Trying to improve upon nature

As an admirer of Yosemite Valley and a Mariposa County resident, I fail to understand how the recent construction of the Lower Falls project can fool anyone into feeling, as reporter Jane Engle describes it in “Yosemite Boosts the Awe Factor” [News, Tips and Bargains, Dec. 12], immersed in the forest environment. Since when did freshly paved and improved asphalt trails, new bridges and shuttle-stop pavilions or, for that matter, amphitheaters start springing unencouraged or unfunded from lower montane meadow floors?

Instead of recasting redevelopment, albeit expensive and nicely designed by an accomplished architect, as enhancement of the outdoor experience, why not call it what it really is? Creating a better resort area for attracting more tourists (and their dollars) and further compromising an awesome but, unfortunately, conquered work of nature. Enough is enough.

Trudy Williams

Mariposa, Calif.