Re: Yosemite visitors center may go to Mariposa

WASHINGTON — A long-awaited new Yosemite National Park visitors center could land in Mariposa, under a bill getting its first congressional hearing Thursday.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/06/27/154091/yosemite-visitors-center-may-go.html

Some of the article doesn't make a lot of sense, like this part:

“Denham’s bill does not specify the parcel to be bought, nor does it list a price tag. The basic plan, though, revolves around the park service purchasing property near the intersection of Highways 49 and 140, near Yosemite’s Arch Rock entrance. Park entrance fees would fund the purchase.

The new visitors center would replace the current Mariposa facility, housed in a rented World War II-era building. Officials also anticipate constructing a work space for dozens of Yosemite employees who currently commute into the park.”

Who would consider the junction of Hwy 49 & Hwy 140 as being near Yosemite's Arch Rock entrance?

This new vistor center appears to be more about replacing the Mariposa County Visitor Center located in Mariposa that's staffed with Yosemite rangers in the summer months and not about replacing the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center.
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I don't get the point of this bill. What am I missing?

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limonjelly
I don't get the point of this bill. What am I missing?

Pork barrel. Federal money, to be spent locally. Every congressman needs to get his share. You could build something in El Portal, but who votes from there?

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wherever

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limonjelly
I don't get the point of this bill. What am I missing?

Pork barrel. Federal money, to be spent locally. Every congressman needs to get his share. You could build something in El Portal, but who votes from there?

I'm sort of wondering who even votes in Mariposa. The entire county has a population of less than 20K and it's only a small portion of the Congressional district. I remember that

It certainly sounds like they're looking to replace the Mariposa County Visitor's Center with something that's an actual NPS facility funded and staffed by NPS personnel. Having such a facility could also mean people stay in town longer to eat or get gas, which they want. I get this is pork, but in a way it makes sense.

It's not that unusual for NPS facilities or even visitor centers to be way outside of "official" park lands. Olympic NP has its main visitor center in Port Angeles. The only real visitor center for Channel Islands NP is on the mainland outside of the official boundaries.

I do remember something really odd once. We were on our way to Mt St Helens when we came across a highway sign for some sort of MSH visitor center. It was just a little bit off of I-5 and maybe 35 miles to the Johnston Ridge Observatory. It turned out to be operated by Washington State Parks without anything official from the Forest Service. They also had a $5 fee if you wanted to go past the information station. It didn't look like a lot of people visited their exhibits. Apparently it was a former Forest Service visitor center that was handed over to Washington to operate and then given outright ownership a few years later.

http://www.parks.wa.gov/stewardship/mountsthelens/