The question I have yet to hear an answer to from anyone advocating for the removal of the O’Shaughnessy Dam is this: What is the plan for the Hetch Hetchy Valley after dam removal (“Under water,” HCN, 5/30/16)? My gut tells me that the Park Service and whatever corporation is running the park’s concessions would love to get their hands on it to sell T-shirts, trinkets and overpriced bland food, paving the Hetch Hetchy Valley and turning it into a veritable traffic jam. Frankly, in the months of July and August, when I’m looking for peace and quiet, I choose to visit Hetch Hetchy over Yosemite Valley. It’s a worthwhile environmental/philosophical question to ponder: Which valley has really been preserved?
Ben Wickham
Bishop, California
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Questions of preservation.
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