ACTION ALERT: Help Save the North Fork
The following was sent to me, and I would like to pass it along to all my readers. If any of you wish to send a letter, please do so before May 10.
ACTION ALERT
CDFG Suction Dredge Mining Regulations
Threaten the North Fork American River
Regulations Threaten Fish, Frogs, Water Quality,
and People In The Sierra Nevada!
The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) has released new proposed suction dredge mining regulations for California rivers and streams and is seeking public comments. Here’s a link to the DFG website: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/suctiondredge/
You have the opportunity to speak out for the protection of our river, fish and wildlife, water quality, and public health! May 10 is the deadline for submitting comments.
Please write a letter TODAY. See sample below.
Background
Up until recently, suction dredge mining for gold has been pervasive on many California rivers and streams, particularly in the Sierra Nevada. This form of mining uses a powerful motor and pump, attached to a hose that is used to suction up gravel from the stream bottom. Gold is then sorted out from the gravel and the remaining sediment-ladened water is flushed back into the stream. The adverse impacts of this mining are well documented by scientists. Suction dredging can harm habitat for sensitive, threatened, and endangered fish and frogs, as well as release toxic mercury left over from the Gold Rush into the stream.
Previous state regulations failed to recognize these impacts and a lawsuit filed by Indian Tribes and other organizations forced the agency to develop new regulations. In the meantime, the California Legislature approved a moratorium on suction dredging that has been in effect since 2009. But if the new proposed regulations are adopted, destructive suction dredging will return to many of the Sierra Nevada’s most sensitive rivers and streams.
The new regulations are a hodge-podge of some good but mostly weak and non-existent restrictions that fail to fully protect endangered steelhead, salmon, frogs, and other species. The new regulations fail to ensure that mining does not harm water quality and human health with sediment and mercury. Special areas like Wild & Scenic Rivers and Wild Trout Streams are not protected in the regulations either. The regulations even permit suction dredge mining in Yosemite Valley, in violation of federal law! In addition, the regulations will depend on active enforcement from CDFG, which like other state agencies, is suffering from severe budget cuts.
North Fork American River: This truly wild river was formerly off limits to suction dredging. The new regulations allow year round suction dredging upstream of Big Valley Canyon and seasonally (September) from Big Valley downstream to Iowa Hill Bridge. Opening this river to suction dredge mining would be harmful to sensitive foothill yellow-legged frog and wild trout. Adding insult to injury, the proposed regulations will allow the use of larger suction nozzles on the North Fork. This stream is both a state and federally-designated Wild River and a state-designated Wild Trout Stream. Neither of these facts seem to have been considered by CDFG in the development of the new regulations. Mining will harm the rivers exceptional water quality and clarity, as well as its extraordinary scenic, recreation, fishery values. Also, experience shows that the miners bring lots of equipment and supplies down to the river but leave their trash behind (including batteries and fuel containers). Even with a 14 day limit on camping, many stay much longer. Due to the narrow canyon, disposal of human waste is a problem; it accumulates in few spots and leaches into the river.
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Jim Ricker
President, North Fork American River Alliance
P.O. Box 536
Alta, CA 95701
530-389-8344
SAMPLE LETTER (please personalize, paraphrase or plagiarize)
Mark Stopher
California Department of Fish and Game
601 Locust Street
Redding, CA 96001
Regarding: Suction Dredge Program Draft SEIR Comments
Dear Mr. Stopher:
Please consider this letter an official comment letter on the draft SEIR prepared for the draft amended regulations that have been circulated.
The North Fork American River, like other California rivers and streams, must be protected from the adverse impacts of suction dredge mining. The proposed regulations do not provide sufficient protection for the fish, wildlife, and water quality of our rivers. DFG must analyze each individual river, and its tributaries, for adverse impacts from proposed regulations. A statewide basis for evaluation is inadequate and will lead to major adverse impacts on some streams.
Please revise the regulations to prohibit suction dredge mining in all rivers and streams that provide critical habitat and future recovery areas for threatened and endangered fish and wildlife. Please close all mercury-impaired rivers and streams to suction dredge mining to protect water quality, human health, fish, and wildlife.
Please ensure that the extraordinary and outstanding values of the North Fork American, a state and federal Wild & Scenic River and a Wild Trout Stream, are fully protected. Suction Dredge mining is incompatible with such designations and was prohibited in the W&S North Fork American under previous regulations. Mechanized or motorized equipment does not belong in a W & S River. In addition, portions of the North Fork and Middle Fork are proposed Wilderness and their wilderness qualities must not be compromised. You cannot put obstacles in the way of the land managers (Forest Service, BLM) nor add to their enforcement load as a result of your regulations. Rivers and streams should be closed to mining if budget cuts result in insufficient wardens in the field to enforce the new regulations.
Suction dredge mining will harm the North Fork American River’s exceptional water quality and clarity, as well as its extraordinary scenic, recreation, and fishery values. In addition, experience shows that the miners bring lots of equipment and supplies down to the river but leave behind piles of trash (including batteries and fuel containers) that leach into the river. Even with a 14 day limit on camping, many miners stay much longer. Due to the narrow canyon, disposal of human waste is a problem; it accumulates in a few spots and leaches into the river. Trash and human waste does impact water quality, the fisheries, and human health.
Recreational and commercial mining is not a legitimate activity in California if it is done at the expense of the state’s fish, wildlife, water quality, human health, and state-protected beneficial uses of our rivers and streams. Suction dredge mining is completely inappropriate in the North Fork American River.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
(your name, address)