Yosemite Valley Campers Coalition

Click Here for the Petition to Save Yosemite Valley Campgrounds

About Us

1980, the National Park Service (NPS) issued the Yosemite General Management Plan (GMP) to the public. Brian H. Ouzounian, a resident in the Los Angeles area, and a longtime family camper began to review the plan as it related to the future of family camping.  Brian's family camping tradition started in the  1920's via both grandfathers.

The GMP contained many provisions that would diminish opportunities for family camping in Yosemite Valley. Brian  discovered that the outreach by the YNP planners was slanted toward the "fixed roof" lodgers/visitors of the Park. Campers, although millions strong, were not given the opportunities to respond.  Surveys were sent to "fixed roof" visitors using the concessionaire and its data base.  And although campers outnumber lodge/hotel visitors, campers were not included in the survey.

In 1997 the NPS started holding public meetings throughout the state on what was to become the Yosemite Valley Plan. .  The meeting in November 1997 at Pasadena CA had a crowd of over 300 interested persons.  Many campers were present at the Pasadena meeting and they were upset with the proposed "alternatives" presented by the Park Service.  It was this meeting that gave birth to the Yosemite Valley Campers Coalition (YVCC).  It was evident that many special interest groups were influencing the Yosemite Valley Plan and the family campers of Yosemite were not a priority for these special interest groups or the planners. 

The Pasadena meeting brought many campers together that share the same passion and tradition for family camping in the valley.  And from this group  the Campers coalition was able to schedule a meeting in West Los Angeles.  We were told that there would be representatives from the Park Service present to talk and address our concerns regarding camping.  Only one Park Service employee showed up.  The meeting was attended by approximately 50 campers.  We were given information on flood plains, rock fall zones and other charts and maps of the Valley.  But there was nothing this employee could tell us about the future of camping in the Valley.  It once more became evident the Park Service was not interested in the campers.

At this point Brian Ouzounian, Angela Caldera and other campers mobilized to be  present at a majority of YNPS hearings, open houses and planning sessions. Not waiting for invitations, they began networking with other groups that shared the  same concerns as to the development of Yosemite Valley.

A request for the database of campers was denied.  We were told that an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act would be necessary.  Brian made a trip to Washington D.C. to meet with high ranking staff of the Department of Interior and the National Park Service.  He was told that the Yosemite Valley Campers Coalition could meet with then-Western Regional Director, John Reynolds.  John Reynolds refused to meet with Brian as did most Superintendents since 1997.

As the planning process continued, it became clear that there was no oversight of the NPS.  Congress needed to be involved and YVCC took it to them-specifically, the offices of U.S. Representative George Radanovich, 19th District, and Senators  Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.

In a riverside meeting with a deputy from Senator Feinstein's staff in the Valley in the summer of 2005, it was proposed that a petition of campers' views would be helpful in the cause, especially in light of the YNPS illegal confiscation of flood damaged campgrounds after taking congressional funds for their repair. So, YVCC embarked on circulating a handwritten petition that today has about 500 signatures. Subsequent to that effort, a member of the coalition developed a website and an e-petition for circulation that has over 1000 signers and nearly the same comments that signers have the option to vent upon.

The only limitation on signers seemed to be its public awareness. So, the Coalition met with noted reporters from PBS, LA Times, San Diego Union Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee, Sacramento Bee, and ABC Nightline News. We continue  to work with the congressional representatives using the petition and the press to make public that which the YNPS would like to keep quiet.  

The conclusion is that only the public outcry will expose the misdeeds of Our National Park Service and save family camping in Yosemite Valley.

"As a Tuolumne County Supervisor I have communicated directly to the NPS my belief that they are in violation of Federal law in their plans to eliminate these  campgrounds. They have a moral and ethical obligation to have properly informed and justified to the American people why they chose to violate Congress' and the President's intent to have these campgrounds reinstated after the 1997 flood event.

   If not stopped, the NPS will eventually eliminate most auto based, family friendly camping in Yosemite. Congress must take action, and you, by signing this petition, can help initiate that action to save America's National Parks for America's families."

Thank you.

Mark Thornton, Tuolumne County Supervisor 

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  "Camping brings the visitor into a closer relationship with park resources, reduces dependence on developed lodgings and dining facilities, and focuses the attention of the visitor away from developed recreational facilities...and more towards the park's natural resources.

   "By reducing visitors' reliance on developed facilities, camping helps fulfill the basic goals of the GMP to reduce development in the Valley, reclaim priceless natural beauty, and promote visitor understanding and enjoyment of park resources."

Click Here for the Petition to

Save Yosemite Valley Campgrounds