He was a firm believer in utilitarian conservation. William Howard Taft became president in 1909. No spam. [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. The maximum that the city has put away is 570,000 acre-feet of water. That trip is a 19.1-mile (22.9 km) out and back, or you can turn the hike into a loop that returns past Rancheria Falls (28.2 miles, 45.4 km). In continuance, water has a personality and the presence of it can change moods and help people feel better. Residents drink it in 26 cities and water districts from San. It also was an early battle of conservatives vs progressives. The Hetch Hetchy Road drops into the valley at the dam, but all points east of there are roadless, and accessible only to hikers and equestrians. Hetch Hetchy was the first major battle of the environmental movement. Have you been to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite? The battle for Hetch Hetchy wasnt just conservationists vs preservationists. His path roughly follows the John Muir Highway State Highway 132 that runs from Highway 49 in Coulterville up through Greeley Hill before connecting back into Highway 120 before Buck Meadows and the turn-off to Hetch Hetchy. [2] The dam contains 675,000cuyd (516,000m3) of concrete. [75] The remaining deficit would likely have to be replaced by polluting fossil fuel generation. Hours: Year-round, but only accessible by car when the Hetch Hetchy Road is open. Gravel, logs, and other important food and habitat features can become trapped. This is also a place imbued with history: San Franciscos congressional delegation won the right to build the dam in 1913, to secure a reliable source of water in the wake of the 1906 earthquake. A) 5 billion B . Apply Today! (Read SPURs analysis of this plan.) These are called Bay Division Pipelines (BDPL) 1, 2, 3, and 4, with nominal pipeline diameters of 60, 66, 78, and 96 inches (1.5, 1.7, 2.0 and 2.4m, respectively). [2] From Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, the water flows through the Canyon and Mountain Tunnels to Kirkwood and Moccasin Powerhouses, which have capacities of 124 and 110 megawatts, respectively. [21][33] Albert Bierstadt, Charles Dorman Robinson and William Keith were known for their landscapes that drew tourists to the Hetch Hetchy Valley. [24] It is likely that the edible grass was blue dicks. Another popular trail crosses the OShaughnessy Dam and then takes a left turn to climb steeply out of the Hetch Hetchy valley. The dam also provides flood control, irrigation, and water storage along the Colorado River. Exactly how San Francisco won the right to transform the bucolic valley into a Then, in 1906, a devastating earthquake caused a series of fires in San Francisco that destroyed 25,000 buildings across 490 city blocks. In the early 20th century, San Francisco flooded the Hetch Hetchy Valley, destroying "one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples." This is why the city can now ban new natural gas. By 1908, a different Interior Secretary, James R. Garfield, sided with the utilitarian conservationists and issued a permit for the Hetch Hetchy project. Principally, dam removal on the Klamath will require annual replacement of 696 gigawatt hours of electricity by other means. [70] Hodel called for a study of the effect of tearing down the dam. If the nation set aside some natural places as especially sacred, how far beyond their borders should a sense of the sacred extend? When youre standing at the shore overlooking what appears to be a lake, picture yourself looking down into a verdant valley filled with the tall native grasses that give the valley its name. 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. [42] They claimed the valley was not unique and would be even more beautiful with a lake. "[32], In 1867, Charles F. Hoffman of the California Geological Survey conducted the first survey of the valley. The SFPUC and other Hetch Hetchy users are currently implementing plans to meet this demand through recycled water, groundwater and conservation. It is definitely worth to visit Hetch Hetchy area especially in 2021 when main Yosemite area requires booking permits in advance. Hetch Hetchy is on the main stem of the Tuolumne River and is part of the Tuolumne watershed. [31] Its meadows provided abundant feed for "thousands of head of sheep and cattle that entered lean and lank in the spring, but left rolling fat and hardly able to negotiate the precipitous and difficult defiles out of the mountains in the fall. [41], In 1906, after a major earthquake and subsequent fire that devastated San Francisco, the inadequacy of the city's water system was made tragically clear. The National Park Service concluded that two years after draining the valley, grasses would cover most of its floor and within 10 years, clumps of cone-bearing trees and some oaks would take root. In 1913, Woodrow Wilson appointed Lane his Secretary of the Interior. Indeed, the battle over Hetch Hetchy may have been a little-known contributor to the permanent alignment of American politics it was the tension between Ballinger and Pinchot that set in motion the events that lead to the split mentioned above. [66] In 2015, Restore Hetch Hetchy filed a complaint arguing that the construction of the dam had violated a provision in the constitution of California about water use, but the lawsuit was rejected by an appeals court and later the California State Supreme Court. On December 19, 1913, Congress passed and President Wilson signed the Raker Act which permitted the building of the OShaughnessy Dam and the flooding of the Hetch Hethcy Valley in Yosemite National Park. California O Shaughnessy Dam Analysis 1428 Words | 6 Pages. Not to be outdone by Los Angeles, San Francisco had a greater feat in mind: dam the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park and pipe the water into San Francisco. While opponents of the dam were hard pressed for financial support, the city of San Franciscos campaign was well financed. Garfield was responding to critics who believed that the federal governments primary responsibility was to use the nations public resources for development in the service for the greatest number of people. Pipelines 1 and 2 cross the San Francisco Bay to the south of the Dumbarton Bridge, while pipelines 3 and 4 run to the south of the bay. The walls of both are of gray granite, rise abruptly out of the flowery grass and groves are sculptured in the same style, and in both every rock is a glacial monument., (Source: Journal of Sierra Nevada History & Biography, Hetch-Hetchy, Natural History Before The Dam, Joe Medeiros), In defense of Hetch Hetchy, Muir crafted some of his most famous prose. Bierstadts paintings and Muirs writings began to publicize the beauty of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. 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. 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. 2023 Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau, Yosemite Itineraries: What to Do in Yosemite. For example, plan to stop at the Lucky Buck Cafe on your way to or from a day of exploring Yosemite. [77][78], The economic wisdom of removing the dam has been frequently questioned. 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. It was the second tallest dam in the U.S. at the time. "[61][62], The battle over Hetch Hetchy Valley continues today[when?] Prominent sponsors of the dam proposal, particularly (by then former) Mayor James Phelan and city engineer Marsdon Manson (and later his successor, Michael OShaughnessy), quietly lobbied key figures in the government, trusting that the appeal of municipal water and power would easily win supporters amid the prevailing progressive political climate. But the ultra-liberal President Woodrow Wilson signed off in 1913 on the multi-decade construction of a series of dams within Yosemite National Park that flooded Hetch Hetchy Valley to create a massive reservoir, hydroelectric plants, and a 167-mile aqueduct for the sole benefit of the City of San Francisco. ", "Three Square Miles of Open Space: Is It Enough? Would there be any room in an acquisitive society for wildness, or for non material spiritual values?. John Muir knew that without public support, the Hetch Hetchy Valley would be lost. [39], Interest in using the valley as a water source or reservoir dates back as far as the 1850s, when the Tuolumne Valley Water Company proposed developing water storage there for irrigation. The dam was then 227 feet (69m) high; its present height of 312 feet (95m) was achieved only later, in 1938. Monroe went on to lobby members of Congress as the battle moved to Washington D.C. She was a tireless advocate who believed that people needed to be educated in order to do what was best for everyone involved. While John Muir led the fight against building the dam, the opposition was supported by Gifford Pinchot. [5] The valley was slowly becoming known for its natural beauty, but it was never a popular tourist destination because of extremely poor access and the location of the famous Yosemite Valley just twenty miles to the south. [54] The entire system produces about 1.7 billion kilowatt hours per year, enough to meet 20% of San Francisco's electricity needs. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. It is part of our More than Just Parks Environmental Heroes series. The battle for the Hetch Hetchy Valleys future was not simply preservation versus conservation. The restoration of Hetch Hetchy would be a simple task compared to some dam removal efforts. Buck Meadows is also a great place to spend the night. remains the least visited area of the park. The O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed in 1923 and, after the . A) human well-being B) renewable energy C) environmental sustainability D) cultural services E) human population growth, The current total world population has just passed ________. In an effort to build this support, he published his bookThe Yosemitein 1912. It pitted Gifford Pinchot, Americas first forester, against John Muir, Americas legendary conservationist. A bigger population will increase demand, meanwhile climate change could significantly reduce supply through drought and hydrological cycle changes. The Tuolumne River, the source of. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, encompassing 2,000 acres of federal park land, has clearly been maintained for the benefit of San Francisco with minimal consideration of the wider public whose tax dollarsand, in the case of visitors, entrance feessupport the national park. John Muir, the first president of the Sierra Club, condemned plans to build the dam, saying, "Dam Hetch Hetchy! Public disapproval nationwide with the Raker Act helped to bring about the creation of the National Park Service. The valley provided an escape from the summer heat of the lowlands. Five country-chic rooms in the main building include en suite bathrooms, free WiFi and electric fireplaces. This ballot measure is so problematic that SPUR has taken early action to oppose it. Hetch Hetchy Valley was once home to a richly diverse ecosystem, surrounded by towering cliffs and waterfalls similar to those in neighboring Yosemite Valley. Have all students read the debate overview and page one of the HR 7207, the "Raker Bill". Due to extreme winter weather, Yosemite National Park is closed with no estimated date of reopening. [63] The city justified this as a temporary measure, but no attempt to follow through with completing the municipal grid was ever made. Guests at these suites receive breakfast on their patios. Only a tiny proportion of Yosemites visitors explore this out-of-the-way corner of the national park. The Hetch Hetchy Valley is about 8 miles (13 km) from Yosemite Valley. history. Muir famously said, Dam Hetch Hetchy! ", "Hetch Hetchy reclaimed: The dam downstream", "Alternatives for restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley following removal of the dam and reservoir page 15", "Chapter 9: Impact of restoration on hydropower production and revenues", "Putting Bay Area's Water Sources to a Vote", "Hodel Would Tear Down Dam in Hetch Hetchy", "On Hetch Hetchy, John Muir was wrong: California's revered naturalist wrote a poetic diatribe against the drowning of the great valley. The O'Shaughnessy Dam is near Yosemite's western boundary, but the long, narrow, fingerlike reservoir stretches eastward for about 8 miles (13km). The battle over the Hetch Hetchy, in part, was a fight over public versus private ownership of vital resources such as water. The upcountry portion of the System begins with Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park. It is 13 miles from the Yosemite National Park border and twice as close to the park than the town of Groveland. There are many places to stop and enjoy views of the rushing water before turning around to return to your car. . There is no Starbucks here no daily parade of tour buses and RVs. . He produced at least four oil paintings of the valley one of which is prominently displayed in Mount Holyoke Colleges art museum. 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. Wapama and Rancheria Falls Looking up at Wapama Falls from the footbridge on the hiking trail. 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). Winter weather conditions may cause road closures. [49], The narrow defile at the lower end of Hetch Hetchy Valley where San Francisco planned to dam the Tuolumne River, seen in 1914 before construction began, The same area seen today, with O'Shaughnessy Dam and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, Hetch Hetchy Valley serves as the primary water source for the City and County of San Francisco and several surrounding municipalities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. The National Park Service conducted research to determine what would happen if the dam were removed, and people have repeatedly proposed costly studies to further understand the consequences of removing the dam. Required fields are marked *. Expect delicious meals and hearty portions to fuel your adventure or beat that post-hiking hunger. Gray pine, incense-cedar, and California black oak grow in abundance. There is plenty to see and do right here, from kayaking on the water to climbing the magnificent domes above. The pressure that Muir and his compatriots generated in 1908 and 1909 did not dissuade the administration from its support of the Hetch Hetchy dam, but this pressure was quite effective in the realm of electoral politics. Most people called it Hetch Hetchy, a mispronunciation of a Central Mohawk word for a plant that indigenous people were harvesting there when the first white man came along.. Specialty pricing may require . [6][7], Upstream from the valley lies the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, while the smaller Poopenaut Valley is directly downstream from O'Shaughnessy Dam. The water is transported from the reservoir by the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct which is made up of 170 miles of gravity-driven pipelines, dams, and other reservoirs. Finally, with the railroad complete, teams broke ground on the OShaughnessy Dam on August 1, 1919. [2] The dam and reservoir are the centerpiece of the Hetch Hetchy Project, which in 1934 began to deliver water 167 miles (269km) west to San Francisco and its client municipalities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Hydroelectric power generated from the Hetch Hetchy project is largely sold to Bay Area customers through a private power company, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). The dam is a small portion of the overall Tuolumne River/San Francisco storage system that benefits the Bay Area. It then cascades on its westward descent through the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, and enters the eastern end of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. You may take easy hike to Wapama falls ( around 6 miles) or even more challenging hike to Rancheria falls ( around 14 miles). Yosemite Westgate Lodge offers newly-remodeled and well-appointed modern accommodation. Browers Hetch Hetchy: Undoing A Great American Mistake, makes a compelling case for restoring the valley to its previous glory. [30] After the valley's native inhabitants were driven out by the newcomers, it was used by ranchers, many of whom were former miners, to graze livestock. The Poopenaut Trail begins at a signed trailhead four miles past the entrance station. Animals were principally driven along Joseph Screech's trail from Big Oak Flat to Hetch Hetchy. Denouncing dam proponents as greedy, he wrote, These temple destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism, seem to have a perfect contempt for Nature, and instead of lifting their eyes to the God of the Mountains, life them to the Almighty Dollar. 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. San Francisco assumed from the outset that there would not be significant opposition to using the Hetch Hetchy Valley, even if it was in a national park, for the high and noble purpose of providing water to one of the nations great and growing metropolises, so their efforts in Washington, DC, were conducted discreetly. The same features that make Hetch Hetchy Valley so spectacular also make it an ideal location for a dam. Hetch Hetchy, unlike other water storage facilities in California, is relatively buffered from near-term climate change because of its high elevation. Back in the early nineteen hundreds, when the debate start about The Hetch Hetchy dam being built a large majority of people did not realize or care how valuable nature is. As the battle lines were drawn, the different methods employed by each side in presenting their case spoke to some of their basic assumptions about the nature of the issue. During the late 19th century, the valley was renowned for its natural beauty often compared to that of Yosemite Valley but also targeted for the development of water supply for irrigation and municipal interests. Dams, including this one, dont last forever, and perhaps in a few generations the conversation about a different future for the Hetch Hetchy Valley may be worthwhile. It would be almost impossible to build a new dam there today. And in a larger sense, the waters of California served as the converting agents. They were both initially carved by rivers flowing down the Sierras relatively gentle western slope. 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. It carried workers and materials for the dam, as well as tourists, postage and other amenities. Wapama Fall is reached via a five-mile, round-trip hike that follows the shoreline of the reservoir with moderate up and downhill hiking. Today, descendants of these people still use milkweed, deergrass, bracken fern, willow, and other plants for a variety of uses including baskets, medicines, and string. (Source: American Rivers, How Dams Damage Rivers). Albert Bierstadt was known for his sweeping landscapes of the American West. 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. [50] The project is operated by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Although Hetch Hetchy is included within the boundaries of Yosemite National Park, the entrance is separate from the rest of the park. For all the similarities between Hetch Hetchy Valley and Yosemite Valley, there is one enormous difference the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. 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). while birds, bees, and butterflies help the river and waterfalls to stir all the air into music. Loss of the reservoir would decrease the Bay Areas water and energy security, requiring new water storage (possibly in reservoirs not owned by San Francisco) and the development of new water and energy supplies. Restore Hetch Hetchy and the Environmental Defense Funds own studies support a lower cost estimate, ranging from $1 billion to $2 billion. Photo: Herbert W. Gleason courtesy of the Sierra Club. San Francisco applied to the United States Department of the Interior to gain water rights to Hetch Hetchy, and in 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of the Interior, James R. Garfield, granted San Francisco the rights to development of the Tuolumne River. In the foreground, the deep still water of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir reflects sunshine, clouds and the proud shadows of the surrounding mountains. Franklin Lane served as the attorney for the city of San Francisco in 1903. High temperatures prevail in summer months, but its a small price to pay for the reward of vast wilderness filled with stunning peaks, hidden canyons, and remote lakes. Including additions made between 1934 and 1938, the dam currently stands 430 feet (131 m) above the bedrock below. This is why environmental impact statements, which were not required prior to 1969, are so important today. The Sites Reservoir a $4.4 billion project to add dams and store more water that'll be sent south is still years away from completion. [57] Pipelines 3 and 4 end at the Pulgas Water Temple, a small park that contains classical architectural elements which celebrate the water delivery. The U.S. Congress passed and President Woodrow Wilson signed the Raker Act in 1913, which permitted the flooding of the valley under the conditions that power and water derived from the river could only be used for public interests. [82] Dianne Feinstein opposed this allocation, saying, "I will do all I can to make sure it isn't included in the final bill. Instead, it was a more complicated battle which pitted public interests against private interests. . [73] Furthermore, the removal of O'Shaughnessy Dam would not require costly sediment control measures, as would be typical on most dam removal projects, because of the high quality of the Tuolumne River water in the first 90 years since its construction, only around 2in (5.1cm) of sediment had been deposited in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, much less than most other dams. [21] Periodic clearing of the valley provided ample space for the growth of the grasses and shrubs they relied on, as well as additional room for large game animals such as deer to browse. The law authorizing the dam passed Congress on December 7, 1913. [71], The dam would not have to be completely removed; rather, it would only be necessary to cut a hole through the base in order to drain the water and restore natural flows of the Tuolumne River. For thousands of years, Native Americans subjected the valley to controlled bushfires, which prevented forest from taking over the valley meadows. The bustling metropolis of Los Angeles could not have become the city it did without the water which flowed from the Owens Valley hundreds of miles away. Once again, the political pendulum had swung. Healthy fish populations - by releasing sufficient instream flows for spawning and rearing downstream - sometimes to mitigate for the loss of spawning habitat caused by their construction, and The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir created by the dam has a capacity of 360,400acreft (0.4445km3), with a maximum area of 1,972 acres (798ha) and a maximum depth of 306 feet (93m). The gently rolling terrain has excellent views of the water and eye-catching Kolana Rock, which towers roughly 2,000 feet above. In this unmanaged scenario, where nature is left to take hold in the valley, eventually a forest would grow, rather than the meadow being restored.
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