Dick Hagerty: Not The Ahwahnee anymore? That’s just piracy

The battle over who owns the rights to certain place names in Yosemite National Park just took a serious, even ridiculous turn.

Delaware North Co., which operated concessions in our national park from 1993 to 2014, has claimed ownership of such names as Ahwahnee and Wawona – a position that many of us lovers of the park viewed as absurd, even comical.

Apparently, Delaware North even thinks it owns the name “Yosemite National Park.” Funny. I thought we taxpaying citizens owned that one.

Now the National Park Service (NPS) has apparently caved in and will change many of these legendary and historic names.

The name “Ahwahnee” was derived from a Miwok word awwo. It’s use by English-speakers dates back to the time of our earliest settlers.

The actual hotel in Yosemite was built in 1925, nearly 70 years prior to Delaware North coming on the scene. Suggesting that somehow this company could “own” the name is ridiculous. Instead of fighting it, however, the Park Service is taking a different tack.

Now we shall dine at the magnificent “Majestic Yosemite Hotel.”

The name “Wawona” is also derived from Miwok, possibly meaning “big tree.” The Wawona Hotel was built some 140 years ago. Caving in to this greedy company means we’ll now visit “Big Trees Lodge.” That might be a good translation, but its use should be scorned by those of us who still visit this classic building.

Yosemite’s iconic names are now, and have always been, in the public common domain. Just like “California” and “San Francisco.”

Why not claim rights to “Glacier Point” and “Half Dome,” too? Think of the trove of names still available, all just for filing a copyright and declaring yourself the rightful owner. Will Delaware North file claims on “Sequoia National Park” and “Alcatraz Island”?

If this sounds like a big basket of sour grapes over Delaware North’s loss of a lucrative operations contract, you have squarely identified the issue. The 15-year contract is estimated to be worth some $2 billion in Yosemite, given that some 3 million visitor/customers arrive each year. No one wants to lose such a deal.

This gets back to my ongoing frustration with the National Park Service and its inconsistent management of our national treasures.

Didn’t anyone in the federal government’s vast legal department notice that a private entity was quietly and relentlessly laying claim to names that are clearly part of our national heritage? Is such vigilance too much to ask?

Worse, why weren’t these iconic names protected in the original concession contract?

How does the NPS and federal government simply “give away” these historic and beloved names?

We used to joke about selling the Brooklyn Bridge. Now that no longer seems like a joke – anyone want to buy my interest in the name Golden Gate Bridge? I have a real deal for you!

To add to the indignity, who gave the NPS approval to arbitrarily hang these new names on our beloved places? Should not we, the regular park visitors, have a say in this dramatic and historical reversal of tradition? What if I don’t like “Majestic” or “Big Trees”?

Piracy appears to be thriving in our Sierra. You don’t have to own a four-masted ship to plunder the Treasury. Just hire smarter lawyers, make outrageous claims and then watch the bucks roll in.

This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 9:10 PM with the headline "Dick Hagerty: Not The Ahwahnee anymore? That’s just piracy."