Merced River Plan On Hold In Yosemite

Yosemite National Park, CA — Yosemite National Park officials are waiting for a new court hearing date for the Merced River plan, after a federal judge rejected the first one.

Yosemite spokesman, Scott Gediman says the plan went before the judge on Wednesday in hopes to protect the Merced River and to continue other projects throughout the park.

The plaintiffs are Friends of Yosemite Valley and Mariposans for Environmentally Responsible Growth. The judge rejected the plan, stating it was flawed and should be started over from scratch.

Included in the plan was a multi million dollar reconstruction project for the Yosemite Lodge; which will now be put on hold, even though Gediman says the funding has been approved.

Gediman says the next step is a status conference where attorneys will get together to set a new hearing. In order to get the new plan approved it will have to cover the user capacity component, and the river boundaries.

Written by Sabrina Sabbagh