Yosemite is a national park in California. It is very beautiful and big. The park includes more than 760,000 acres in the California mountains. Most of the park is wilderness.
The part of Yosemite that everyone likes is Yosemite Valley. It is a tiny valley that is 7 miles long and less than 1 mile wide. It has tall rock walls and streams that splash down in waterfalls. More than two million visitors come to the valley each year.
One ranger says the number of visitors is more than the land can handle. The valley has 4,500 camping spots. It has a hotel that can hold 4,000 families. This is still not enough to handle all of the visitors. The valley has grown so big it has a lot of traffic and crime.
A worker says the park is trying to keep the beauty of the park and let everyone visit. Some areas have been fenced off from people and planted with seeds to try to keep them beautiful.
A former worker thinks Yosemite should get more money to take better care of the park. He would also like to teach people what the park service is trying to do.
Some people are trying to save Yosemite Valley. A plan has been made that will get rid of some buildings. There will be fewer cars allowed inside the park. More buses will help get people around.