Marta Stoepker
Yosemite National Park is an important park in Sierra Club history. John Muir, the Sierra Club’s founder, first visited Yosemite in 1868. Muir liked Yosemite so much that he decided to come back again and again. Muir was so enamored by Yosemite that he wrote:
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.”
Shortly after leaving Yosemite -- he worked there for some time as a sawmill worker and herder -- he began to write. He wrote many articles, including a seminal piece in 1889 for Century Magazine on how sheep were damaging Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite. This piece spurred Congress to create a bill that would protect the land at Yosemite as a national park. Additional protections were added to Yosemite National Park in 1903 when John Muir took President Theodore Roosevelt on a tour of Yosemite.
Last weekend another president visited Yosemite (And once again Sierra Club was there; this time represented by our President Aaron Mair). President Obama’s visit to Yosemite was primarily to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Parks System and to, of course, enjoy the natural beauty that the park protects. This trip is just another part of President Obama’s environmental legacy. Obama has designated 20 new sites for protection by the National Park Service. He has also diversified the National Park System by protecting sites that represent and honor a fuller picture of our American history and identity. In total, he has protected 260 million new acres, which is more than any other president to date. He also proposed changes to the Regional Haze Rules that would make our air in national parks and Wilderness areas cleaner.
In making these designations President Obama has recognized the economic impacts of our outdoor legacy. In 2015, the National Park Service saw a five percent rise in visitation, totalling 307 million recreational visits. All these visits generated $32 billion and supported 300,000 jobs. Unfortunately, even as visitation is up today, there are $12 billion in repairs needed in our parks. These repairs could create new jobs and bring in even more revenue. Every $1 invested in the National Park System by Congress results in $10 of revenue for the country. There is a need for a centennial bill that would allow public-private partnerships in the national parks to increase funding.
This additional funding will help Americans better enjoy their public lands. More park rangers, better facilities, and newer roads will continue to increase revenue, visitation, and enjoyment.