Re: Yosemite Merced River Plan: Alternative Development Workbook Published Online

From the National Park Service (NPS):

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October 14, 2011

Alternative Development Workbook Published Online

Getting in on the ground floor provides an opportunity to have greatest impact on a project. That is why we are offering this unique opportunity to share your insight before alternatives have been created for the Merced River Plan.

The workbook provides a window into our process and represents a high degree of transparency. Through it you will gain insight in to some of the key considerations that must be weighed to balance the sometimes conflicting goals of:

• ecological and natural resource values,
• direct connection to the river values
• visitor use management, and
• land use and associated developments

The workbook articulates the challenges that park management must address to meet the Merced River Plan goals of balancing resource protection with visitor access and enjoyment. It also identifies 35 key management considerations and potential options for detailed discussion. These management considerations were selected for discussion based on complexity and public interest.

You can find the workbook at www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/mrp_documents.htm

Fill it out online or download it to review and begin preparing for our upcoming meetings!


Workshop venue changed

The San Francisco workshop will be at The Palm Room in the San Francisco Film Centre. Parking is available across the street. For directions to this meeting location, visit: www.sffilmcentre.com/contact/directions.html

Save the Date for Dialogue and Discovery
Mark your calendars for the Merced River Plan Fall Workshops.

Date		Time 		Location

Oct. 27, 2011	5-8 pm		El Portal Community Center
				El Portal, California

Oct. 28, 2011	1-5 pm		Wawona Community Center
				Wawona, California

Oct. 29, 2011	10 am – 4 pm	Garden Terrace, Yosemite Lodge
				Yosemite National Park

Nov. 7, 2011	10 am – 4 pm	Garden Terrace, Yosemite Lodge
				Yosemite National Park

Nov. 9, 2011	5-8 pm		The Palm Room, San Francisco Film Centre
				San Francisco, California
				*For directions to this meeting location, visit: www.sffilmcentre.com/contact/directions.html

For more information about the Merced River Plan visit www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/mrp.htm.

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There is a technical issue here. Two versions of the booklet: one that you can save and print out, and one that you can edit to add your comments, print out and send in to submit your comments to the planning process. Problem - neither version will print out correctly, only the middle of the pages print out with all your typed comments truncated / half sentences missing.
There is also supposed to be an online version that you can email back, but it seems to be missing and no email address is provided to submit comments.
HELP!

Hi Katy,

The workbook is formatted at 11x17, but will print at 8.5 x 11 if you set your page scaling to "Fit to Printable Area" or some similar version depending on your printer. I realize the large size is a pain but it was done to preserve the details in the maps.

I have tried to go in and fix the workbook pdf so that you can save it as well as email it. I also added a pdf of just the last four feedback pages for easier printing and emailing. Let me know if you're still having trouble with it.

We will be providing copies of the workbook at the public meetings so if you're in the Yosemite or San Francisco area stop by. Full schedule of meetings is at www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/mrp_meetings.htm.

Thanks Jana for making those changes and also explaining what I was doing wrong with the printing (it's formatted for legal size and I was printing it on regular size paper.)

Adding the emailable file is probably helpful for a lot of folks that can't attend the meeting in person. What email address should that be sent to?

One more question: The booklet has a five pages (page 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21) with numbered questions, detailed options and alternatives. These pages are not fillable in the pdf, nor are they included in the four feedback pages that you have provided as an emailable file. How will you be collecting feedback on this?

Katy, the hope was that people would carry their ideas or favorite over to the sections on page 28. You may not be able to fit all of the issues into these boxes, but just about everyone has top issues that they are more concerned about than others. Part of the thinking was this would help people identify what's important to them and help concentrate the comments to four pages so that we're less likely to miss something. However, I have to confess that this is a new step in the process for all of us and we are learning as we go. If you find it frustrating that you can't check the boxes or provide comments on those pages, let me know. There may be time to make additional changes to the pdf and it will help us next time we design something like this.

Parklover, we will be hosting two webinars so that people who are unable to make the public meetings still have an opportunity to participate. The logistics of prepping for other meetings has temporarily over-shadowed the webinars. We should be nailing down the dates and the formats soon. I will send out another email once we have those set.

If you are continuing to have trouble with printing the workbook, feel free to email me at jana_friesen_mccabe@nps.gov. I will be happy to put one in the mail to you. The email to send the electronic copies of the workbook to is yose_planning@nps.gov.

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Jana

Parklover, we will be hosting two webinars so that people who are unable to make the public meetings still have an opportunity to participate. The logistics of prepping for other meetings has temporarily over-shadowed the webinars. We should be nailing down the dates and the formats soon. I will send out another email once we have those set.

If you are continuing to have trouble with printing the workbook, feel free to email me at jana_friesen_mccabe@nps.gov. I will be happy to put one in the mail to you. The email to send the electronic copies of the workbook to is yose_planning@nps.gov.

Unfortunately, in the past, the webinars have been during times that I am driving my son to or from school/school activities. The one time I tried the webinar I could not get it to work. I have found that trying to look at the worksheet on a laptop screen is tedious and hard on the eyes because I can't enlarge it enough to read and have the whole page on the screen. If I can't print it, I will contact you for a copy.

Thanks

Katy thanks for asking and Jana thanks for responding. Frankly, I was getting so frustrated that I was just about ready not to comment even though I comment on almost all of the plans. I will try to print it out.

Jana, I do not not live near Yosemite or San Fransisco so if I can't get it to print out, is there another way I could get a hard copy?