Restore Hetch Hetchy

Restore Hetch Hetchy is a United States environmental advocacy organization whose central objective is the restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. The organization argues that the valley, which was flooded to create Hetch Hetchy Reservoir behind O'Shaughnessy Dam, should ultimately be returned to a natural condition and that alternative water and power arrangements should be examined for the San Francisco Bay Area. Hetch Hetchy Valley is a glacially formed valley in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park. Yosemite was established as a national park in 1890, but debate over the valley's future had already begun as San Francisco considered the Tuolumne River system as a source of municipal water. Opposition to the proposed reservoir became associated with John Muir and the Sierra Club, while supporters viewed the project as an important source of reliable water and electricity. Construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam took place from 1915 to 1923, flooding the valley and forming the reservoir. The modern restoration campaign developed within the Sierra Club during the late 1980s, when the national organization created the Hetch Hetchy Restoration Task Force. In 1999, the Sierra Club established Restore Hetch Hetchy as a separate nonprofit organization. Since then, the group has pursued a combination of public advocacy, electoral activity, regulatory participation, litigation, and economic and recreational research. A major part of the organization's work has focused on the relationship between Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and the wider Tuolumne River water and power system. In 2011, Restore Hetch Hetchy submitted comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission concerning the relicensing of Don Pedro Reservoir, a downstream facility connected to the system. That same year, it announced an effort to bring the restoration question before San Francisco voters. Proposition F, placed on the November 2012 ballot, would have funded work to identify replacement water sources with the stated objective of making valley restoration possible. The measure faced strong opposition from San Francisco's mayor, the entire Board of Supervisors, and Senator Dianne Feinstein, and was rejected by 76.9 percent of voters. The organization also pursued a legal strategy. In 2015, it sued the City and County of San Francisco, arguing that continued operation of the dam and reservoir violated California's constitutional restriction on unreasonable methods of water diversion. The action was dismissed at the county level, and subsequent appeals focused on whether state courts could review a federally authorized project. A California appellate court rejected the case in 2018, concluding that federal law displaced the state claim. The California Supreme Court later declined to revive the lawsuit in a unanimous three-justice ruling reported in October 2018. Restore Hetch Hetchy has also supported interim or partial measures that could increase public access without immediately removing the reservoir. Beginning in 2018, it and California Trout promoted consideration of limited boating on Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The proposal was considered by the federal Department of the Interior during the Trump administration. In addition, a 2019 study commissioned by Restore Hetch Hetchy evaluated the potential recreational and economic benefits of draining the reservoir and developing visitor facilities comparable to those in Yosemite Valley. The study reported a possible recreational value of up to $178 million annually and a possible overall economic value of up to $100 billion, figures presented as study estimates rather than realized revenue. The organization is therefore best understood not as a conventional consumer brand but as an issue-centered nonprofit campaign and public-interest advocacy platform. Its positioning combines wilderness restoration, national-park conservation, public access, water-policy analysis, regulatory intervention, and litigation. The campaign remains closely tied to the long-running national debate over whether the public benefits of San Francisco's water system justify the permanent inundation of a Yosemite valley.

Hetch Hetchy Valley is a glacially carved valley in the northwestern portion of Yosemite National Park. The landscape resembles the better-known Yosemite Valley in its geological origins, although its subsequent history was shaped by a major water-supply project. San Francisco began considering the Tuolumne River and Hetch Hetchy Valley as sources of municipal water even before Yosemite became a national park in 1890. The proposal generated a prolonged public controversy over the relative importance of urban water supply, hydroelectric development, wilderness protection, and public ownership of scenic landscapes. John Muir and the Sierra Club became prominent opponents of the plan. Muir argued that flooding the valley would destroy a landscape of exceptional public and spiritual value. Despite this opposition, federal approval was ultimately granted for the project. O'Shaughnessy Dam was built between 1915 and 1923, creating Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and making the valley part of San Francisco's regional water and power system. The modern restoration effort took shape in the late 1980s. In response to an initiative associated with the Reagan administration, the national Sierra Club established the Hetch Hetchy Restoration Task Force. In 1999, the Sierra Club created Restore Hetch Hetchy as an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to pursuing the valley's restoration. The new organization inherited the broader conservation movement's long-standing opposition to the reservoir but developed its own mix of electoral, administrative, legal, and research-based approaches. One strand of the group's work has addressed the infrastructure and regulatory relationships that could affect any future restoration decision. In 2011, Restore Hetch Hetchy filed comments before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in connection with the relicensing of Don Pedro Reservoir. Don Pedro is downstream on the Tuolumne River and is linked to a larger system that also includes San Francisco Public Utilities Commission facilities near Hetch Hetchy. The filing reflected the organization's view that restoration cannot be evaluated in isolation from regional water storage, diversion, and electricity arrangements. The group also pursued direct democratic action. In 2011 it announced plans to put the issue before San Francisco voters. Proposition F appeared on the November 2012 ballot and would have allocated funds to investigate other water sources, with restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley identified as the long-term objective. The initiative encountered broad institutional opposition, including opposition from the mayor, the full Board of Supervisors, and Senator Dianne Feinstein. Voters rejected it decisively, with 76.9 percent voting against the proposition. Restore Hetch Hetchy then pursued litigation. In 2015 it sued San Francisco, contending that continued operation of the dam and reservoir violated the California Constitution's prohibition on unreasonable methods of water diversion. The Tuolumne County courts dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds, reasoning that the project had been authorized by federal law. The organization appealed. Although the California Attorney General reportedly argued that the issue should be considered on technical rather than purely legal grounds, the appellate court in July 2018 concluded that Congress had displaced the relevant state claim. The California Supreme Court subsequently rejected the challenge in a three-justice ruling in mid-October 2018. The organization has not limited its activity to an all-or-nothing restoration timetable. From 2018, Restore Hetch Hetchy worked with California Trout to encourage consideration of limited boating on the reservoir. The proposal was taken up for consideration by the Department of the Interior during the Trump administration. Supporters presented boating as a way to improve public access to a federally managed landscape while the larger restoration debate continued. In 2019, Restore Hetch Hetchy commissioned a study examining the possible value of removing the reservoir and creating visitor facilities on a scale comparable to those associated with Yosemite Valley. The study contrasted Hetch Hetchy's reported visitor numbers with the much larger visitation of Yosemite Valley and estimated potential recreational value of up to $178 million per year, along with a possible overall economic value as high as $100 billion. These are projections made in the context of an advocacy study, not reported operating results. Restore Hetch Hetchy remains an environmental campaign organization centered on a specific place and policy dispute. Its history reflects the continuing tension between municipal infrastructure and landscape preservation in the American West, and its methods have ranged from public education and ballot advocacy to regulatory comments, court challenges, recreational proposals, and economic research.

• 2019

  Economic and recreational value study

  [1]Restore Hetch Hetchyen.wikipedia.org

  A commissioned study assessed possible benefits from draining the reservoir and developing visitor infrastructure in the valley.

• 2018

  State-court challenge is rejected

  [1]Restore Hetch Hetchyen.wikipedia.org

  California appellate and supreme courts declined to revive the organization's lawsuit, finding the federal authorization of the project controlling.

• 2015

  Restore Hetch Hetchy files suit against San Francisco

  [1]Restore Hetch Hetchyen.wikipedia.org

  The organization challenged the continued reservoir operation under California's constitutional restriction on unreasonable water diversion.

• 2012

  Proposition F is defeated

  [1]Restore Hetch Hetchyen.wikipedia.org

  San Francisco voters rejected Proposition F, which would have funded investigation of alternative water sources connected to the restoration objective.

• 2011

  Regulatory intervention and ballot planning

  [1]Restore Hetch Hetchyen.wikipedia.org

  Restore Hetch Hetchy filed comments in the Don Pedro Reservoir relicensing process and announced plans for a San Francisco ballot initiative.

• 1999

  Restore Hetch Hetchy is established

  [1]Restore Hetch Hetchyen.wikipedia.org

  The Sierra Club created Restore Hetch Hetchy as a separate nonprofit organization.

• 1980

  Sierra Club creates a restoration task force

  [1]Restore Hetch Hetchyen.wikipedia.org

  During the late 1980s, the Sierra Club formed the Hetch Hetchy Restoration Task Force as an organized response to the restoration question.

• 1923

  Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is created

  [1]Restore Hetch Hetchyen.wikipedia.org

  O'Shaughnessy Dam construction was completed, leaving the valley inundated as part of San Francisco's water and power system.

• 1915

  Construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam begins

  [1]Restore Hetch Hetchyen.wikipedia.org

  Construction began on the dam that would flood Hetch Hetchy Valley and create the reservoir.

• 1890

  Yosemite becomes a national park

  [1]Restore Hetch Hetchyen.wikipedia.org

  Yosemite National Park was established while debate over the potential use of Hetch Hetchy Valley for San Francisco's water supply was already developing.

An issue-focused environmental organization advocating the restoration of a Yosemite National Park valley while promoting analysis of alternative water infrastructure, public access, and the economic and ecological consequences of removing Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.

• Environmental advocacy · 1999

  Hetch Hetchy Valley restoration advocacy

  The organization's principal offering is a public-interest campaign seeking removal of the reservoir and restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley to a more natural condition. The campaign combines conservation arguments with proposals to study alternative water sources, address energy and water-system implications, and quantify potential public benefits from restored parkland.

• Public-policy services

  Policy, regulatory, and legal advocacy

  Restore Hetch Hetchy participates in public decision-making affecting the reservoir and connected Tuolumne River infrastructure. Its documented methods include regulatory comments, electoral initiatives, litigation, and engagement with federal and state authorities. These activities are intended to influence the legal and institutional conditions governing the reservoir's future.

• Conservation policy · 2018

  Public-access and recreation proposals

  The organization has supported measures that could expand public use of the Hetch Hetchy area before full restoration occurs. A notable example is its work with California Trout to promote consideration of limited boating on Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, presenting recreation as a way to increase public benefit from a federally managed landscape.

• 2018Limited boating access proposal

  Yosemite National Park · California

  Working with California Trout, Restore Hetch Hetchy supported consideration of limited boating on Hetch Hetchy Reservoir as an interim public-access measure.

  Outcome. The proposal was considered by the Department of the Interior; the available reference does not establish a final implementation outcome.

  Source
• 2011San Francisco Proposition F campaign

  San Francisco · California

  Restore Hetch Hetchy developed and promoted a ballot initiative intended to fund investigation of alternative water sources, with the stated long-term goal of restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley.

  Outcome. Proposition F was rejected in November 2012, with 76.9 percent of voters opposed.

  Source
• 2011Don Pedro relicensing advocacy

  California · Tuolumne River basin

  The organization submitted comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission concerning relicensing of Don Pedro Reservoir, emphasizing the broader water, diversion, and power system connected to Hetch Hetchy.

  Source

• 2019

  Commissioning of restoration-value studyStrategy

  Background

  The organization sought to quantify the potential recreational and economic benefits of restoring the valley and developing visitor infrastructure.

  Action taken

  Restore Hetch Hetchy commissioned a study estimating possible annual recreational value and broader economic value after reservoir removal.

  Aftermath

  The study reported estimates of up to $178 million in annual recreational value and up to $100 billion in overall economic value; these were projections rather than realized financial results.

  Projected recreational value. Up to $178 million annually (2019 study projection)

  Source

• 2018

  Support for limited boating while restoration remains unresolvedStrategy

  Background

  The organization sought ways to increase public benefit and access to the area even while the larger question of removing the reservoir remained unresolved.

  Action taken

  Restore Hetch Hetchy and California Trout promoted consideration of limited boating on the reservoir.

  Aftermath

  The proposal received consideration from the Department of the Interior, but the available material does not document a final policy result.

  Source

• 2015

  Challenge to continued reservoir operationOther

  Background

  Restore Hetch Hetchy argued that maintaining O'Shaughnessy Dam and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir constituted an unreasonable method of water diversion under the California Constitution.

  Action taken

  The organization filed suit against San Francisco and pursued appeals after the initial dismissal.

  Aftermath

  The California appellate court rejected the case in 2018, and the California Supreme Court subsequently declined to revive it.

  Source

1. 1Restore Hetch Hetchyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Restore Hetch Hetchy official websitehetchhetchy.org