Stealing Yosemite

Save those souvenirs, everyone – you'll have some real treasures!

I say this as I'm in the midst of trying to rid my house and garage of just too much stuff!

Yes, I'm all in favor of cleaning out closets every so often but now, there are some things that you should hang on to for posterity. I know I will.

I'm talking about anything that's a souvenir from Yosemite National Park, anything with any logos from the park itself or any of the venues within the park or that fall under the umbrella of Yosemite – T-shirts, climbing gear, pens, banners, mugs, pillows, you name it!

Think Yosemite National Park, the Ahwahnee Hotel, Curry Village, the Wawona Hotel, Yosemite Lodge, even the Badger Pass Ski area.

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All of those names are officially gone as of March 1, the result of a legal battle-royale between Delaware North, the park's concessionaire, and the National Park Service.

Delaware North had the concession contract since 1993 and just recently lost out on a renewal of the 15-year contract. The new $2-billion contract went to Aramark and as the change was taking effect, Delaware North demanded $51 million in payment for the names of the park landmarks. It claims it owns the rights to them, had them registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and plans to hang tough. The claims involve the facilities within the park, but they also registered the name of the park – all, for commercial purposes.

Aramark refused to pay up, as did the National Park Service and the immediate solution was for Aramark to change the names of those landmarks, even as Delaware North sued the Park Service.

Signs throughout the valley were taped over or removed, all souvenirs were removed from the gift shops and even employees, whose work title included any of the verboten names, had their "titles" changed.

So now, the place is just called Yosemite. The Ahwahnee Hotel is called "The Majestic Yosemite Hotel." Yosemite Lodge is now Yosemite Valley Lodge. The Wawona Hotel is now Big Trees Lodge. Curry Village is now Half Dome Village and the Badger pass Ski area is now Yosemite Ski and Snowboard Area.

In case you're wondering, yes, Yosemite National Park is owned by the United States government – meaning the people of this country.
And it has history. President Abraham Lincoln established Yosemite, in California, as a state park for "public use, resort and recreation in 1864 along with the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. It became a national park in 1890.

Curry Village has been called that since 1899. The Ahwahnee Hotel was built in 1927. The name is a Miwok Indian word, a tribe that lived in the valley since the 19th century. In the 1930s, Badger Pass was the first ski resort in California.

Prior to Delaware North, the Curry Company ran the concessions in the park for more than 100 years!

Think of it! If it weren't bad enough that the names of historic hotels and areas in Yosemite are being changed, it's possible the name of the park itself is at risk – all, as they say, for the almighty dollar.

It appears Delaware North didn't just decide to make these claims as the contract expired. It planned ahead. In fact, it started back in 2002 when it registered the Yosemite trademarks with the feds.

Apparently, the U.S. Park Service never noticed, so those registrations stand – at least for now.

The federal government was quoted in a Contra Costa Times editorial as saying that the trademarks aren't part of the deal and that the company, which runs concessions at other sites, "has apparently embarked on a business model whereby it collects trademarks to the names of iconic property owned by the United States.

Delaware North is no small time operator. It has concession contracts at the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls and the Kennedy Space Center visitor area. It has holdings in baseball and other sport stadiums, dog and horse race tracks and slot machine operations. In all, it is an international company.

It might be surmised from its long experience that it knows exactly what it's doing – and dare I say, it is doing the people of the United States and the government.

As the court battles progress, it remains to be seen who wins, but if the United States government and the American people do not prevail, then it's clear there is no justice.

Despite all the words and legalese and attorney maneuverings, the bottom line is that there should be no way that national treasures and iconic monuments in this country should be bought and sold like so many chess pieces. Will they change the name of the Grand Canyon, or Niagara Falls?

If that is allowed, it would reflect the crassness of our country and government and the attitude of the people in charge. It would be shameful.
Not long ago, Barack Obama, without warning, officially changed the name of Mt. McKinley in Alaska to Denali.

It was one of historic designation – making official the name that Alaskan natives as well as Alaska residents have called the mountain for decades: Denali, meaning the great one.

Indeed, it is "great." Mt. McKinley, now officially Denali, is the highest mountain in North America and is located in the Denali National Park.

While there may be legitimate criticism of Barack Obama for ordering the change for PC reasons – pacifying tribal wishes – at least there was no money involved and Denali is the name of the National Park.

Maybe he needs to step in and stop to this fiasco in California.

The 100-million annual Yosemite visitors will thank him – as will I, and many of my friends and neighbors.

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