water to the Bay Area if Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park is restored.

It was especially nice to talk to open-minded San Franciscans after reading the rather petulant (and inaccurate) piece in yesterday's San Francisco Examiner. Mr. Garcia quotes only the highest of cost estimates and characterizes environmentalist as opposed to all dams. We are not. Many dams serve essential purposes in semi-arid places like California. The small amount of water and hydropower provided by the dam can be replaced (read the reports), but there is no restoration opportunity like this anywhere.

Oh yeah, and we need volunteers. Contact us. Restore Hetch Hetchy is on the web

Muir's March update

In just three weeks 10 committed hikers will be led by two guides on a 7-day backpacking trip from Tuolumne Meadows to the O'Shaughnessy Dam to raise money and awareness for Restore Hetch Hetchy. (There is still room in the group for two more hikers if you want to join them!)

The hikers will trek more than 40 miles and will raise at least $1,800 each to offset the cost of the trip and generate revenue for RHH.

A recent wildfire in the park has forced the group to change its route, but this change provides a great opportunity for supporters who can't participate in the whole march: The new route will require hikers to spend the last two miles walking along the road to the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. We hope the group will meet crowds of supporters when they join the road and hike with them for the final 2 miles--a great media/photo op!

Trip organizers are pulling permits and mapping a course just south of the canyon which will take them up around Tuolumne Peak, across Ten Lakes Pass, along Harden Lake and through Smith Meadow to the O'Shaughnessy Dam.

Stay tuned for more info as the March approaches!

The SF Chronicle supports dam removal ...

The Chronicle supports dam removal - at least on the Snake and Klamath Rivers.

As we opined on July 19, dams are essential to human existence. We rely on them for water supply, hydropower, and flood control. In some cases, however, the costs of building dams have been high, and have outweighed their benefits.

In an editorial in yesterday's paper, the San Francisco Chronicle put in a plug for dam removal on the lower Snake River, the Klamath River and "other rivers as well". It is probably wishful thinking that in mentioning other rivers, the Chronicle might have the Tuolumne River in mind.

Before construction of the city's O'Shaughnessy Dam in 1923, the Tuolumne flowed unimpeded through the spectacular Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. Since that time, the valley has been inaccessible to park visitors.

A plethora of studies have confirmed that it is possible to continue the reliable delivery of water from the Tuolumne River to the Bay Area without storing it in a national park. We hope the Chronicle will support the next steps - turning those studies into a plan, implementing that plan and restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley for park visitors throughout California, across the United States of America and around the world.

Teddy Roosevelt and Hetch Hetchy

In today's newspapers, both the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle carry reviews of "The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America" by Douglas Brinkley.

One difference in the reviews is that the New Tork Times reminds us of Roosevelt's opposition to damming Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, while the Chronicle omits the subject.

Perhaps the difference merely reflects the perspectives of the reviewers, and not that of the newspapers. But the New York Times editorialized against damming the valley four times in 1913 and opined in 2002 that restoration should be considered. The Chronicle, a newspaper that is normally environmentally progressive, has opposed restoration.

Restore Hetch Hetchy's principal focus in 2009 is to explain to the public in San Francisco, as well as opinion leaders like the Chronicle, that restoration will not diminish the reliable delivery of high-quality water supplies from the Tuolumne River to the Bay Area. We hope the Chronicle will reconsider its position.

Hetch Hetchy and America's Best Idea

This fall Ken Burns' long-awaited film: The National Parks: America's Best Idea will be released .

Burns borrows Wallace Stegner's "best idea" quote for the title. We agree. Maybe that is why we care so much about the legacy of Hetch Hetchy Valley and are dedicated to its restoration.

Hetch Hetchy's legacy goes beyond that of the loss of a serene river crossing a high mountain valley surrrounded by towering cliffs and thundering waterfalls. The debate over damming Hetch Hetchy Valley created an unprecedented nationwide controversy, drawing opposition from more than 100 newspapers and shaping the Sierra Club into a focussed political organization.
It was the loss of this valley that persuaded Congress to place much greater value in its National Parks. Three years after allowing the dam to be built (in large part due to sympathy for San Francisco's 1906 Earthquake), Congress passed the "Organic Act" establishing the National Park Service. Never since has such development been allowed in a National Park.

While the Park Service is usually pretty discreet about this aspect of its history, its website does note that "The Hetch Hetchy was spoiled before the National Park Service was established."

We are looking forward to viewing Burns' film, and hope that it will remind Americans about the importance of our National Parks as well encourage support for the restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park.

Hetch Hetchy images

On July 22, we posted a stunning full-color image of Hetch Hetchy Valley. The image is actually a composite, using recent photos of the cliffs surrounding the existing reservoir, borrowing the Tuolumne River from Tuolumne Meadows upstream, and planting a few full-grown trees. It would be nice of we had color images of the actual valley, of course, but that is the whole point. This stunning valley, said to be comparable to Yosemite Valley itself, has been buried under 300 feet of water since the O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed in 1923.

There are a variety of sources for pre-dam photos of Hetch Hetchy Valley, including the Sierra Club and Sierra Nevada Photos. Both include this photo, taken by Mr. Taber from surprise point.


What you see here is pretty much what you see from visiting the dam - about 2 miles worth of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. The entire valley is about 9 miles long - about the same as Yosemite Valley. Many have pointed out that Yosemite Valley is wider and larger in area, with taller cliffs and more waterfalls. That is all true, of course, but Hetch Hetchy's glacial history left a cleaner and narrower cut through the granite, one we would like to see and explore up close.

Finally, to get an idea of how the reservoir has covered the valley floor, at least its last two miles, check out the version of the Taber photo from the Sierra Nevada Photos website and scroll your mouse over it.

Oh, and please visit www.hetchhetchy.org and find out how you can help restore Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park.