Historic bridges of Yosemite Valley under siege

[Shadow]

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif – Perhaps no river crossing in Yosemite Valley has been more photographed than the historic Stoneman Bridge: a single, arching span faced with rough-hewn granite that provides a dramatic foreground to Half Dome, the park's most iconic natural marvel.
Yet the 205-foot bridge is slated for possible removal under proposed plans for restoring the natural flow of the Merced River. As a federally designated "Wild and Scenic River," some say its course should be shaped only by nature as it meanders through the valley -- and bridge abutments alter that course.
The future of the roughly 80-year-old Stoneman and two other spandrel arch bridges has pitted environmentalists, who want the river to flow freely, against historic preservationists who say these early examples of the rustic park architectural style are too culturally important to destroy.
"We're talking about nationally significant resources in arguably the best-known national park in the world. What happens in Yosemite has echoes throughout the National Park System," said Anthony Veerkamp of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/07...#ixzz203A3wRYM

[SassyLady]

I suppose the environmentalists would like the Great Pyramids and Sphinx to be removed to return the area to his natural state???

[logroller]

My first thought was the bridge is in need of major repairs due to its abuttment's interface with the river-- it appears I am correct.

Instead, four of the five draft plans being considered by the park service include removing bridges to restore "free-flowing conditions" of the Merced. Two of those plans spare the highly trafficked Stoneman, where effects on the river are visible: Places where the bridge joins the shore are so eroded that archways built to allow horses to pass have become flooded with water

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/07...#ixzz205ZPEksj

[Shadow]

I suppose the environmentalists would like the Great Pyramids and Sphinx to be removed to return the area to his natural state???

Apparently they have been engaged in an on going battle...not just to remove the bridges but to remove public access to the park all together.

For more than 15 years, the park has been pressured by the courts and environmental groups to write a plan balancing public access against the strict protections that come with the river's 1987 federal wild and scenic designation. As the process winds down, options have included everything from limiting the number of daily park visitors, to slowing riverbank erosion by restricting access, to removing lodging and some camping areas in the valley and backcountry.

[PostmodernProphet]

Apparently they have been engaged in an on going battle...not just to remove the bridges but to remove public access to the park all together.

nature is so important to our lives that we must be prevented from actually seeing it.....