Category Archives: History

Boating, Fish, History, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Mormon Island ruins re-emerge from shrinking Folsom Lake

The ruins of a California town built during the California Gold Rush have re-emerged above the water at Folsom Lake.

The stone walls and foundations that made up part of the town of Mormon Island were visible on Monday.

Mark White, of Sacramento, hiked to the site near Brown’s Ravine and used his camera to capture some of the most striking images so far of the California drought.

“You don’t get to see this very often. Thank God!” White said.
Scattered among the ruins are rusty nails, pieces of pottery and other artifacts that belonged to the 2,500 people who lived in the Mormon Island in the mid-1850s.

“Some of the pottery we found you could tell was like a vase or like a clay pot, just be the shape of it,” said Janet Dyer, of Citrus Heights.
Signs warn visitors not to disturb the site and not to take anything.

However, Dyer said she noticed that a license plate she had seen at the site the last time the water was this low was missing.
“Hopefully, it’s in a history museum somewhere and not on somebody’s shelf,” she said.

The surface of the lake was at 364 feet above level on Monday.
That is 7 feet above last year’s low point of 357 feet and 17 feet higher than the all-time record low of 347 set in 1977.

More at KCRA.com >>>

Bike Trail, Boating, Events, Fish, History, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

PRESERVE THE PARKWAY

Saturday, September 19, is the date for the annual “Great American River Clean Up.”  During the hours of 9 a.m. to noon, please consider donating some time to help clean the American River Parkway.

The American River Parkway Foundation sponsors the annual event as one way to maintain the natural habitat that comprises this 23 mile stretch along the American River.

Volunteers can register online and many students use the event as a way to earn community service credits for school.  Staging sites where you can check-in include Alumni Grove at CSUS, Ancil Hoffman Park, and William Pond Park.   More information can be obtained online at the American River Parkway Foundation website. 

Bike Trail, Events, History

Johnny Cash Trail Art Experience Master Plan Approved

The Folsom City Council unanimously approved a master plan for the Johnny Cash Trail Art Experience, featuring public art that honors one of the world’s most famous country musicians and his influence on the City of Folsom.

The three-acre Johnny Cash Legacy Park will be located at the corner of East Natoma Street and Folsom Lake Crossing.  The park will incorporate interpretive and educational elements about Johnny Cash, his band the Tennessee Three, and the “At Folsom Prison” album.  It will also include a small amphitheater, educational spaces, traditional park amenities, and connection to the Johnny Cash Trail and Bike/Pedestrian Overcrossing.

More at RocklinToday.com >>>

History, News from Other Watersheds

Cave Valley near Auburn drawing climbers 7 days a week

Surf Tower, Tilting Vertex and Wreckage Wall may sound like roller coaster rides at a favorite amusement park, but these routes along the limestone cliffs at Cave Valley climbing area provide a different kind of adrenaline rush for local enthusiasts.

Cave Valley reopened to allow daily access to climbers last year, but a few climbing routes are off-limits this summer as the California Department of Parks and Recreation works to protect a nearby aerie, or nest, of peregrine falcons. The partial closure is an experiment to strike a balance between providing recreational activities to the rock climbing community and fostering local wildlife.

“It’s exciting and interesting that they were able to find a compromise between industry, recreation and the environment,” said Eric Peach, board member of Protect American River Canyons.

Jason Flesher, Sierra marketing manager for REI, an outdoor company that contracts with the Parks Department to teach classes in the canyon, said the partial closure has disrupted only one of REI’s classes so far. That class was moved to another location and subsequently was rained out.

“We were worried the whole area would be closed,” Flesher said “We’re glad it’s only a partial closure. REI is also interested in (protecting) the environment.”

The closure doesn’t seem to have slowed down activity in that area of the canyon. It was 90 degrees on a recent Sunday, but the quarry was full of climbers, coiled ropes and clinking carabiners. One experienced climber scaling the cliff face that day was Gordon Ainsleigh, founder of the Western States Endurance Run. Ainsleigh rides his bike from the trailhead to the climbing site a couple of times a week in preparation for a Yosemite climb later this summer.

“The falcons are usually noisy in the morning,” Ainsleigh said. “That’s when they’re hungry.”

More at AuburnJournal.com >>>

Fish, History, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Scientists find a way to reduce mercury in wetlands

Scientists have found new ways to reduce mercury in wetlands, providing hope that Sacramento-area waterways can be decontaminated of the potentially toxic element that dates back to Gold Rush-era mining activities.

The new research, published recently in Environmental Science and Technology, found that dosing wetlands with two chemicals, iron or aluminum salts, was successful in removing mercury from wetlands.

Researchers spent two years on the project and built nine wetlands on public land in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta at Twitchell Island. They applied water with aluminum salts to three wetlands, water with iron to another three and regular water to the last set of three, according to Tamara Kraus, a research soil scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a co-author of the study.

To determine the effects, researchers introduced mosquitofish. They found mercury levels in the mosquitofish decreased by 62 percent in wetlands dosed with aluminum salts and by 76 percent in wetlands where iron was used.

The mercury lingering in area rivers, creeks and wetlands dates back to the 19th century, when miners used the element to help extract gold in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Controlling mercury levels in area rivers, creeks and wetlands is a key health issue because many people continue to eat fish they catch from mercury-contaminated waters, despite advisories.

“The mercury levels are of concern to us because people are still fishing regularly out of the Delta,” said Sonney Chong, chairman of Capital, an umbrella organization representing the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

A 2013 assessment by the California Department of Public Health found that Hmong, Laotian and Cambodian residents are avid fishermen in the Delta, but that some have low awareness of the mercury issue.

“They’re feeding their family. It’s an outright source of food, so they’ve ignored the advisories,” Chong said.

Ingestion of mercury can lead to problems that include mental impairment and other developmental abnormalities, especially in fetuses and young children.

Mercury bioaccumulates in fish tissue and is passed up the food chain in greater quantities as larger fish eat small fish.

In 2011, a survey of 16 species of sport fish from 63 locations done by the State Water Resources Control Board found that fish caught in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed had higher concentrations of mercury than anywhere else in the state. The highest contamination was in fish high up the food chain – smallmouth and largemouth bass, striped bass and the Sacramento pikeminnow.

Contaminated river sites included the American River at Discovery Park and the south fork of the American River at Coloma. Fish tested from the San Joaquin River pier at Point Antioch and at Louis Park in Stockton also showed high mercury levels.

More at: SacBee.com >>>
History, safety

Mosquito Bridge replacement project on track for 2020

You could buy a new Mosquito Road Bridge for a mere $32 million, or maybe it will cost $53 million with approach roads and such. El Dorado County Division of Transportation has a number of alternatives for replacing the current bridge that in one incarnation or another has been in place for over 150 years. It is 9 feet wide and has a 140-foot span that crosses the South Fork of the American River. Emergency vehicles are restricted by its width and the steep, hairpin turns on each side of the canyon. DOT documents state that the bridge is structurally deficient and functionally obsolete.

More at MtDemocrat.com >>>

Bike Trail, History, Wildlife

See A Feathery Dozen Near The American River

With its bike trails, horse trails and footpaths through unspoiled forests and parkland and along stretches of both rocky and sandy riverbanks, the American River Parkway is an inspired choice to walk, run, fish and ride your bike for miles and miles in natural surroundings.

But it’s also a great place to simply slow down and look around, taking stock of the natural world in many ways.

Wildlife to see includes graceful deer, cunning coyotes, industrious beavers, pesky ground squirrels and, yes, cold-blooded rattlesnakes that slither through rocks and grasses – and occasionally across the bike trail – in search of a pint-sized, warm-blooded meal.

Every so often, a mountain lion creates a stir by wandering onto the property and, more often than not, just as quickly disappearing into more remote areas.

In many ways, however, it is the vibrant, eclectic bird life that defines the parkway with music and color. Some birds forage. Some hunt. Some are hunted. They come in small, medium, large and extra large. They are cute and scary. They whistle. They sing. They honk. They squawk.

What follows is a list of 12 birds to go see and appreciate. Argue if you will about which birds we didn’t include. There is no better time to get out there and see the birds. The weather is not yet hot. The days are long. And many of the birds are mating and nesting.

Just last weekend we spotted the first mother goose of the season leading her family of fuzzy little goslings across the bike trail. In the days ahead, you’re apt to witness the same thing with wild turkeys and, in a much different and speedier way, California quail.

More at SacBee.com >>>
Fish, History, Water, Wildlife

Second Piece Of El Dorado Ranch Property Sells For $5M

A nonprofit conservation group has picked up a second piece of a 7,500-acre ranch along the Upper Cosumnes River owned by developer Angelo Tsakopoulos.

American River Conservancy closed escrow at the end of October on 1,080 acres along the river east of the Sacramento County line for $5 million.

“This is beautiful river canyon landscape with tremendous views of the Sacramento Valley,” said conservancy executive director Alan Ehrgott.

The property purchase, accomplished through a combination of state grants and foundation money, not only keeps the area out of development but opens up more property for a planned river trail and wildlife area, Ehrgott said.

To that end, American River Conservancy last year purchased the first piece of what’s known as the El Dorado Ranch — 1,059 acres along the river and next to the new purchase. Ehrgott said the hope is to eventually acquire the entire ranch property.

More at BizJournals.com >>>

Bike Trail, Events, History

Johnny Cash Trail And Overcrossing Opens Oct. 4

Dedication and ribbon cutting ceremonies for Folsom’s Johnny Cash Trail and Bike/

Pedestrian Overcrossing are set for Saturday morning at the intersection of Folsom Lake Crossing Road and East Natoma Street .

Roseanne Cash will attend the ceremonies for the project that honors the memory of her father, said Sue Ryan, City of Folsom public information officer. The public is invited to view exhibits and enjoy entertainment from 9 a.m.-noon. The ribbon cutting ceremony will begin at 10 a.m.

Organizers encourage guests to walk or cycle to the event, because of a limited on-street parking for vehicles.

The $3.8 million overcrossing, which spans busy Folsom Lake Crossing Road, is designed to echo the look of Folsom Prison’s East Gate guard towers, Ryan said. Cash made the prison famous with his big hit, Folsom Prison Blues, which he performed at the prison in 1968.

“People around the world know Folsom because of that very famous song,” says Mayor Kerri Howell. “This very distinctive overcrossing will serve as an iconic and symbolic feature of Folsom history and will be a unique gateway for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.”

The 2.5 mile Johnny Cash Trail will eventually extend from the Historic Truss Bridge to Green Valley Road , traversing prison property and linking El Dorado and Placer counties to Folsom’s Historic District and the American River Parkway , Ryan said.

Exhibits at the event will showcase plans for the Johnny Cash Trail Art Experience. The Folsom City Council recently approved artists’ concepts for the project, and development of a fund raising campaign.

More at FolsomTelegraph.com >>>

Fish, History, Rafting, safety, Water, Wildlife

American River Metal Debris Study Details Cleanup Costs

Just what to do with hundreds of tons of metal left in the American River after a 1964 bridge washout is still an open question.

But a new report commissioned by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy now has a cleanup plan and an estimated price tag on the work.

The debris from the Highway 49 bridge washout 50 years ago rests downstream from the current Highway 49 bridge – with twisted steel just under the surface of low summer river flows and huge chunks of broken concrete sitting above the shoreline.

Report author David Burns, who is part of a renewed effort to remove dangerous debris from the river, said that while the question of who will pay for the work goes unanswered, the estimated cost to remove all the steel now in the Highway 49 debris field would be about $775,000.

More at AuburnJournal.com >>>