REPORT OF THE ACTING SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK. YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, SIR: I have the honer to submit the following report of conditions and administration in the Yosemite National Park during the season of 1911: GENERAL STATEMENT. This park is situated in Tuolumne, Mariposa, and Mono Counties, Cal., and originally had an area of about 1,512 square miles. The lands embraced therein were set aside by act of Congress approved October 1, 1890 (26 Stat., 650), and were placed under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior. By the act of February 7, 1905 (33 Stat., 702), and the joint resolution of June 11, 1906 (34 Stat., 831), the boundaries were changed, excluding a total of 555.94 square miles therefrom and including a total of 168.35 square miles not previously within the reservation, making the present area of 1,124.41 square miles, or 719,622.40 acres. The second change in boundaries included the recession of Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Big Tree Grove to the Federal Government. The Yosemite Valley is open to travel all the year round, and, while it is impracticable because of the snow to ascend any of the trails up to the rim of the valley, the principal roads on the floor of the valley are passable. Troops D and K, First Cavalry, that had been on duty in the park during the season of 1910, were withdrawn on November 1, 1910, and on December 6, 1910, I returned to my station at the Presidio of San Francisco, leaving Mr. Gabriel Sovulewski, the supervisor, in immediate charge of the park. The weather during the winter was severe. The snow and rainfall was unusually heavy and continued later than usual into the spring. On account of the heavy snowfall, the road from Yosemite Valley to Wawona was not open for stage travel until April 21, 1911, nearly one month later than the previous spring. On April 18, 1911, I arrived in the park to remain for the season, and on May 22, 1911, Troops C and D, First Cavalry, arrived in Yosemite Valley for the usual protection duty. The troops were late in reaching the park because they had to be brought from the Mexican border, where they had been on duty for several months. As soon as practicable, detachments were stationed at Wawona, the Mariposa Big Tree Grove, Crane Flat, Merced Big Trees, Aspen Valley, Hog Ranch, Hetch Hetchy Valley, Lake Eleanor, Buck Creek, and Soda Springs, and a district was assigned to each detachment, which was provided with written instructions and a schedule of patrols to be made in its district. The authorized strength of each of the troops assigned to duty in the park having been increased by the War Department to 75 men each, and Troop C having had no previous service in the park, most of the men were unacquainted with their duties and with the geography of the park, but they were eager to learn and deserve commendation for zealous and faithful service. There were only three line officers with these two troops, a number utterly inadequate for efficiency, and more officers were repeatedly asked for, but were not available. GRAZING. No sheep or stock have been herded through the park, and there has been much less trouble with cattle and friction with cattle owners on the west side than in previous years. The few cattle that drifted in from the forest reserve on the west side were quickly removed, but the owners were nevertheless reported to the forest supervisor for violation of the conditions of their grazing permits. FIRES. It is gratifying to be able to report that there have been no serious forest fires in the park this season. The few that occurred were discovered before they had spread and were promptly extinguished. GAME. The deer, bear, grouse, and quail continue to increase. Many coyotes were destroyed last winter by poison after the bears went into hibernation. The measures adopted for driving the bears out of Yosemite Valley proved in a great degree successful, and but little annoyance to campers was caused by them this season. FISH. Thirty-two cans containing about 62,000 Loch Leven, Rainbow, and Eastern Brook trout were received July 20 at El Portal from the California fish and game commission, Sisson hatchery, and during that night 18 cans were planted in the Merced River between the park boundary and Happy Isles, 4 cans in Bridal Veil Creek below the falls, 2 cans in Yosemite Creek below the falls, and 8 cans in the Merced in Little Yosemite Valley. Trout were also transplanted from nearby streams to Dorothy, Mary, and Tilden Lakes, in the extreme northern part of the park. Some trout were placed also in Miller Lake by the Sierra Club. FENCES. The recommendation of previous years that the western boundary be fenced is not renewed, as it is understood that an arrangement is in progress between the Forest Service and the cattle owners on that side to build a fence at their joint expense in the forest reserve, near the west park boundary in order to prevent the trespassing of cattle on the park lands. The material for a fence around the big tree, "Grizzly Giant," has been purchased and will be erected in the near future. The barbedwire fence around the Mariposa Big Tree Grove has not been kept in repair this season in view of the contemplated removal of all dead timber and other inflammable material from the grove. The barbedwire fence is unsatisfactory and should be replaced by a wire mesh fence after the dead timber is cleared out of the grove. PATENTED LANDS. The urgent recommendations of previous years that the Government extinguish the title to all patented lands in the park is renewed. There are approximately 20,000 acres of these lands, consisting of timber claims and a few claims that were taken up under the homestead act and were never occupied as homesteads, but simply used as a pretext for bringing in stock or cattle to stray upon the park lands. There are no persons now living on patented lands within the limits of the park, except Mr. Kibby, at Lake Eleanor. The timber claims are valuable and are becoming more so every year. Some of the finest sugar pine timber in California lies within the park along the road from Wawona to Chinquapin, and the Yosemite Lumber Co. is now building a logging railroad from El Portal to the park boundary near Chinquapin with the view of cutting the timber from 6,000 acres of land that it claims within the park near Alder Creek. The work of denudation in that locality is imminent, and this is what will happen to the timber on all the patented lands in the park in a short time unless they are purchased by the Government. This matter demands urgent attention and should no longer be neglected. It would be greatly to the interests of the Government to extinguish all private claims within the park. The necessity of preserving the forest in this portion of the park and of reducing the number of private claims to such an extent as would justify the Federal Government in purchasing the remaining claims was one of the main points which caused the Yosemite Commission of 1904 to recommend the reduction of the area of the park. That commission, as has every other person who has been charged with the welfare of the park or with making any recommendations in regard to it, recommended that the Government immediately purchase and extinguish all private rights. TELEPHONE SERVICE. The telephone system connecting all the soldier outposts with the superintendent's office was promptly repaired and placed in operation by the troops, much facilitating the administration and protection of the park. The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co., by permission of the department, operates its lines from Yosemite Valley to the outside world by way of El Portal, on condition that all Government messages, telephone or telegraph, shall be transmitted free. ROADS. There are about 141 miles of road in the park, the Coulterville road, 19 miles, the Big Oak Flat road, 10 miles, the Wawona-Glacier Point-Yosemite Valley road, 32 miles, the Tioga road, 45 miles, and the Government roads, about 35 miles, the latter comprising the roads on the floor of Yosemite Valley and the portion of the Yosemite Valley-El Portal road lying within the park. The Big Oak Flat, the Wawona-Glacier Point-Yosemite Valley, and the Tioga roads are toll roads. The status of the Coulterville road is not definitely known, recent information being to the effect that the franchise of that road has been extinguished. Full information about these toll roads is contained in the Report of the Yosemite Park Commissioners, Senate Document No. 34. Fifty-eighth Congress, third session. GOVERNMENT ROADS. The Yosemite Valley-El Portal road is the main highway into the park. The sprinkling system installed on it last season was extended by putting in more water supply stations, and the dust nuisance was completely eliminated. The portion of this road between Pohono Bridge and the park boundary, about 10 miles, is still rocky, narrow, and tortuous, and it should be widened, straightened, regulated in grade, and metalled. Work was resumed on the improvement of that portion of the road on the south side of the Merced River between El Capitan Bridge and Yosemite village and 3,145 feet have been completed, with work still in progress. The portion of the Wawona road that belongs to the Government should be improved and sprinkled, and all the roads on the floor of the valley should be metalled, parts of them being relocated in order to follow more attractive routes, and the road between the village and Happy Isles, on the south side of the river, should be metalled and sprinkled first, because of the preponderance of travel over it. TRAILS. The new trail from above Mirror Lake to Lake Tenaya has been completed at a total cost of $6,461.43. The trip from Yosemite Valley to Lake Tenaya over this trail is attractive and the trail was much traveled this season. In addition to the heavy wear and tear of the travel on all the old trails leading up from the floor to the rim of Yosemite Valley, they were all badly washed out by the heavy floods of the spring and early summer. They were repaired and maintained in good condition during the season. The heavy floods also badly damaged nearly all the trails exterior to Yosemite Valley, and a working party is now making repairs on the Hog Ranch-Hetch Hetchy-Lake Eleanor trail which was completely washed away in many places. Because of the heavy snowfall of the previous winter, the higher altitudes of the park were inaccessible until late in the summer, some of the high trails being blocked by snow at the end of August. The trail from Yosemite Valley to Lake Merced was made about 4 miles shorter. BRIDGES. The recommendation of last year is renewed that the Sentinel Bridge be replaced by a reenforced concrete bridge about four times. as wide as the present bridge, which is just wide enough for one wagon and is in a dilapidated condition. |