NFARA Spring 2012 Update

Winter's Over, Get Back to the Canyon!
Join NFARAfor its fourth annual kick-off to spring event on May 5, 7 p.m. at the Dutch Flat Community Center, 933 Stockton Street. This year's presentation will be a wonderful slideshow on the Mountain Quarries Railroad Bridge by Mike Lynch. Mike is a Ranger for the Auburn State Recreation Area and the bridge is celebrating its 100th anniversary. In addition to this informative presentation, NFARA board members will give updates on current projects and recent successes. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. This is a great opportunity to learn about NFARA, meet board members and discover more about the area's spectacular natural resources. There will plenty of time for questions and answers, and for socializing around the dessert table.

Suction Dredge Mining NFARA has joined a coalition of groups (including tribal governments and conservation organizations) in a lawsuit against the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) over the recently released Suction Dredge Mining (SDM) regulations. DFG issued new regulations for suction dredge mining in California on March 16, 2012. These regulations stem from a year-long rule-making process and were adopted just one day before the rule-making process either needed to be completed or started over again.

NFARA took a leading role last Spring in opposing proposed regulations because they would open the previously closed NF American Wild and Scenic River to such mining. In addition, the new regulations failed to ensure that mining does not harm water quality and human health with sediment and mercury.

New legislation, AB 120, was passed in July 2011. AB 120 set out the requirement that all adverse impacts from SDM be fully mitigated and that DFG establish a fee structure that fully pays for the cost of the program. The recently released regulations do not meet AB 120 requirements and they continue to allow suction dredge mining on the Wild and Scenic North Fork.

NFARA does not take litigation lightly, but we feel that it is the only way to protect our river from this inappropriate and destructive activity.

Cable Across Giant Gap
In early February, one of our members reported that a cable had been strung across the North Fork American River at Giant Gap for the purposes of parachuting into the canyon. This is an extension of BASE jumping. The person slides down the cable out to middle of canyon, detaches and floats down. At Giant Gap it is about 2000 feet down. This follows several weeks of people jumping off the canyon rim.  BLM was notified; this was done without permits. In addition to being an inappropriate activity in the Wild and Scenic River corridor, it was extremely dangerous for aircraft in the canyon. It was discovered that Squaw Valley daredevil Mike Wilson, with the aid of a helicopter, had strung the cable from Lovers Leap to the wall on the Foresthill side of the canyon. The cable has been removed. The BLM and Tahoe National Forest both have jurisdiction and are considering possible legal acting against Wilson. Here's more information.

Trail Projects
 NFARA organizes volunteer outings to clean up and maintain area trails. In 2011, we conducted 4 outings into the North Fork. In April, volunteers cleared trees from the Euchre Bar Trail. In June, we cleared brush from several BLM trails in the Gold Run Diggings. A group worked on the Cherry Point Trail, near Loch Leven Lakes, in August. For the Sierra Nevada Conservancy's Great Sierra River Cleanup in September, we cleaned up a large trash site along the Stevens Trail.

Outings for 2012 are being planned and announcements will be sent.

Updated 9/15/14