Can the valley be restored to its original state?
A 1988 National Park Service report that investigated a range of alternatives for restoring the valley concluded that if the reservoir were drained the valley would eventually rebound. Within five years, mammals, amphibians and reptiles endemic to the area would return to the valley. After 10 years, meadows, willow thickets and conifer groves would begin to resume their original pattern. After 50 years, the valley would begin to appear as it once did. Over the next century, trees would mature, the bathtub ring on the valley’s walls would gradually fade away and Hetch Hetchy would once again resemble the “grand landscape garden” that John Muir celebrated.
