22 MARCH 17- 31, 2017 VOL. 36 • ISS. 07

GONE FISHING:

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encourage you to purchase an annual pass. It’ s $ 125 for the year and allows day use with a vehicle in the Auburn and Folsom SRAs and a long list of other areas too. That comes to a little over $ 10 a month and only pennies a day for someone that hikes, bikes or jogs in the SRA several times per week.”

“ As an aside I’ d like to point out that the fees you pay are used in the state park that you purchased a pass for. When you purchase a pass from the Auburn SRA the funds are kept by that SRA. The fees don’ t go into a general fund, so your fees are actually being used to manage the area you paid to access,” Howard responded.

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QUESTION 2: I understand that some roads that would currently be open have been knocked out by the rain, but there are other roads that are closed from fall until spring and some of those are paved. These are access roads, why aren’ t they open for access all year?

“ I could cite budget shortfalls and that’ s part of it, but I’ m going to be completely honest and tell you that I’ m not sure why some of these roads are closed beyond the fact that they have always been closed at this time of the year. Some of them are dirt and we don’ t want them damaged when they are wet and muddy. Yet the roads to Upper Clementine and China Bar are paved and seem like perfect access points right now when so many roads are washed out.”

“ I think a possible, perhaps likely cure

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I think a possible, perhaps likely cure to these access issues is for the public to begin attending our management meetings.”

Mike Howard, Auburn Sate Recreation Area Auburn Sector Superintendent

to these access issues is for the public to begin attending our management meetings. These sorts of meetings were stopped at some point before I took over, but I’ m committed to bringing them back. I want the first one to be this summer. I think it is crucial to have the users attending these meetings and giving us feedback about their experiences and what they’ d like to see being done. I’ m a very pro-use guy. I don’ t want to have anyone feeling excluded. The SRA encompasses a lot of land and I’ d like to

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QUESTION 3: With the river’ s running, full bore, huge pieces of bank dissolving and trees being torn adrift, it seems ridiculous to have a provision that makes the use of hand tools off limits for small prospectors based on environmental concerns. How do you feel about this rule change and is there any chance of reversing it?

“ At the end of the day this decision came from the federal authorities and their lawyers. It’ s a federal policy at this point and we are implementing it. It doesn’ t seem like a necessary regulation to me either, but it’ s not something I can change. If we want this decision changed, we’ ll have to go to the federal level.”

QUESTION 4: Hunting is allowed in the SRA but only in a limited area and only for a limited number of species. What can hunters do to see an expansion of opportunity within the SRA?

“ I’ m not a hunter, but I respect the sport. In fact, I’ ve not heard about any issues with hunters in the SRA. We know you guys are out there hunting, but in reality, with the exception of turkey season, we rarely see any hunters. Most of the guys that do hunt here are out in the countryside someplace. They just don’ t operate near the roads and tend to stay to themselves.”

“ The actual hunting areas and hunting regulations for the SRA are not determined by the State Parks. They were passed down from the Department of Fish and Wildlife. It seems logical to me that we could expand the number of species allowed and the areas where hunting can take place. This is especially true for archery hunting. I mean bows are a quiet, short range weapon and very non-invasive.”

“ To get the kind of expansion you are looking for you’ ll need to reach out to the DFW. It sounds positive to me, but they will ultimately have to make the call. Once again I urge you and everyone else with a stake in the Auburn SRA to attend our upcoming planning meetings. The dates will be posted on our website once we set them at parks. ca. gov. I’ m hoping to have the first one at some point between June and August. I’ m looking forward to meeting with the SRAs users and coming up with some policy that will satisfy the needs of everyone,” Howard asserted.

Conclusions: I’ d like to thank Mike Howard for his time and positive attitude! I’ m not done with these issues. I’ ll be speaking in front of the Placer County Fish and Game Commission in late March and one of the subjects I’ ll present is the potential expansion of hunting in the Auburn SRA.

In terms of the elimination of prospecting, I’ ll be reaching out to Senator Ted Gaines for guidance and help.

The gold discoveries that triggered the Gold Rush in 1849 were on the American River. The Gold Rush changed not only California and the United States, it changed the world. Prospecting is part of our heritage here in California. It’ s known as the Golden State after all.

The prospecting ban on the American River is an affront to both our heritage and our liberty and I’ m going to do everything in my power to see the ban overturned.