Rangers and tourists celebrated Yosemite's unique status as the granite gem of the Sierra on the park's 100th birthday Monday. A moment of silence recalling the tranquillity before humans came to Yosemite Valley highlighted a centennial ceremony in sun-drenched Sentinel Meadow. The silence was broken only by a blue jay's shrieks. ``Yosemite is not just for today; it is for the children and their children tomorrow,'' said Yosemite Indian Jay Johnson, reciting a traditional Miwok Indian blessing. Lee Stetson, who depicted naturalist John Muir during the ceremony, said ``wilderness is a necessity ... as fountains of life and fountains of people. If enough of us go among spirits of this wilderness, ... we need not despair.'' President Bush, restricted by the Middle East crisis, did not attend as expected, leaving it to other federal officials to depict the legacy of Yosemite in the majestic Sierra range. ``Given all the history relating to Yosemite and all of its controversies, still it's a marvelous place for the American public to see,'' Superintendent Michael Finley said in an interview. The history ranges from Muir's unswerving commitment to make Yosemite a national park in the late 1800s to lighting-caused fires that blackened 23,000 acres this summer, forcing an 11-day closure. Critics blame the National Park Service for failing to carry out a 1980 plan to remove most public facilities from the narrow valley, which is visited by 3.4 million people a year. Park Service Director James Ridenour said this summer that funds will be budgeted to relocate maintenance facilities. Another issue involves a concession contract with Yosemite Park & Curry Co., a subsidiary of the MCA entertainment conglomerate. An environmental group announced plans last week to take over the contract to run the park's hotels, restaurants and concession stands. The contract expires in 1993. Despite such issues, Finley said the Park Service has been a good steward of Yosemite and its famous features such as El Capitan, Half Dome and Yosemite Falls. ``We believe we've seen 100 years of preservation, and we're working hard to ensure that the next 100 years are even going to be better for the visitors and the park,'' Finley said. ``We've undertaken major programs for restoration of the ecology, reintroduced Bighorn sheep, recovered peregrine falcons - up to four nesting pairs at this point,'' he said. ``We're restoring trampled down meadows, replanting oak trees, have a major program to restore the Merced River and will undertake another program on the Tuolumne River and our lakes.'' No one would appear to know more of Yosemite's history than 87-year-old Carl Sharsmith, who has served as a naturalist in Tuolumne Meadows almost every summer for six decades. ``My duties are light,'' Sharsmith said. ``I get a group and go for a bit of a walk and chat along the way - three hours at the most.'' The park's centennial is attracting more attention in the area than did the historic formation of the park by Congress on Oct. 1, 1890. Back then, the weekly Mariposa Gazette, the closest community newspaper, put the story of Yosemite's beginning on page 2.
