Opinion ID: 3051488
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: WSRA Designation of the Merced

Text: In 1987, Congress designated segments of the Merced River as WSRS components, including sections flowing through the very popular Yosemite National Park, and its administrative site, El Portal. See Pub. L. No. 100-149, 101 Stat. 879 (Nov. 2, 1987) (codified at 16 U.S.C. § 1274(a) (62)(A)). In designating the Merced as wild and scenic, Congress instructed that the establishment of WSRA boundaries for and classification of those parts of the Merced falling within Yosemite or El Portal would be accomplished through amendment of the 1980 general management plan (“GMP”) for Yosemite National Park, and that such amendment “shall assure that no development or use of park lands shall be undertaken that is inconsistent with the designation of such river segments.” 16 U.S.C. § 1274(a)(62)(A). Despite Congress’s directive, NPS failed to issue the required CMP for the Merced in a timely manner, and was ordered to do so in earlier litigation. See Sierra Club v. Babbitt, 69 F. Supp. 2d 1202, 1263 (E.D. Cal. 1999) (ordering NPS to “prepare and adopt a valid [CMP] pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 1274(d) in regard to the Merced River as designated under the [WSRA] no later than twelve months after the entry of this decision”). The twelve-month timetable was based on NPS’s representation that it could complete a CMP in that amount of time. After obtaining a one-month extension, NPS finally issued a CMP in mid-2000 (the “2000 CMP”), well past the statutory deadline.