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The Sierra Nevada and Mono Lake
- Encounters with Wilderness
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In many ways, there
are three Californias, the urban centers along the coast, the vast
tracts of agricultural land, and the sparsely populated deserts,
mountains, and north country. This part of the trip investigated
the ways civilization reaches out into these wilder areas. |
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We arrived in
Yosemite in time to set up camp in light of the setting sun reflected of
the glacially carved cliffs of the valley. |
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Yosemite national
Park was one of the first National Parks, and the location of a defining
struggle between John Muir and Gifford Pinchot over the meaning and
value of wilderness. The immediate subject of debate was the City
of San Francisco's desire to construct the O'Shaughnessy Dam,
flooding the Hetch Hetchy valley within the boundaries of the newly
formed Yosemite Park. Muir's defense of wilderness was based on
its spiritual value, and led to the national recognition of the Sierra
Club as a defender of wilderness. Pinchot's concept of the utility
of wilderness as a source of resources is best manifest in the Forest
Service (which he was instrumental in founding) motto "Land of many
uses". |
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Wes at the
O'Shaughnessy Dam (above) and the site of John Muir's cabin along the
Merced River in Yosemite Valley (right). Hetch Hetchy Valley rivaled
Yosemite Valley in its beauty prior to construction of the dam.
That we would not today consider construction of such a dam in a
national park suggests that though Muir lost the battle, and debatably
even the war, he did win our hearts. |
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The bulk of
our time in Yosemite was devoted to a hike up to Nevada and Vernal
falls. The pictures beside and below are from that hike,
taken to allow us all to experience the grandeur of the place. |
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The other side
of the mountains is yet another world. The high desert of
California lies in the rain shadow of the Sierra. The majority of
the water in this area flows from the mountains to the west. Water
from many of these streams, and the alluvial aquifers they replenish, is
now diverted to the cities of southern California. Owens Lake no
longer exists. When Mono Lake was threatened with a similar fate,
the Mono Lake Committee formed to protect the lake and its waters.
Following an epic struggle, the lake, and the ecosystem it hosts, were
protected. Our visit was primarily to meet with representatives of
the Committee, and discuss their history of environmental protection. |
The committee's bookstore and information center |
The whole group in front of tuffa towers |
Sunrise at June Lake, out campsite in the Sierra |
Next: Fisheries and the Coast
For more information, contact Dr. Tim Lincoln, Institute for
the Study of the Environment, Albion College, Albion MI 49224.
Phone (517) 629-0486 – e-mail tlincoln@albion.edu
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