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The Merced Wild and Scenic River Comprehensive Management Plan and Draft Environmental  Impact Statement are due out by the end of summer. There will be a 3-month comment window late summer of 2012. Go <HERE> to read all the docs so far.

 If you go there now you will see that while most of us were fretting over Half Dome permits, the planners were busy posting information. I suggest you poke around and you will see that they released DRAFT drawings of what the 5 Alternatives might result in. For example, if you like camping in the Upper Pines area … it will be mostly gone and restored to a natural environment under Alternatives 1, 2 and 4. Other charts worth your time are artist‘s conceptions of El Portal, West Side Valley parking, The Yosemite Lodge (with many buildings removed and converted to parking), El Cap Meadow and others.

Here’s a summary chart of the major elements of the plan: Parking, Camping, Recreation, User Capacity and Lodging. (click to enlarge):

Merced River Plan Alternatives

Unrelated thought worth quoting: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts. – William Shakespeare

MrHalfDome™ – Rick Deutsch – www.HikeHalfDome.com

One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome