Court rules Yosemite Merced River Plan not protective

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on October 27 in favor of Friends of Yosemite Valley and MERG (Mariposans for Environmentally Responsible Growth), that the Merced River Management Plan does not protect the River. The opinion by Judge Wardlaw ruled that the National Park Service’s (NPS) Plan for the Merced River violates the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act by “insufficiently addressing user capacities and improperly setting river area boundaries within El Portal.

In its ruling the court stated it expects the NPS to implement measures to avoid environmental degradation. The court also ruled that the boundaries the NPS set for its El Portal area, on the Park’s western boundary, were improperly set as they do not protect the Merced River’s outstanding remarkable resource values.

This appeal was accompanied by an Amicus Brief filed by Pete Frost of the Western Environmental Law Center on behalf of 52 other environmental groups including Sierra Club. The case will now return to the District Court in Fresno to implement the appellate decision. To read the full opinion, visit www.ca9.uscourts.gov and click opinions where you can search by date.