Yosemite bans flags at El Capitan with threat of 6-month jail sentence

[TheProle]

In the past year, Yosemite’s famed granite monolith El Capitan has become a popular backdrop for political protests. In June 2024, climbers hung a “Stop the Genocide” banner criticizing Israeli’s attacks on Gaza. In February during the park’s famous firefall, an upside-down American flag was displayed in opposition to staffing cuts at the National Park Service. Last month, a transgender pride flag went up after the Donald Trump administration began erasing mention of trans communities from government websites.

Now, park officials are trying to put a stop to the politicizing of El Cap — and the rest of the park’s wilderness. In the annual Superintendent’s Compendium, a document outlining new rules and policies, acting Superintendent Raymond McPadden explicitly forbade anyone from hanging large banners, flags or signs on the park’s natural or cultural features.

“This restriction is necessary to preserve the values of wilderness character in accordance with the Wilderness Act, provide for an unimpaired visitor experience, protect natural and cultural resources in designated Wilderness and Potential Wilderness Addition portions of the park,” McPadden wrote in the document, which is dated May 20. “This restriction is also necessary to maintain public safety, as it prohibits draping items that could endanger and interfere with permitted or allowable unpermitted climbing activity.”

https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/yosemite-national-park-bans-flags-penalty-jail-20368977.php