Hetch Hetchy in the News - Restore Hetch Hetchy

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July, 2007

We can mix reliable water supply with restoration
by Spreck Rosekrans
The Argus (July 12, 2007)
A close look at recent trends in water management suggests that new dams may not be the best way to provide reliable water supplies and that restoration of Hetch Hetchy is an option that should be kept on the table. Since 1990, more than 6 million acre-feet of storage, 17 times the storage of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, has been developed at six California sites alone... The needed water supply replacement [to restore Hetch Hetchy] would be relatively modest — far less water than Los Angeles already has dedicated to restoring Mono Lake, or than the Central Valley Project has put back into the Trinity River. The Tuolumne River water that flows to San Francisco and other Bay Area communities can be stored farther downstream, outside the park, allowing the Valley to be restored for the benefit of our children and grandchildren. More...

June, 2007

Editorial: Hetch Hetchy Parochial interests stymie restoration study
Sacramento Bee (June 30, 2007)
It's hardly surprising that a key House panel rejected President Bush's proposal to study how to restore Yosemite's famously submerged Hetch Hetchy Valley. Ever since Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco became House speaker, it was clear Bush's proposal would go nowhere, and that John Muir would remain heartbroken, rolling over in his grave.

Pelosi and her powerhouse counterpart in the Senate, Dianne Feinstein, cling to fears that draining Hetch Hetchy would endanger San Francisco's water and power supplies. Numerous California scientists say those supplies could be replaced by enlarging and revamping downstream reservoirs, but Pelosi and other Democrats in the House apparently don't want such findings validated by a federal study....

We remain convinced that one day, with less conflicted leaders in Congress and a more visionary president, the nation will realize the wisdom of restoring Yosemite -- our only national park with a valley plugged up by a municipal drinking water reservoir. With incremental investments over a generation, this "twin" of the Yosemite Valley, as Muir put it, could regain its place as a part of our nation's heritage. More...

$7M reservoir study nixed by lawmakers
Hetch Hetchy plan eliminated in House
By Michael Doyle
Modesto Bee, (June 27, 2007)
In a multibillion-dollar Interior Department funding bill, lawmakers pointedly declined to include money needed to study the Hetch Hetchy proposal. Bush had sought $7 million to begin studying the idea of draining the reservoir and restoring the once-famous valley in Yosemite National Park. More...
See also:
Video of Congressman Dan Lungren's House of Representatives Statement Objecting to the Failure to Fund the Study

April, 2007

Restore Hetch Hetchy Congressional Testimony Supporting Appropriation for Study of Restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley
PDF - (April 19, 2007)

Dan Lungren, Eco-Champion
by Ron Good, Restore Hetch Hetchy
Sacramento Bee, (April 12, 2007)
I applaud Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, for his foresight and courage in supporting the restoration of Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley. And he demonstrated his courage by being the first and, so far, only member of the House of Representatives or Senate (Democrat or Republican) to state publicly his support for Hetch Hetchy's restoration. Two letters to the editor ("Lungren's right on Hetch Hetchy," April 4, and "The greening of Dan Lungren, April 6) suggested that people should be skeptical of Lungren's motives or chastise him for positions on other environmental issues. Years ago, when President Reagan's interior secretary, Don Hodel, supported Hetch Hetchy's restoration, similar statements were made. However, Dave Brower, one of the world's leading environmentalists and a member of the Sierra Club's board of directors, asked club leaders: "Would they rather curse a man for his ... sins than reward him ... for his demonstrated virtue?" Regarding Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley, let's reward Lungren for his "demonstrated virtue."

March, 2007

It is time to restore Hetch Hetchy
by Congressman Dan Lungren
Sacramento Bee, (March 30, 2007)
"The restoration of Hetch Hetchy is about the return of a national treasure to all of the American people, and the addition of a prized piece of the fabric back into the quilt that is our national park system... For eight decades Americans have been deprived of this national treasure; now it is time to restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley... In order to move in this direction the federal study is imperative. And that is just the first step. Ultimately, it will take enormous cooperation among local, state and federal officials. And the cost of this endeavor will be substantial -- probably into the billions of dollars. Yet the gift we would present to our children, grandchildren and the world would be priceless."

Restore Hetch Hetchy Hires San Francisco Field Director
Yuba Net, (March 29, 2007)
The organization Restore Hetch Hetchy today announced the hiring of Tuan A. Nguyen to the position of San Francisco Field Director. Based in San Francisco, the Field Director will have the responsibility of educating San Franciscans about the many positive aspects of Restore Hetch Hetchy's growing campaign to restore Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley to its natural state, with a "win-win" outcome for San Francisco and its water and power customers. See Press Release.

Hetch Hetchy Plan Has New Ally
By David Whitney
Sacramento Bee, (March 16, 2007)
Rep. Dan Lungren, (R-Gold River), said that it is time to look seriously at restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park by draining the reservoir that has been a source of clean water for San Francisco for more than 80 years. The conservative Republican and former California attorney general said he is convinced that the 300-foot-deep reservoir could be drained without costing San Francisco its water supply, and that doing so would add a spectacular companion to Yosemite Valley in the internationally treasured park.... "Rep. Lungren is the first member of the U.S. Congress to come out in support of this," said Ron Good, head of Restore Hetch Hetchy. "It's a breakthrough..." "It's tough sledding," Lungren said. "But we need to show people that this is not a silly pipe dream that radical environmentalists support," he said.

Environmental Groups Ask Congress to Support Funding for Study of Restoration in Interior Budget (March 12, 2007)

February, 2007

Editorial: Friend of Yosemite?
Bush budget hatches Hetch Hetchy study
Sacramento Bee, (February 9, 2007)
The president's proposal to invest in the national park system, regardless of its motivation, is an affordable and lasting way to preserve extraordinary landscapes. The budget item amounts to a rounding error in a federal spending plan that's around $1 trillion. Administrations have traditionally nickled and dimed the park system budget. The Democrats who control the Congress should take this one part of the budget and run with it.... A savvy city would publicly grumble about Bush's meddling but then consider what a more balanced, reliable water portfolio that relied on its system's eight other reservoirs might look like -- and how federal taxpayers might help underwrite it.... Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein has a choice. She can behave as a former mayor of San Francisco, as is her custom. Or she can look forward.... The idea of investing in our national parks isn't going away. It is coming of age.

Funds for study of restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley face long odds
By Michael Doyle
Mercury News (February 7, 2007)
The Bush administration's quiet request for $7 million to study restoring the Hetch Hetchy Valley - which Sierra Club founder John Muir dubbed "Yosemite's twin" - keeps a controversy flowing, but probably not for long. This week, the administration slid the Hetch Hetchy study money into its overall Interior Department budget proposal. If Congress approves it, it would pay for research into the environmental and economic consequences of removing Hetch Hetchy's O'Shaughnessy Dam. "We are extremely pleased that the federal government has seen fit to become a full partner with California in the Hetch Hetchy restoration-study process," said Ron Good, the executive director of the Sonora, Calif., organization Restore Hetch Hetchy. Almost certainly, the pleasure will be short-lived. More...

Bush budget proposes Hetch Hetchy study
RESTORATION ADVOCATES SURPRISED, PLEASED
By Douglas Fischer
Mercury News (February 7, 2007)
It was those arguing for the valley's restoration who were most surprised. ``At this point, I don't know where this is going,'' said Jerry Cadagan, chairman of the board for Restore Hetch Hetchy. ``This came as a very big surprise to a bunch of us today. We're just going to see where it goes. ``Obviously, we're delighted. This is a way of keeping the issue alive.'' The line item, deep in President Bush's $2.9 trillion budget plan, is simply the latest in a chain of fateful and fortuitous breaks in what was once seen as the most quixotic environmental quest in California: the restoration of the Hetch Hetchy Valley...

For earlier stories, see:

To get involved in the effort to restore Hetch Hetchy, contact Restore Hetch Hetchy at: info@hetchhetchy.org, To get involved in the effort to restore Hetch Hetchy, contact Restore Hetch Hetchy at: info@hetchhetchy.org, P.O. Box 3538, Sonora, CA 95370. Telephone: (209) 533-4481.

For inquiries about this website, contact the webmaster, at: webmaster@hetchhetchy.org

Updated 7-22-07

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