Talk:History of the Yosemite area

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History of the Yosemite area is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do so.

This article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on March 24, 2005.

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December 5, 2004	Featured article candidate	Promoted
August 12, 2010	Featured article review	Kept

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Transportation Section Added[edit]

I added a section "Transportation" that adds more details on transportation development in Yosemite. It starts with the use of horse trails and stagecoaches, moves to the railroad era, and finally to the increasing use of automobiles. The material highlights the ongoing issues with vehicle traffic in Yosemite, starting from as early as the 1900s when the National Park Service first attempted to regulate the entry of private automobiles.

Even though some efforts were made to address these challenges, traffic and congestion problems continue up to today. This added information gives a more complete understanding of Yosemite's history, the changes over time, and the continued struggle to balance park access and preservation. I included over 20 inline citations, including reference books I bought during a recent trip to Yosemite, where I visited stage and rail routes. — --Guywelch2000 (talk) 02:29, 15 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Removed from article[edit]

The below text needs to be cited before it can be put back in the article. --mav (Urgent FACs/FARs/PRs) 16:19, 24 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Mono Paiutes were the only group that kept returning to the Valley on a regular basis. They lived in established native villages in the Valley into the early 20th century. As older tribe members died, younger ones tended to favor non-traditional housing provided by the National Park Service. A few Paiute and Miwok families still live in the Valley and are employed by the Park Service. A reconstructed "Indian Village of Ahwahnee" is now located behind the Yosemite Museum, which is next to the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center. The museum has exhibits that interpret the cultural history of Yosemite's indigenous residents from 1850 to the present. In addition, the museum has regularly scheduled demonstrations of basket-weaving, beadwork, and traditional games by Native American presenters.

Stanford University mechanical engineering student Arthur Clarence Pillsbury arrived in Yosemite for the first time by bicycle in 1895. The young man fell in love with Yosemite and in 1897 bought a studio there. He visited Yosemite many times and photographed Muir, Galen Clark, George Fiske, and Teddy Roosevelt. These photos were published as postcards by the Pillsbury Picture Company. Pillsbury had begun producing postcards with his photos as soon as this innovative form of communication was authorized by Congress in 1898. His many nature films, eventually shown in theaters as well as in schools, clubs and for his lecture tours awakened the public to the need for conservation in the wake of Muir's death in 1914.

Many visitors fail to realize the wild aspect of the park, and tend to treat it like a zoo — feeding animals, petting them, taking mementos home; this is a dramatic safety issue for the visitors and is also illegal. Squirrels that feed all summer become obese, making them prey for Mountain Lions, which are a safety issue unto themselves. Food left in cars are easy pickings for the local Black Bear populations. Petting Mule Deer risks serious injury (the only person killed in Yosemite by an animal was killed by a deer). The Park Service, in conjunction with businesses and groups in the park, are trying to encourage people to experience and learn about Yosemite.

Trails and high use areas are redesigned to reduce impact. A free shuttle bus system has been developed to help relieve summer traffic congestion in the valley. Proposals to exclude cars in the summer that are not registered at a hotel or campsite within the valley have been investigated (this has already been implemented at other parks, such as Zion National Park in Utah). Many agencies in the Park offer educational activities and trips. Ironically, only about 14 square miles (36 km²) of the 1,200 mi² of the park are visited by a majority of the people.

In March 1986 the California Department of Fish and Game, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Forest Service reintroduced Bighorn Sheep just east of the park in Lee Vining Canyon. The herd reached a peak of nearly 100 individuals in 1994, but almost 60% of the herd died in the winter of 1994–1995. About 55 bighorns from the herd were counted in the 1996 census.

Details that need to be verified[edit]

I have carried out a couple of edits but have extrapolated some details to make them. From the context I have assumed logging is no longer allowed in the area. If this is false the sentence I introduced to that effect should be removed. I also noticed while moving the sentence "yet there were still 1,300 buildings in Yosemite Valley and 17 acres (6.9 ha) of the valley floor were covered by parking lots in the late 1990s" that the source this comment is attributed to is from 1994 so I don't see how it can make comments about the late 1990s. Lambanog (talk) 02:12, 10 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Ownership of the land that became Yosemite[edit]

After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the territory that is now the State of California was transferred to ownership and sovereignty of the United States. The federal government recognized private land claims by all residents including former Mexican citizens (but not the native people). All unclaimed land was then owned by the federal government, and sold to private interests after it was surveyed. These sales are known as "land patents" and are still recorded in the BLM records. Yosemite was set aside as a reservation as an act of Congress. Lincoln really had very little to do with it aside from signing the act -- he signed 250+ acts that year including dozens of other land grant acts. Ownership was transferred to the state of California by this act. See the works of Paul Wallace Gates for more on federal land policy, including an important paper on federal land policy in California. LaurentianShield (talk) 13:29, 21 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

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Stock yards photo[edit]

The image "The Stock Yards, Yosemite Valley, Calif (NYPL b12647398-62656)" is included in the article. While the file title identifies it as being in the Yosemite Valley on both Commons and the New York Public Library's web page (which is the source of the image), the image itself is clearly captioned "6134 Stock Yards, Chicago, Illinois". There is no mention of stock yards in the article (except for the caption for this image) and I think this is either a mistake or a joke that has evaded detection. I will remove it from the article in a week unless someone can explain why it should stay. Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 21:19, 16 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I took it out. Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 03:08, 22 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

colonial perspective / not neutral point of view[edit]

There is a paragraph in the beginning of the article that reads,

"In 1864, Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoia trees were transferred from federal to state ownership. Yosemite pioneer Galen Clark became the park's first guardian. Conditions in Yosemite Valley were made more hospitable to people and access to the park was improved in the late 19th century. Naturalist John Muir and others became increasingly alarmed about the excessive exploitation of the area. Their efforts helped establish Yosemite National Park in 1890. Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove were added to the national park in 1906."

Perhaps it should be mentioned that the land was taken from the indigenous people if there is going to be mention of it being transferred from federal to state ownership. Should also be noted that the Indigenous people were the parks first guardians, not Galen Clark. Further, there is no citation for that statement. Really the entire paragraph should be rewritten. In what way was he a guardian? He seems like a gatekeeper that allowed white people in and forbid indigenous people. The third sentence can be picked apart in the same way. Yosemite Valley became more hospitable for settlers and less hospitable for the indigenous people that had been living there for millenia. Really, visiting Yosemite Valley was life threatening for indigenous people. John Muir exploited the area as a place to vacation in complete disregard for the way the indigenous people were being treated. Writers of that time spoke out against what was happening and John Muir really had no excuse for white washing Yosemite.

2600:1700:7A51:10B0:21FA:C1D:80EF:54F7 (talk) 17:25, 4 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Too much white oriented[edit]

There are some 8 pictures of white people, but only one blurry picture of Native American activity. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:A601:AB71:AB00:509A:BDC4:1A62:C6C5 (talk) 18:05, 7 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]