Ranger Kate Trust monitors traffic at Yosemite National Park on Feb. 13. Large crowds visited in mid-February to view the Firefall, a sunlit waterfall that appears annually.

In mid-February, despite heavy snow and storm warnings, thousands of people flocked to Yosemite National Park to witness the annual Firefall display at Horsetail Fall on mighty El Capitan. 

This year, however, the Trump administration scrapped the park’s reservation system, which was put in place to help manage crowds and to protect the park’s natural beauty. The predictable free-for-all that ensued resulted in scenes of gridlock, parking shortages and excessive wait times. 

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Yosemite photographer John Harrison, who entered the park on Feb. 19, wrote on his blog about “full parking lots, heavy congestion, and long lines.” Traffic management had been rendered “reactive rather than preventative.”

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This comes at a time when staff morale at Yosemite has plummeted, and facilities like the Ahwahnee hotel are in disrepair. As a former superintendent at the park, I can assure you that it doesn’t have to be this way. 

Almost 46 years ago, a General Management Plan was approved........

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