From: [email protected] Subject: Your Help Is Needed Over July 4th Weekend at YOSEMITE Land Rights Network American Land Rights Association PO Box 400 – Battle Ground, WA 98604 Phone: 360-687-3087 – Fax: 360-687-2973 – E-mail: [email protected] Web Address: http://www.landrights.org Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE – Washington, DC 20003 Phone: 202-210-2357 – Fax: 202-543-7126 – E-mail: [email protected] Your Help Is Needed Over July 4th Weekend at YOSEMITE Visitors and Communities for an Open Yosemite (VCOY) will carry out a “Greeter at the Gates” program outside all the entrances at Yosemite National Park over part of the July 4th weekend. Volunteers to participate for short periods are very important. Please respond quickly to this message to let us know when you can come and help get the message out to keep Yosemite Open. No matter where you live in California, this message is for you. The National Park Service is taking Yosemite away from the people. Eventually, cars will not be allowed in Yosemite Valley and YOU WILL BE FORCED to ride a bus. The NPS is also closing over 60% of the campgrounds in Yosemite Valley that were there before the 1980 General Plan. In addition, they are closing 75% of the parking that was there in 1980. The campgrounds are always full now because the Park Service has closed so many of them. If there is any space left, they close some more. They want to close most of them. It does not have to be that way. And it could be worse, unless you help fight back. Imagine how hard it would be to come to Yosemite with all your stuff, kids, food and more and have to take it off the bus every time you wanted to stop at Bridal Veil Fall or some other location. It would be a nightmare. You wouldn’t come back. Climbers and campers will be vastly impacted about what they can do and where they can do it. The Indians are upset at being locked out of traditional areas. Congress gave the Park Service a huge amount of money to restore Yosemite and the campgrounds from the floods. Instead, the Park Service is using the money to remove campgrounds and parking and lock the people out. Even if you are not involved closely with Yosemite, this message matters to you because Yosemite will set the standard for all national parks nationwide. If they get away with squeezing down Yosemite, they’ll know they have the green light for your favorite place. The first Visitors and Communities For An Open Yosemite (VCOY “Greeter at the Gates” program over Memorial Day at all the entrance gates to Yosemite was a great success. In two days we handed out over 4,000 surveys and lots of car signs, bumper stickers and other handouts. There was an average of three people or more in each car. That means that the message to keep Yosemite open got in the hands of between 12,000 and 16,000 people. Your help is needed again. Volunteers must man the gates parts of three days over the July 4th weekend. We’ll be setting up on Highway 41, Highway 140 and Highway 120. We may even do Tioga Pass with enough volunteers. We’ll have greeters at the gates at the following times. Please let us know as soon as you can which days and time periods you can help. Thursday, July 3rd from 12:00 Noon until 8:00 PM. That will be broken into three time periods. 12:00 Noon to 3:00 PM 2:30 PM until 5:30 PM 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM Friday, July 4th from 10:00 AM until 7:00 PM. That will be broken into the following time periods. 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM 5:30: PM to 8:30 PM Saturday, July 5th from 10:00 PM to 3:30 PM. That will again be broken in these time periods. 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM We’ve tried to make the work periods shorter than they were over Memorial Day. It would be very much appreciated if you could work more than one work period and possibly more than one day. To respond, simply send this message back with your name, address, phone, cell phone and e-mail or whatever of those you have. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, July 3, 4 and 5th families from communities around Yosemite will be setting up greeting stations at ALL YOSEMITE PARK ENTRANCES to greet visitors as they wait in line to enter the park. The family representatives will be handing the visitors a quick survey to fill out. We found we did not have enough time over Memorial Day for them to fill them out and return them on the spot. This time we will give them pre-addressed return envelopes. The survey will ask their opinion about whether they want to give up their cars and be forced to ride a bus into the park. It will also ask about the Park Service’s closing 60% of the campsites in Yosemite that were there before the 1980 General Management Plan and shutting down over 70% of the parking that existed in Yosemite Valley prior to the 1980 Plan. We’ll ask them about other kinds of access also. It is urgent that you go to your closest entrance to support your fellow residents and help keep Yosemite Open. Don’t allow the Park Service to lock you out. Families representing the group Visitors and Communities for an Open Yosemite will be at the Highway 41, Highway 140 and Highway 120 Entrances. Representatives of climbing, camping and Indian groups have joined with Visitors and Communities For An Open Yosemite. They will also be helping at the gates. It is very important that you show up, even for an hour or two, to support keeping Yosemite Open. Bring signs that only focus on Yosemite, chairs, water and of course a hat. For more information, Contact Chuck Cushman of American Land Rights at his office at (360) 687-3087 until Monday, June 30th. After that he can be reached on his cell phone at (360) 607-3312. Or call Dan Carter at the East Madera County Visitors Bureau at (559) 683-4636. You may also call Johnny Ruiz who will be leading the effort at the Highway 41 (South) entrance. His number is (559) 877-4151 or his cell is (559) 307-7819. Urge your friends to go. Call a neighbor. Help us send a message to Congress and the Park Service to keep Yosemite open and accessible to families and cars. Please respond to this message to tell us if you are willing to help. PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE. -- To unsubscribe from this mailing list; please visit http://governance.net and enter your email address.