Yosemite - Now and Then

The San Jose Mercury News reports, "In a move that highlights the often-conflicting mission of America's national park system -- to protect spectacular landscapes and to provide public recreation -- officials at Yosemite National Park are proposing to cut down hundreds, perhaps thousands, of trees in Yosemite Valley as part of an effort to improve the views of the park's famed waterfalls and soaring granite walls."

According to reporter Paul Rogers, "Some of the most famous spots, like the site in Yosemite Valley where photographer Carleton Watkins took a historic portrait of El Capitan in 1868 -- a photo later used on a renowned 1934 one-cent postage stamp -- are nearly completely obscured now by trees."

He goes on to say, "Now, iconic views captured generations ago by photographers like Ansel Adams or Carleton Watkins and painters like Albert Bierstadt are being lost, parks officials say, and must be preserved, similar to the way the National Park Service preserves wildlife or historic buildings."

To read the entire article, click here.