Helicopter Use in Hetch Hetchy Next Week

A helicopter will be working in the Hetch Hetchy area Monday, August 16th through Thursday, August 19th assisting in the removal of the old USGS Falls Creek stream gage from Yosemite Wilderness. Flight coordination will be through Yosemite Dispatch and the Crane Flat Helibase. There will be a total of 6-8 flights between the helipad near the backpacker camp and the work site near the top of Wapama Falls.

I've always wondered if this old stream gage is the reason for the very faint trail that leads from the Beehive Trail to the top of Wapama Falls.

Why? Seems like a waste o money.

It looks like this in case anyone is wondering:





I can see them wanting to remove the cable that goes across the river but just seems like a waste.
There is plenty of other old gear out there wrt to the dam building too...