It is the park policy that rock stacks be dismantled when found. Here is the text from a park handout. If you don't like rock stacks being torn down; take it up with the superintendent.
Yosemite National Park
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Rockpile Gardens
Millions are drawn to Yosemite each year to enjoy stunning views of natural scenery. Some visitors create unnatural additions by stacking piles of small granite rocks. These “rock gardens” expand until all rocks in an area are arranged in neat piles. These piles detract from the scenery, harm plant and animal habitat, and are inappropriate in a national park setting. Please help us take them down.
What are they?
Granite landscapes develop slowly over thousands of years. We find rocks today where glaciers, floods, and rockfall deposited them. Microhabitats form around small rocks just as meadows and forests have developed throughout the Sierra. Moving these rocks can cause several harmful impacts.
The crustal combination of algae and fungus commonly seen on Yosemite granite is called lichen. Lichen is the first step in soil formation; it breaks down granite to allow plants to gain a foothold in the thin soils. When a rock is moved and the lichen’s supply of sunlight and water is eliminated, the lichen dies. Since lichen takes decades to grow large enough to be seen with the human eye, moving even bare rocks is harmful to soil development.
Some plants grow only along the edges of rocks where soil moisture may be trapped. When a rock is moved, the surrounding soil dries out, killing the surrounding plants.
Many invertebrates depend on loose rocks for habitat. A rare species of pseudoscorpion (Parobisium yosemite), unique to Yosemite Valley, lives under rocks. There also may be more undiscovered species taking shelter under Yosemite’s granite.
Some piles have been constructed on boulders and in tree branches above five feet in height; some ground piles tower over six feet. These piles are not stable and create a serious risk, especially to small children who may accidentally knock over a pile.
Why should you help us dismantle them?
Look before you clean!
Yosemite also has many historic and prehistoric rock alignments that are important tangible links to the ancient past. The National Park Service is responsible for preserving and protecting these; in fact, disturbing or destroying them is a violation of federal law. If it is unclear whether a rock stack is modern or historic, please leave it in place.
Historic alignments are often building foundations, usually square in shape. Prehistoric alignments can be difficult to distinguish from modern constructs. They can take several forms: rock circles, usually from one to three courses high; ancient cairns or rock stacks; hunting blinds; and other linear alignments. Lichen growth is sometimes an indicator of antiquity.
Prehistoric rock ring in the wilderness – note the wooden elements, which are possible structure remnants. Many of these rings have been damaged or destroyed by visitors for campfires at adjacent backpacker rock rings.
A matter of opinion
While some may feel modern human-created rockpiles are attractive in their own way, many others feel they are visually intrusive. These piles are not appropriate for national parks. Places like Yosemite were preserved to protect natural processes and views of natural landscapes, not as showcases for freeform public art. Building a small rock pile in isolation may seem harmless, but the cumulative effects of hundreds of rockpiles have significant impacts. Please do your part to leave rocks in place to ensure that future visitors will have views of unimpaired natural landscapes.
If you see collections of piles that are clearly the handiwork of today’s visitors, help us take them down.Please do your part to help the National Park Service preserve Yosemite’s scenic landscapes.
Please dismantle and report any visitor-built rockpile gardens you encounter.
