And now, back to the story....the following is a press release by the HSHA:
***For Immediate Release*** For more information, contact:
April 27, 2012 <
president@highsierrahikers.org>
or (510) 764-1413
Hikers’ Group Urges Compromise on Packer Permits at Sequoia and Kings
Canyon National Parks
Berkeley, CA — The High Sierra Hikers Association recently filed court papers detailing a
compromise that would allow permits to be issued to commercial outfits that provide pack and
saddle stock services in Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (SEKI).
The National Park Service has for decades issued permits to numerous commercial enterprises,
known as “packers,” who provide saddle horses, pack mules, guides, chefs, and camping gear to
clients who take wilderness trips in SEKI. The Park Service suspended all such permits in
March, after a federal court ruled that the permits were unlawfully issued. Until the Park Service
lifts the suspension, the packers and their clients face uncertainty about the approaching summer
season. The hikers’ group had asked the court to allow commercial packing to continue.
The High Sierra Hikers Association filed a lawsuit in 2009 alleging that the Park Service has
violated the Wilderness Act of 1964 by allowing excessive and harmful levels of commercial
activity in the parks. The hikers’ group does not oppose horse use, and has never aimed to
eliminate commercial packing, as some have falsely claimed.
“The lawsuit we filed in 2009 makes crystal clear that we seek only reasonable limits and
controls to protect these magnificent national parks from harm,” said Peter Browning, president
of the hikers’ group. “And we repeatedly have told both the Park Service and the court that we
don’t want the packers to be shut down.”
In court papers filed on April 5, the hikers’ group asked the judge to allow the packers to
continue doing business at SEKI, along with a few modest limits and protections in place until
the Park Service complies with the Wilderness Act. For example, the hikers’ group requests that
commercial packstock not be allowed to graze in the parks’ most fragile high-elevation
meadows. Such rules are already in place at other national parks. But instead of accepting this
reasonable compromise, the Park Service filed a court brief on April 24 rejecting the hikers’
proposal. Meantime, the permits remain suspended, causing gridlock and uncertainty.
The U.S. House of Representatives reportedly passed a bill today that would overrule the Park
Service’s decision to suspend the permits, and require the Park Service to issue permits for the
coming summer season at levels that occurred in 2011. The hikers’ group has not yet seen the
final language of the House-passed bill, but Browning said: “We support what we understand to
be the main thrust of the bill—that until the court case is resolved, commercial stock use should
be allowed to resume at levels not to exceed those of last year.”
While Congress considers the issue, and the Park Service resists the hikers’ proposal, the court
has scheduled a hearing for May 23. But Browning hopes the issue can be settled sooner. “The
proposal we filed with the court on April 5 is a reasonable compromise. If the Park Service
would accept those few temporary limits, everyone could move forward.”
Browning points out that the Park Service has for many years known about the legal violations
and the damage caused by unlimited stock use, but has failed to take action. “The Park Service
has knowingly violated the law for years. It even admitted to the court that it has violated the
Wilderness Act. And now it’s the packers and their clients who suffer.”
The hikers’ group tried for decades to get the Park Service to obey laws related to commercial
packstock at SEKI. It sued in 2009 as a last resort, after the Park Service broke numerous
promises to address the issues.
“The Park Service’s own rangers and scientists have for decades documented the extensive harm
to these parks’ meadows, trails, wildlife, and scenery caused by stock use,” said Browning.
“Park meadows have been overgrazed, eroded, and invaded by non-native weeds because of
excessive and inappropriate stock use. And university researchers have documented pollution of
once-pristine mountain streams caused by pack animals.”
The Park Service has admitted in court filings that it has never limited commercial packstock
services as required by the Wilderness Act. Prior to the current suspension, packers operating in
SEKI simply needed to obtain a permit, and they could run as many trips as they wanted.
“It’s regrettable that the Park Service’s defiance of the law is now adversely affecting the
packers and their clients,” said Browning. “Our group has made every effort to resolve these
issues in a timely manner so that commercial packers could continue their operations without
interruption, and we hope that the permit suspension is lifted soon.”
The High Sierra Hikers Association is a registered nonprofit public benefit organization that represents
thousands of citizens from 28 states. The HSHA seeks to educate its members, public officials, and the
public-at-large about issues affecting hikers and the High Sierra, and seeks to improve management
practices on federal lands in the Sierra Nevada for the public benefit.
***end***