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Bill Carnazzo
07-26-2011, 08:47 PM
It's over...Governor Brown signed AB 120 which does several things, including: an extension of the moratorium for another 5 years; a requirement that all adverse impacts be fully mitigated; and a new fee structure that requires DFG to set the fee at a level that fully pays for all of the enforcement, monitoring, testing, etc. This is a huge victory. I suspect that the dredgers will find a lawyer and file litigation, but I don't see how a court could contravene what the courts have already done (which is stop dredging). It's almost like the 1880s decision that stopped Placer mining.

Bill Kiene semi-retired
07-26-2011, 09:20 PM
Very exciting news......thanks Bill

Ed Wahl
07-26-2011, 09:22 PM
Hallelujah brother.

The big battles are on hold for a while.

Now you can take a break, relax and just fish a little.

I'll be in touch about that last one.

Ed

Mike O
07-28-2011, 08:57 AM
excellent.

Do you think this will stop all the claims?

Will it stop people from camping on the river at their claim? I mean RIGHT ON THE RIVER EDGE, for goodness' sake.

Black Cloud
08-15-2011, 10:44 PM
As usual people get the facts wrong. It was hydraulic that was banned in the 1880s not placer. With gold around $1800.00 an ounce litigation is coming and people are not giving up their claims.

Scott V
08-16-2011, 07:42 AM
As usual people get the facts wrong. It was hydraulic that was banned in the 1880s not placer.

Either way something good happen and we should not be bringing any negative comments, so either just state the facts or keep it to yourself. Bill worked his butt of to assist in this.

Black Cloud
08-16-2011, 09:09 AM
Tell that to people who mine for a living. I thought that it was ironic that Bill being an attorney got the facts wrong.

DFrink
08-16-2011, 09:20 AM
This is a funny place for someone who supports suction dredging to hang out...

Dan


Tell that to people who mine for a living. I thought that it was ironic that Bill being an attorney got the facts wrong.

Black Cloud
08-16-2011, 02:16 PM
This is a funny place for someone who supports suction dredging to hang out...

Dan
Last I checked we still had free speech in this country and I think it is a bad law. If they want to ban me from this site I guess they can, after all it is the internet. If everyone has to agree on the forum, what is the point.

DFrink
08-16-2011, 02:47 PM
Point taken. Don't want you to get banned. I was just making an observation.

Dan

JasonB
08-18-2011, 05:50 PM
Tell that to people who mine for a living. I thought that it was ironic that Bill being an attorney got the facts wrong.

I'm all for discourse, and differences of opinion being aired freely. I'm wondering though, how many folks do you know that "mine for a living"? I know a lot of folks who mine for a hobby, and a way to get out there away from it all, but not so much to make a living, though I could certainly be in the wrong crowd on this one. Either way, I'd say that times change and that we as people have to change with them. Fact is suction dredging is pretty abrasive to our streams, and one persons "wants and needs" must be weighed against all others. I'm pretty happy with the move; personally I think it was LONG overdue.
JB

Darian
08-18-2011, 10:12 PM
Almost everything we debate/discuss on this board relates somehow to water issues. In the case of suction dredge mining, water quality and disruption of spawning gravels are of concern, among others. :-|

However, I find the reduction of suction dredge mining to the level of a hobby a bit inaccurate. First, equipping for this activity is quite expensive. Second, there's a bunch of laws on the books (local,state and federal) that must be complied with that runs up the cost as well. Maintaining a mining claim requires more than putting up stone monuments marking the boundaries of the claim. Now that gold has drastically increased in price, it's even more likely that hobbiests (if there are any) will be shut out. :sad:

I've met a few of these guys (suction dredge and panners/sluicing) on valley and mountain rivers (especially below the Hwy 49 bridge over the No. Fork Yuba) and they were uniformly serious about making money and protecting their rights to their claims to the point of warning people off with firearms. Obviously, there may be exceptions.... :-|

Aside from the obvious ecological/environmental concerns, I think what bothers me about this situation is that we (I include myself here) are really only concerned as we want to protect fisheries so that we can exploit them for ourselves and, unless we have a commercial or guides fishing license, we're nothing more than hobbiests ourselves. :nod:

Now, having said all of that, It's my belief that the banning of suction dredge mining in our rivers/streams is a good thing until a real assessment of the practice impacts is completed. :-|