Post #59360 by jonboy on Mon, Nov 10, 2003 6:54 PM

I am pleasantly shocked when I here about our goverment exercising such good stewardship of our dwindling national treasures. All too often corporate greed prevails. What corporations? Good example is Yosemite National Park and the Curry Company (which was/is owned by a huge entertainment company I forget which one) About 20 years ago there was a move afoot to ban cars from Yosemite Valley. The Yosemite Natural History Association was involved. A good friend of mine worked for them in the first stages of developing the plan. Very little has happened, and only desperate work by several conservation groups have stopped the further rape of that over much abused treasure. They no longer push bonfires off Glacier Point to the delight of tourists (see big black scar on cliff, called FIre Fall) nor do they drive through trees any more. Although I used to have a classic video I took about 15 years ago It was a van load of tourists driving onto a tree with a flat side. (An allowed form of recreation at the Wawona Grove. The van got up on it but the siddes of the tree prevented the tourists from getting out and snapping pics of there trusty van conquering a tree.

I have lost track of what is currently going on up their regarding saving the valley but I hope that someday they throw the cars out.