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Although Yosemite did not officially become a national park until 1916, this act of Lincoln, whose efforts must have been drawn primarily to the challenges of winning the war, is widely acknowledged as the origin of the concept of the national park.
Yosemite is stunningly beautiful and awe-inspiring. Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil, Horsetail, Vernal and Nevada Falls, and several other free-falling streams flowing over the precipices of mountain cliffs high above the Yosemite Valley, together constitute the largest number of falls in a concentrated area in the world. The rocks, called “domes,” are the results of millions of years of tectonic forces pushing granite originally lodged deep inside the Earth’s surface to elevations as high as 13,000 feet.
Alpine and subalpine meadows are home to unusual species of trees and plants, such as the Sierra juniper and the California poppy. Around every corner, one finds a new and inspiring vista. Mule deer, coyotes, black bear, several species of squirrels and birds share their home with visiting humans.
Hiking and backpacking over the park’s 800 miles of designated trails, bicycling and horseback riding on developed paths, kayaking and rafting on the Merced River, climbing vertical rock surfaces, photography and simply looking at natural beauty are enjoyed by the park’s 4 million annual visitors. To reduce congestion and pollution, many areas of the park are accessible only by free hybrid shuttle buses.
Yosemite evidences the results of careful and deliberate planning for the purpose of preserving the area’s natural beauty. Although many roads and other human-made structures have been built to service the needs of the park’s visitors, they are hidden from view in the forests of Ponderosa and white pine and black oak, generally invisible from the easily accessible scenic overlooks. There are no cliff-top structures. Roads are carefully constructed so as to leave intact and undamaged large tracts of habitat for the creatures whose homes are in this wilderness.
In recent years, our National Park Service has developed well-thought-out conservation plans for each of its parks. These plans indicate uses for which each area is being preserved, best management practices for each use, future developments for effectively handling ever-increasing numbers of park visitors, and identification of areas outside present park boundaries that the service would like to acquire.
Something like the park service’s comprehensive conservation plan would benefit the preservation of the natural beauty that remains in the Winona area. At present, the city and county of Winona do not have long-range plans to preserve the beauty of our river bluffs, flood plain forests, prairies, oxbow lakes and river backwaters. Only the stringent rules pertaining to development in flood plains and the willingness of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to enforce them has halted plans to build roads and other structures in the city-owned Aghaming nature area. Only a determined effort by a group of citizens can block the building of structures that mar the beauty of the hills from visitors passing up the river’s main channel and that threaten the integrity of the steep bluff slopes.
In the absence of long-range planning, based on principles of preservation and conversation, a citizens group is trying to persuade county commissioners to require what is called a “viewshed” analysis to determine that structures built on bluff tops will not be visible from the valley. They also advocate additional restrictions on construction on bluff sides in order to reduce erosion and prevent landslides like the ones experienced as a result of the August 18 and 19, 2007, storm.
Our Hiawatha Valley will never, at least within the imaginable future, be as awe-inspiring as the Yosemite Valley is now. Nevertheless, its natural beauty is well worth preserving. Enough remains to attract sightseeing visitors from all over the world and enhance our area’s reputation as a desirable place to live. We are surrounded by a natural environment that lightens our steps and raises our
spirits.
A well thought out plan for conserving this natural beauty would reduce the recurrent struggles that occur when developers want to impose their plans on our natural environment. No longer would our community go through repeated battles when developers, hoping to make big bucks by selling and building on lands sought after by homeowners, present their plans. No more would we worry about scarring our bluff sides, rescuing people whose homes have slid down hills during severe storms, and eliminating uncommon plants and animals that live in the sensitive flood plain forests.
At the bottom of the question is whether natural beauty is a public or private asset. When Lincoln set aside the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove (home to a grove of giant sequoia trees), “for public use, resort and recreation” with the intention that they “shall be inalienable for all time,” he recognized them as public assets to be preserved for the benefit of future generations of people. We should also acknowledge the public and enduring value of our naturally beautiful area.
If Lincoln could engage in such far-reaching thinking in the middle of commanding Union armies in the Civil War, our leaders can certainly do likewise in the midst of their other concerns. Though they will probably never achieve the level of fame and honor that we bestow upon Lincoln, they can enhance their legacies by actions which enable future generations of people to appreciate the natural beauty of our area.
Shaw is a former Winona State University registrar who is getting a second education in retirement. He also volunteers for several local organizations.
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