264 



Sierra Club Bulletin. 



THE HETCH-HETCHY WATER PROJECT. 



San Francisco, September 20, 1907. 



REPORT OF THE SIERRA CLUB COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY THE 

 PRESIDENT AT A MEETING OF THE DIRECTORS HELD IN SAN 

 FRANCISCO AUGUST 3I, I907. 



Whereas, The Yosemite National Park was created by an act 

 of Congress, October 8, 1890, in order that the unrivaled aggre- 

 gation of scenic features of this great natural wonderland should 

 be preserved in pure wildness for all time for the benefit of the 

 entire nation; and 



Whereas, An application has been made to this department by 

 certain local interests to utilize Hetch-Hetchy Valley as a reser- 

 voir site for the purpose of obtaining a municipal water-supply 

 for the city of San Francisco, and thus flooding the entire floor 

 of the valley; 



Whereas, Hetch-Hetchy Valley, far from being "a common 

 meadow," "a minor feature," as claimed by applicants, is a coun- 

 terpart of Yosemite and a great and wonderful feature of the 

 Park, next to Yosemite in beauty, grandeur, and importance; 



Whereas, The floor of Hetch-Hetchy, like that of Yosemite, 

 is a beautiful landscape park diversified by magnificent groves, 

 gardens, and flowery meadows in charming combinations specially 

 adapted for pleasure-camping; and 



Whereas, This wonderful valley is the focus of pleasure-travel 

 in the large surrounding area of the Park, and all the trails from 

 both the south and the north lead into and through this mag- 

 nificent campground, and though now accessible only by trails, 

 it is visited by large numbers of campers and travelers every 

 summer, and after a wagon-road has been made into it, and its 

 wonders become better known, it will be visited by countless 

 thousands of admiring travelers from all parts of the world; 



Whereas, If dammed and submerged one hundred and seventy- 

 five feet deep, as proposed, Hetch-Hetchy would be rendered 

 utterly inaccessible for travel, since no road could be built around 

 the borders of the reservoir without tunneling through solid 

 granite cHffs; and 



Whereas, These campgrounds would be destroyed and access 

 to other important places to the north and south of the valley 

 interfered with, and the High Sierra gateway of the sublime 

 Tuolumne Canon leading up to the grand Central Campground 

 of the Upper Tuolumne Valley would be completely blocked and 

 closed; and 



