On Friday, April 24, 2015 the Merced River in Yosemite National Park was officially reopened to paddlers. This reopening was the culmination of seven years of sustained engagement by American Whitewater with the National Park Service and other stakeholders in this process. Allowing paddling was a tiny, yet important component of the grander plan to preserve the outstandingly remarkable values of the Wild and Scenic Merced River.

The Merced River Management Plan is the most extensive plan of its type ever produced. The narrow geography of Yosemite Valley, combined with the quarter mile Wild and Scenic boundary that extends on either side of the Merced River, meant that this plan would address virtually all activities in the Valley. In fact, that is exactly what the Judge said in ruling against two previous plans submitted by the Park Service.

American Whitewater was a vocal supporter of this final plan when it was released. Yes, we were pleased that this plan would open up previously closed sections of the Merced, but more importantly, this plan provided balance between a wide array of user groups and resource protection needs. To be clear, not all sections of the river have been opened and those sections that are open have user capacity limitations. The key success for paddlers, and one that American Whitewater fought hard to achieve, is that paddlers are treated on equal footing with other comparable uses. Early on we coined the phrase, “A river is a trail and a boat is a backpack.” Viewing boating through this lens made it easier to describe river use in a way that was consistent with how the Park manages other trails.

On April 13, 2015, we joined with Park Service staff to float the entire length of Yosemite Valley. Because the river had not officially opened yet, we were granted a special-use permit from Superintendent Don Neubacher in order to float the river. Our group included a range of paddling history from Richard Montgomery (first to paddle the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne), to long-standing ARTA nonprofit manager Steve Welch, lifetime river advocate Bob Center and American Whitewater’s California Stewardship Director, Dave Steindorf. Yosemite National Park Chief of Staff Mike Gauthier also joined us, along with thirty river enthusiast/advocates.

“We want to embrace paddling, we want it to work, and we want it to be really successful and that’s what this whole day is really about,” Gauthier said on the morning of the inaugural paddle. Gauthier has been a strong advocate for paddling in the Park.

The welcoming committee at the river’s edge consisted of Yosemite Superintendent Neubacher and Chief Ranger Kevin Killian. “To open up the river was an effort, but a worthwhile effort as long as we can protect the values that the Park and Merced River Plan were established for. I think we are furthering the advocacy of protecting the Park with you all being here,” Killian said. “There’s a lot to learn today and it represents that the Park is committed to figuring out a way to keep the river open to providing boater access and making it as hassle free as possible.”

The established put-in for the Valley float starts from Clark’s Bridge near the stables. Take out locations are at El Cap Meadow and just downstream of Pohono Bridge.  A self-registration may be installed at the put-in, but for now, the park will be monitoring use to determine the need for a permit system in the future.

The compendium amendment also opened the Tuolumne River to paddling. While we were pleased that boaters will be able to legally boat the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne between Pothole Dome and Pate Valley, we were disappointed that the plan continues to prohibit boating on the rest of the river. Unlike the Merced River Plan, which places boating on an equal footing with other similar activities within the Park, the Toulumne River Plan excludes boaters while allowing other similar uses to continue. At this point, it is unclear why the Park adopted a fundamentally different approach on the Tuolumne River Plan. Exact details about put-in, take-out, portage trails and landing/no-landing zone locations will be determined in the near future in consultation with the boating community, tribal interests and National Park Service resource experts.

All of the other smaller creeks in the park are still closed to paddling. We will be able to address other river closures in the Park during the revision of the Wilderness Plan. It our hope that this future planning effort continues in the spirit of the Merced River plan, which treats paddling the same as other similar recreation activities and is consistent with how most Parks around the country have treated paddling in wilderness.

We believe that the process and changes we have made in Yosemite will make paddlers feel invested both in Yosemite and the National Park System as a whole. Specific information about this run, access points, river levels, etc. can be found on the American Whitewater river pages for these reaches.