She died when her chute failed to open. The park service knew about the protest jump in advance. In the interest of public safety and cooperation, we said we would work on it with them. Rangers cleared onlookers from a landing area and the protesters agreed to get arrested, surrender their equipment and appear in court. Gediman said the park service briefly permitted BASE jumping during a 1980 trial, but it was banned because of injuries, illegal jumps and traffic problems created by rubberneckers.
Parachutists can damage the park's resources.
They also divert ranger resources, when BASE jumpers are injured and because they create crowds of onlookers. In June 1999, a jumper landed safely on the Yosemite Valley floor and led rangers on a foot chase before he leaped into the Merced River. Rangers recovered Frank Gambalie's body from the river several weeks later. The Court of Appeals case dealt with 12 people who were arrested for jumping at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona in May 1995.