The Soul of Yosemite: Finding, Defending, and Saving the Valley's Sacred Wild Nature

by Barbara J. Moritsch

Yosemite Valley's finely-woven ecological fabric is unraveling due to a combination of too many visitors and too much development. Barbara J. Moritsch gained a stunning insider's view of park management when she worked as a biologist in Yosemite Valley between 2002 and 2005. In The Soul of Yosemite, she shares her passion for the Valley, addresses management decisions that resulted in severely degraded natural resources, and presents a new vision that will fully embrace the Valley's incredible uniqueness and restore its wild nature. Moritsch strongly urges the National Park Service to reduce the impact of humans on Yosemite Valley once and for all, to bring their management focus back to the basics: natural beauty and wildness, and to recognize Yosemite's unique role as an emissary for wildness in the world-a much more important role than serving as a playground for the masses.

Paperback

First published March 1, 2012

Reviews

[Sharon Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read, the author’s personal experience in Yosemite coupled with her professional experience and expertise as a biologist weaves an insightful story about our stewardship, or lack thereof of in Yosemite. If you have ever been you will be brought back to your experience there…if you have not you will want to go. The pilgrimages we make there come with a cost and she effectively communicates what that cost is.