The dam was then 227 feet (69m) high; its present height of 312 feet (95m) was achieved only later, in 1938. The falls roar in spring and early summer. Spring snowmelt runs down the Tuolumne River and fills Hetch Hetchy, the largest reservoir in our water system. Hetch Hetchy is unique because of its small holding capacity in comparison to the vast watershed feeding it. Environmentalists lost what was the opening battle in a fight to preserve Americas natural wonders. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like The 1987 UN Commission on Sustainability first introduced the concept of ________ as a necessary focus for maintaining sustainability. The extensive amount of storage, which is designed to benefit the Bay Area as droughts become more severe with climate. Her poetic descriptions of Hetch hetchy won her the attention of powerful members of Congress. [64] Peter Byrne of SF Weekly has stated that "the plain language of the Raker Act itself and experts who are familiar with the act (and have no stake in city politics) all agree: The city of San Francisco is not in violation of the Raker Act. Teams completed the OShaughnessy Dam in 1923 and the reservoir filled for the first time in May of that year. This limits their ability to access spawning habitat, seek out food resources, and escape predation. On this point we hold that while we are willing to die for the lives or the health of the citizens of San Francisco, we are not willing to die for their pockets. [57] Pipelines 3 and 4 end at the Pulgas Water Temple, a small park that contains classical architectural elements which celebrate the water delivery. In 2007, in approving the environmental impact report for the Water System Improvement Program an investment of more than $4 billion to shore up the seismic reliability of the Hetch Hetchy water system the SFPUC gave itself, and its wholesale customers on the peninsula, ten years to develop a plan that would identify reliable alternative sources of water to meet the regions future growth in demand, rather than diverting more water from the Tuolumne River. After Hetch Hetchy, many realized the National Parks needed more protection. Dam the Hetch Hetchy! This is a place considered by John Muir to be equal in beauty to Yose. Gifford Pinchot wanted the U.S Forest Service to control the parks, but after his support to dam Hetchy Hetchy, Congress voted in 1916 to to establish the National Park Service whose sole purpose was "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the . This trail is 13 miles round-trip with 3,700 feet elevation gain. Plus, they needed a way to bring supplies and workers into the mountains. OPTION 3Give control to the local people of Hetch Hetchy Pinchot was recognized as a leader of the conservation movement. The regional water system provides water to 2.4 million people in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties. Hetch Hetchy, a glacially carved valley situated in the northern end of the park, was flooded and dammed in the early 1900s in order to serve as the primary drinking water source for parts of San Francisco and the Bay Area. Pinchot argued that applying the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number, meant the benefits accrued to the people of San Francisco from having the dam far outweighed leaving the valley in its current state. The dam and reservoir are the source for the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct, which provides water for over . [61] In 2018, the Department of the Interior of the Trump administration began to consider a proposal to allow limited boating on the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir for the first time, supported by the advocacy group Restore Hetch Hetchy which argued that "San Francisco received [Hetch Hetchy's] benefits long ago, but the American people have not. (Read SPURs analysis of this plan.) Pinchot was Americas Forester. He served as the first head of the United States Forest Service. California needed secure, reliable access to drinking water for their burgeoning populations. [70] Hodel called for a study of the effect of tearing down the dam. In contrast to the utilitarian view, the preservationist approach denied the assumption that the natural world existed solely to serve mans purposes. Hetch Hetchy's restoration, after all, will benefit national . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The city must pay a lease of $30,000 per year for the use of Hetch Hetchy, which sits on federal land. The valley provided an escape from the summer heat of the lowlands. Following a fierce nationwide debate led by John Muir and Will Colby of the Sierra Club, the City of San Francisco was authorized by the U.S. Congress, in the Raker Act of 1913, to construct a dam and reservoir on the Tuolumne River in Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. They were both initially carved by rivers flowing down the Sierras relatively gentle western slope. [31], During this time, the upper Tuolumne River, including Hetch Hetchy Valley, was visited by prospectors attracted by the California Gold Rush. [5] Chief Tenaya of the Yosemite Valley's Ahwaneechee tribe claimed that Hetch Hetchy was Miwok for "Valley of the Two Trees", referring to a pair of yellow pines that once stood at the head of Hetch Hetchy. Slow down and spend the day at Tenaya Lake a beautiful and easy-to-get-to alpine lake cupped by granite domes. They would light upon a man's blue shirt and turn it brown, and were voracious as mosquitoes would be. If the dam were not to be built, it would only benefit the small percentage of Americans who actually visited the site and were concerned about the park's pristine condition. It's a big job to open the tunnel and close it again. San Francisco could flood the valley and work began the following year. Hetch Hetchy, located at 3,900 feet in Yosemite National Park, is one of the park's most popular hiking . Had it been, the Sierra Clubs members would have presented a united front in opposition to its development. . One route begins six miles beyond the entrance station. Included with your registration: Two-day guided experience in Yosemite; one day at Hetch Hetchy and one day in Ackerson Meadow (Saturday, May 11, at 8 am, through Sunday, May 12, until about 3 pm). The watershed is also strictly protected, so swimming and boating are prohibited at the reservoir (although fishing is permitted at the reservoir and in the rivers which feed it),[60] a measure which is considered unusual for US lakes outside the region. The law authorizing the dam passed Congress on December 7, 1913. Hetch Hetchy Valley is a treasure worth visiting. In November 2012, San Francisco voters soundly rejected Proposition F,[86] which would have required the city to conduct an $8 million study on how the flooded valley could be drained and restored to its former state. Building the Hetch Hetchy dam in such a remote location was an enormous project. The controversy over damming Hetch Hetchy became mired in the political issues of the day. I will agree to take down Hetch Hetchy, when we first replace it with a bigger new reservoir such as a bigger taller Yosemite Valley dam at El Capitan. San Francisco was able to accomplish this in 1925 by claiming it had run out of funds to extend the Hetch Hetchy transmission line all the way to the city. Photo: Theresa Ho, Of course, the proposal was immediately opposed by environmentalists including the Sierra Club and John Muir. [82] Dianne Feinstein opposed this allocation, saying, "I will do all I can to make sure it isn't included in the final bill. [37][38] However, ranchers who had previously owned land in the new park continued their use of Hetch Hetchy Valley a "sheep-grazing free-for-all [that] threatened to denude the High Sierra meadows"[37] before disputes over state and private properties in respect to national park boundaries were finally settled in the early 1900s. Over the last 35 years, the idea has been studied by the Environmental Defense Fund, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service, UC Davis, and several state agencies. Principally, dam removal on the Klamath will require annual replacement of 696 gigawatt hours of electricity by other means. [8], Before damming, the valley floor contained abundant stands of black oaks, live oak, Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and silver fir bordering the meadows, with alder, willow, poplar and dogwood in the riparian zone along the Tuolumne River. San Francisco applied once again for rights to Hetch Hetchy in 1908. Secretary of the Interior, Ethan Allen Hitchcock, refused to give San Francisco a permit to build the dam. Due to extreme winter weather, Yosemite National Park is closed with no estimated date of reopening. The restoration of Hetch Hetchy would be a simple task compared to some dam removal efforts. An anthropocentrist would agree with building the dam in the park without taking into consideration what the dam would do to the already existing ecosystem due to not caring about the established animals and plants. [2], Wapama Falls, at 1,080ft (330m), and Tueeulala Falls, at 840ft (260m) both among the tallest waterfalls in North America are both located in Hetch Hetchy Valley. In some cases, however, including the Klamath and Hetch Hetchy, the benefits of restoration clearly outweigh the benefits provided by the dams. Youll just need to see them for yourself. Through the manipulation of water, the company also had the power to determine which real estate became valuable and which languished. High temperatures prevail in summer months, but that is a small price to pay for the reward of vast wilderness filled with stunning peaks, hidden canyons, and remote lakes. Expect delicious meals and hearty portions to fuel your adventure or beat that post-hiking hunger. Located at 3,900 feet, Hetch Hetchy boasts one of the longest hiking seasons in the park and is an ideal place for thundering spring waterfalls and wildflower displays. While John Muir led the fight against building the dam, the opposition was supported by Gifford Pinchot. San Francisco Mayor James Phelan led the fight to build a dam at Hetch Hetchy. The fundamental issue involved two concepts. [24] Screech reported that the valley was bitterly disputed between the "Pah Utah Indians" (Paiute) and "Big Creek Indians" (Miwok), and witnessed several fights in which the Paiute appeared to be the dominant tribe. The dam and reservoir, combined with a series of aqueducts, tunnels, and hydroelectric plants as well as eight other storage dams, comprise a system known as the Hetch Hetchy Project, which provides 80% of the water supply for 2.6 million people. [3] Kolana Rock, at 5,772ft (1,759m), is a massive rock spire on the south side of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. Hetch Hetchy doesn't require permit, you need just regular National park pass. The Hetch Hetchy system's supporters say it has one of the smallest carbon footprints of any water system in the United States because its water is of such high quality that it requires no. Bierstadts paintings and Muirs writings began to publicize the beauty of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. Construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam began in 1919 and was finished in 1923, with the reservoir first filling in May of that year. The dam in the Hetch Hetchy valley of Yosemite National Park, first proposed in 1908, was intended to create a reservoir that would provide water and electricity for the burgeoning city of San Francisco. He was a firm believer in utilitarian conservation. Yosemite Westgate Lodge offers newly-remodeled and well-appointed modern accommodation. Progressive political leaders, of whom Mayor Phelan was one, believed it was time to take this power away from the private interests and turn it over to the people. Like Muir, she felt the beauty of the valley was a national treasure which ought to be preserved. Photo: Herbert W. Gleason courtesy of the Sierra Club. This fight set the stage for future battles between those who believed natural resources were to be used for the greatest good versus those who believed natural resources were to be preserved for the greatest enjoyment. He had journeyed to Washington to lobby the federal government on behalf of the project. [50] The removal of the dam would be extremely costly, at least $310 billion,[76] and the transport of the demolished material away from the dam site along the narrow, winding Hetch Hetchy Road would be a logistical nightmare with possible environmental impacts. "[65] Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior in the late 1930s, said there was a violation of the Raker Act, but he and the city reached an agreement in 1945. Hoover Dam. As a 13.4-mile (21.4 km) round-trip hike, Rancheria Falls gets fewer day-hikers than Wapama Falls but is a popular backpacking stop. You may take easy hike to Wapama falls ( around 6 miles) or even more challenging hike to Rancheria falls ( around 14 miles). In 2019, Restore Hetch Hetchy commissioned another study that found enormous recreational value from removing the dam. Consider one project in progress that involves re-routing an entire river . [12] During the last glacial period, the Tioga Glacier[13] formed from extensive icefields in the upper Tuolumne River watershed; between 110,000 and 10,000 years ago Hetch Hetchy Valley was sculpted into its present shape by repeated advance and retreat of the ice, which also removed extensive talus deposits that may have accumulated in the valley since the Sherwin period. Specialty pricing may require . On a national stage, Hetch Hetchy became caught in the cross fire between the interests of private utilities ownership and those of municipal ownership. Public disapproval nationwide with the Raker Act helped to bring about the creation of the National Park Service. Before they could break ground at the OShaughnessy Dam, more infrastructure was required. If the nation set aside some natural places as especially sacred, how far beyond their borders should a sense of the sacred extend? Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. During summer, people of the Miwok and Paiute came to Hetch Hetchy from the Central Valley in the west and the Great Basin in the east. The idea of punching a hole in or removing the dam and allowing the valley to be restored to its pre-development conditions has been around since the late 1980s. In the future, we will certainly need diverse supplies to rely on in a prolonged drought, but we will also need Hetch Hetchy more than ever. It pitted Gifford Pinchot, Americas first forester, against John Muir, Americas legendary conservationist. Controversy continues to swirl around the Hetch Hetchy Dam even now. Formerly called Buck Meadows Restaurant and Bar, the new caf crosses rustic-mountain flair with roadside cafe friendliness. The battle for Hetch Hetchy wasnt just conservationists vs preservationists. If youre up for a driving adventure, try taking a little extra time to retrace parts of the route John Muir described in his book, My First Summer in the Sierra. [citation needed] The George W. Bush administration proposed allocating $7 million to studying the removal of the dam in the 2007 National Park Service budget. The Great Alaskan Land Fraud and the Pinchot-Ballinger Controversy caused both Richard A. Ballinger and Gifford Pinchot to resign and be fired respectively. Wapama Fall is reached via a five-mile, round-trip hike that follows the shoreline of the reservoir with moderate up and downhill hiking. The terminus of the incomplete line was "conveniently located next to a PG&E substation", which connected to PG&E's private line which in turn bridged the gap to San Francisco. The Hetch Hetchy dam would still be as naturally beautiful as it was before when it was preserved, and along with that, the construction of the dam will benefit the greatest number of. Dianne Feinstein, the mayor of San Francisco at the time, said in a Los Angeles Times story in 1987: "All this is for an expanded campground? (In fact partially because it is so difficult and destructive to build large dams, we are running out of new supplies of water in California.) About one million years ago, the extensive Sherwin glaciation widened, deepened and straightened river valleys along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, including Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite Valley, and Kings Canyon farther to the south. "[32], In 1867, Charles F. Hoffman of the California Geological Survey conducted the first survey of the valley. To do so, it would either have to buy out the private monopoly at an exorbitant price or outmaneuver or outbid Spring Valley for a potential new reservoir., (Source: Natural Rivals: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the Creation of Americas Public Lands, John Clayton). [53], As completed, O'Shaughnessy Dam is 910 feet (280m) long, spanning the valley at its narrow outlet. But tearing OShaughnessy Dam down now in order to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley would be a disaster. There is plenty to see and do right here, from kayaking on the water to climbing the magnificent domes above. The locations of these two formations roughly correspond with those of Cathedral Rocks and El Capitan seen from Tunnel View in Yosemite Valley. The inadequacy of the citys existing water supply came into sharp focus. Hetch Hetchy ushered in a new era for the national parks. The construction of the Hetch Hetchy Railroad took place from 1915 to 1918. Garfield had granted San Franciscos request, but Ballinger ordered the city to show cause as to why Hetch Hetchy should not be deleted from their grant. Restore Hetch Hetchy and the Environmental Defense Funds own studies support a lower cost estimate, ranging from $1 billion to $2 billion. Impounded by O'Shaughnessy Dam, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir water passes through hydroelectric powerhouses before it enters the San Joaquin Pipelines, the Tesla Ultraviolet Treatment Facility, and the Coast Range Tunnel on its journey to the Bay Area. Each switchback reveals scenic overlooks of the reservoir and Kolana Rock. Including additions made between 1934 and 1938, the dam currently stands 430 feet (131 m) above the bedrock below. [54] The entire system produces about 1.7 billion kilowatt hours per year, enough to meet 20% of San Francisco's electricity needs. The upcountry portion of the System begins with Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park. Furthermore, they provided a place for the wild plants and creatures to live out their own lives, according to their purposes. In the Bay Area, Hetch Hetchy water is stored in local facilities including Calaveras Reservoir, Crystal Springs Reservoir, and San Antonio Reservoir. If you love that insider feeling of discovering an often-overlooked gem, plan a stop at Buck Meadows on your way to or from Hetch Hetchy. Activity 1: Analysis. The network goes from the Sierra Nevada mountains, across the Central Valley and out to the coast, and serves 2.5 million Californians in 30 cities across four counties. And in a larger sense, the waters of California served as the converting agents. The battle over the Hetch Hetchy, in part, was a fight over public versus private ownership of vital resources such as water. Those in favor of dam removal have pointed out that many actions by San Francisco since 1913 have been in violation of the Raker Act, which explicitly stated that power and water from Hetch Hetchy could not be sold to private interests. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir also serves to provide energy in the form of hydroelectricity, with a capacity of over 200 megawatts a year. The view in Hetch Hetchy Valley As you know by now, the hike is 90% along the reservoir so you always get to see the most beautiful blue water in all of California. Everyone who drinks water or takes a shower in San Francisco should go. Hetch Hetchy water travels 160 miles via gravity from . The San Francisco Bulletin printed a Dec. 1, 1913, story calling the bills opponents a crowd ofnature lovers and fakers, who are waging a sentimental campaign to preserve the Hetch Hetchy Valley as a public playground, a purpose for which it has never been used.. Let us introduce you to some of the unique giant sequoia groves in the Yosemite Mariposa County area the Merced, Tuolumne, and Mariposa Groves are inside Yosemite National Park, and the Nelder Grove is just outside the park boundary to the south. All offers, including but not limited to, bonus amenities, upgrades, prices, and group benefits are based on select dates, resorts, room categories, and/or fare codes.
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