Detailed Information:
Probably no issue symbolizes the environmental movement's historical role in protecting the Earth's natural wonders like its effort to preserve and restore Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. Following a fierce nationwide debate led by John Muir, the City of San Francisco was authorized by the U.S. Congress, in the Raker Act of 1913, to construct a dam and reservoir on the Tuolumne River in Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park.
Hetch Hetchy Valley, the gateway for the Grand Canyon of the Tuolulmne River, should be restored to its natural condition in order to allow "one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples" to be available for public enjoyment, to be reintegrated into its natural ecological and biological systems, and to provide for scientific exploration.
