Category Archives: Events

Bike Trail, Events, History, safety, Wildlife

Tarantulas looking for love near Folsom Lake

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Tarantulas are out looking for love and hikers are being warned to look out for them.

Last weekend, while hiking along the Darington Trail near Folsom Lake, ABC10’s John Bartell came across one of those hairy arachnids. A group of mountain bikers warned John and his girlfriend, who were on the trail at the time, of a tarantula. A surprisingly large tarantula. If you listen closely to the video, you can hear John’s girlfriend warn him about picking up the eight-legged creature.

Wade Spencer, a member of the UC Davis Entomology Department, works with spiders. He said tarantulas can bite, but only if they are only aggressive when agitated. Though they have fangs and carry poison, tarantulas are not considered a serious threat to humans.

More at ABC10.com >>>

Bike Trail, Events, Fish, History, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Why are salmon dying? (Hint: It’s a good thing…)

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Dead salmon are washing up on banks of the American River. It sounds gruesome but it’s actually a good thing.
The annual salmon run is underway and the fish have traveled thousands of miles to spawn then die in our waterways.
“Within the last decade we have seen a downward trend,” said Department of Fish and Wildlife researcher Jeana Phillips. The DFW keeps a close eye on the salmon population. Every year a team of researchers count dead salmon after they have spawned.
The American River Nimbus Fish Hatchery in Rancho Cordova is full of salmon right now. A number of salmon in the American River were released from the Nimbus Fish Hatchery. Salmon hatch in rivers then make their way to the ocean where they spend 3 to 4 years. When they are ready to breed. Salmon leave the ocean, head back to the area they were born, lay eggs, then die.
More at ABC10.com >>>

 

Events, Fish, Salmon, Wildlife

Nimbus Hatchery Fish Ladder to Open Nov. 2

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The salmon ladder at Nimbus Hatchery in Rancho Cordova will open Wednesday, Nov. 2, signaling the start of the spawning season on the American River. California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) hatchery workers will open the ladder gates at 10:45 a.m. Hatchery employees may take more than a half-million eggs during the first week of operation alone in an effort to ensure the successful spawning of the returning fall run Chinook salmon.

There are eight state-run salmon and steelhead hatcheries, all of which will participate in the salmon spawning effort. Over the next two months, the three major state-run hatcheries in the Central Valley – the Nimbus Hatchery in Sacramento County, the Feather River Hatchery in Butte County and the Mokelumne River Hatchery in San Joaquin County – will take approximately 24 million eggs in order to produce Chinook salmon for release next spring.

More at CDFW News >>>

Bike Trail, Events, Fish, Rafting, safety, Water, Wildlife

12 tons of trash pulled in Great Sierra River Cleanup

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More than one thousand volunteers in the Sierra Nevada Region helped pull 12 tons of trash from rivers, lakes, and streams on Saturday.

The event was all a part of the 8th annual Great Sierra River Cleanup.

Estefan Galvan, 25, is a diver with seven years experience who helped cleanup Saturday.

“Diving is a whole different world. It’s an entirely different world,” Galvan said. “When you get under water it’s a completely different feel, your away from everything at the surface.”

Galvan joined a crew of a dozen divers in Folsom, California who pulled several items from the American River.

“Our main focus is going to be under the cliff diving spots and under the bridges where people tend to be looking over the edges or jumping off or throwing things over,” Galvan said.

The group pulled a bicycle, fishing rod, cans, glass, anchors and more from the American River.

More at ABC10.com >>>

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

Great American River Clean Up – Saturday, September 17th 2016

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Great American River Clean Up – Saturday, September 17th 2016 from 9am-12pm

Great American River Clean Up Sep 20, 2014 2015 RESULTS:

25 sites cleaned.
1,550 volunteers participated.
20,000 lbs. of trash removed.

Come join us for our annual Great American River Clean Up! Bring your coworkers, neighbors, friends and family. Help us reach our goal of 2,000 volunteers!

There are 20+ Clean Up locations spanning the Parkway.
Click here for a map of Clean Up locations.
Click here for driving directions.

Click HERE to Register!

For more information please do not hesitate to contact the ARPF office at (916) 486-2773, or send email to volunteer@arpf.org.

Bike Trail, Events, Rafting, safety, Water

Mellow participants at alcohol-free ‘Raftopia’ event on American River

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Hundreds gathered Saturday morning on the banks of the American River in Rancho Cordova for “Raftopia,” a nonpermitted event that prompted a one-day alcohol ban.

Sgt. A.J. Bennett, a Sacramento County Regional Parks ranger, said the Rancho Cordova Police Department, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, volunteer mounted officers and California Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel assisted rangers Saturday to ensure participants had a safe day on the river.

“The water will wear a swimmer out in a hurry,” Bennett said.

Park ranger Greg Stelzner said the Saturday crowd was mellow.

“We have a good crowd. … A couple of church groups came through,” Stelzner said. Rafters were cooperative, either throwing beer away or taking it back to their parked vehicles.

More at SacBee.com >>>
Events, Rafting, Video

Non-permitted ‘Raftopia’ prompts alcohol ban on American River

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A alcohol restriction has been issued for the American River on Saturday from Hazel to Watt avenues in preparation for the non-permitted “Raftopia” event taking place that day.

Michael Doane, chief ranger for Sacramento County Regional Parks, said the main concern is public safety.

“(Raftopia) is formerly known as Rafting Gone Wild,” Doane said.

Six arrests were made at the July Rafting Gone Wild event, during which Sammy Diaz, the event organizer, escaped law enforcement officials by jumping off of a bridge and swimming away. Later that month, Diaz was arrested on two outstanding warrants: a misdemeanor charge of resisting or obstructing a peace officer and a misdemeanor charge of illegally jumping from a bridge at another unpermitted rafting event on the American River.

More at SacBee.com >>>

Bike Trail, Events, Rafting, safety

American River Parkway Alcohol Restriction For ‘Rafting Gone Wild’

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For safety, the Regional Parks Director has issued an alcohol restriction on the American River from Hazel to Watt Avenues in preparation for a non-permitted event – Rafting Gone Wild – June 25, 2016.

In 2012, The Rafting Gone Wild event resulted in multiple arrests, destruction of public and private property, and presented a significant threat to the safety of the public and our community in large part due to the intoxication level of the participants.  The event being advertised for Saturday has a strong focus on alcohol consumption, which contributes greatly to public safety concerns.

As a result of the potential risks to the community including park visitors, rescue personnel and law enforcement, the Director of Regional Parks has issued an alcohol restriction for June 25, 2016.  Violations of the alcohol restriction will be strictly enforced.

Boating, Events, safety, Water

Folsom Lake rangers predict busiest weekend in years

State park rangers predicted Friday that as many as 75,000 people will visit Folsom Lake during the Memorial Day weekend to take advantage of the reservoir’s highest water level in years.

Ranger Ryan Steele said the crowd could be the biggest since the drought began four years ago.

“We’ve had such a low water level that the lake hasn’t been very enticing for everybody,” Steele said. “Now, they have the opportunity to come out here and really use it for its full recreational potential.”

By early Friday afternoon, cars and trailers with boats were starting to line up the Granite Bay entrance to Folsom Lake State Park.

On the beach at Beal’s Point, extra lifeguards are scheduled to be on duty.

The campgrounds are reserved for all three days of the weekend.

Myrna Bennett, of San Francisco, said her weekend at Folsom was just the start of a summer of campouts.

“Then we’re planning to go to Rancho Seco in Sacramento. Then we’re planning to go to Lake Shasta,” Bennett said. “And the other one, it’s (Lake) Tulloch.”

More at KCRA.com >>>