Mission

Flights with Sierra Club, Rep. TJ Cox, American Whitewater, Rafting Magazine, Mariposa Gazette, California Wilderness Coalition over potential wild and scenic river segments in the Sequoia National Forest educated regional media, district congressional staff, outdoor recreation business owners.

The Merced and its South Fork possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, fish, wildlife, geological, historical/cultural, and ecological values. From its sources in Yosemite Park, the Merced and South Fork Merced flow past exceptional scenery, including glaciated peaks, alpine lakes and meadows, and rugged foothill canyons spangled with spring wildflowers. The river provides a wide variety of recreation in the National Park and along the downstream National Forest and BLM lands. It remains one of the few undammed whitewater rivers in California. Trails along the South Fork and lower Merced Rivers are particularly popular for their springtime wildflower display. The river supports native wild trout and the only known populations of the limestone salamander. Because much of the river flows through existing wilderness and roadless areas, it possesses a high degree of biotic integrity.

Designation by Congress killed a proposed hydroelectric dam near El Portal. More recently, proponents of a potential raise of New Exchequer Dam on the Merced have pushed legislation in Congress to eliminate about a mile of the lower Merced Wild River to allow for reservoir expansion. But this would flood much of the habitat for the protected limestone salamander and river segment enjoyed by whitewater boaters and hikers in the Merced River Wilderness Study Area.