We think you're near Los Angeles

Green Spotlight on Restore Hetch Hetchy

Amy Lou Jenkins' photo
Green Living Examiner
Kolana Rock from the Lower Hetch Hetchy ValleyGorge at Extreme Lower EndFall in the Main Tuolumne River at the Head of Hetch Hetchy Valley13 photosView the full slideshow »
Writer John McKinney, in the Los Angeles Times, has commented, "Almost no one living now remembers how Hetch Hetchy Valley looked before it was flooded with water in 1915." But now you can travel now into the past, to see what this lovely valley once looked like. All of these photographs were taken by Sierra Club activist J.N. LeConte around the turn of this century, years before the dam was built. There are twelve more photographs in this series after this page.
"Hetch Hetchy Valley is a grand landscape garden,<br /> one of Nature's rarest
"Hetch Hetchy Valley is a grand landscape garden,
one of Nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples."
- John Muir
A Poster of this Brooks Anderson painting serves to spread the message and raise funds for Restore Hetch Hetchy. 
 

Many Americans and tourists from around the world have experienced the  thundering waterfalls, soaring granite cliffs, gentle swaying meadow grasses and wildflowers of Yosemite Valley. But the other Valley, a virtual twin, with all the features of Yosemite has been flooded since shorty after the Raker Act passed in  1913. No camera, no eyes, no  green living examiner spotlight has seen this valley since the O'Shaughnessy Dam backed up the Tuolumne River into "Little Sierra." 

 Although part of a National Park, the Hetch Hetchy valley has been buried beneath 300 feet of water. The natural wonder that so enchanted John Muir has been used as a storage tank by the City of San Francisco for decades.

The mission of Restore Hetch Hetchy is to return the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park to its natural splendor while continuing to meet the water and supply needs of all communities that depend on the Tuolumne River.

Restore Hetch Hetchy isn't just dreaming of meadow flowers. This organization has declared that they are working toward a "win-win" outcome for Yosemite National Park, for the cities of the Bay Area and for the Turlock and Modesto Irrigation Districts all of which rely on water stored in the Hetch Hetchy Valley. Their recent study, using data from respected California water experts, shows that is feasible to restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley, while preserving 95% of the existing water supply and 73% of the hydro-power currently generated by daming the Tuolumne River. 

In the early 1900s, the Hetch Hetchy Valley was a wonder to behold. Naturalist John Muir dubbed it Yosemite's twin and considered it "one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples." Then, it was flooded.

Narrated by Shari Belafonte, the film features brilliant footage and photographs of Hetch Hetchy's great granite walls and booming waterfalls, Tueeulala and Wapama. The film focuses on Restore Hetch Hetchy's mission for a "win-win" restoration of Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley.

Amy Lou Jenkins is the Author of  Every Natural Fact: Five Seasons of Open-Air Parenting by Amy Lou JenkinsEvery Natural Fact: Five Seasons of Open-Air Parenting

"If you combined the lyricism of Annie Dillard, the vision of Aldo Leopold, and the gentle but tough-minded optimism of Frank McCourt, you might come close to Amy Lou Jenkins,...I, for one, would follow her anywhere."—Tom Bissell author of The Father of All Things         

Jenkins' polished literary style makes it, sentence by sentence, a joy to read."   - Phillip Lopate, Author of Waterfront Friend Amy Lou Jenkins on Facebook

 
 

Advertisement

, Green Living Examiner

Amy Lou Jenkins is an award-winning writer, speaker and educator navigating the joys and challenges of living a greener life. She holds an MFA in Literature and Writing and is the author of EVERY NATURAL FACT: FIVE SEASONS OF OPEN-AIR PARENTING. Contact her at www.AmyLouJenkins.com.

Don't miss...