Opponents seek to end a bungee-jumping venue, citing environmental and safety concerns.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Environmental activists hope to shut down a new bungee-jumping venue near Yosemite National Park that they say will damage the water quality near a creek that feeds Yosemite Valley.
The opponents say a new parachute jump venue will draw more people into a creek and hurt the creek’s water quality. They say the new venue could create an unsafe jumping environment with a “chaotic, unorganized and uncontrolled” crowd.
The California Sierra Club has proposed a lawsuit to stop construction of the new park. The group said in a letter to the U.S. Forest Service that their request for an injunction is a last-ditch attempt to stop the project.
The organization contends that one of the three parachute jump zones is near a main watercourse that supplies the main drainage to the Yosemite Valley.
The creek’s waters naturally drain into the valley, which in turn supplies water to the park.
Forest Service spokeswoman Barbara Miller says her agency hasn’t taken a position on the lawsuit but has a great interest in protecting resources in the wilderness it oversees.
The group says its lawsuit is backed by a variety of experts in emergency response preparedness.
