Saturday
08Aug2009
Suction dredging ban signed into law
Saturday, August 8, 2009 at 12:00AM 
The Governator signed a bill to temporarily ban the destructive form of recreational gold mining known as suction dredging. The bill places an immediate moratorium on all suction dredge mining until the California Department of Fish and Game develops and implements new suction dredge regulations that are protective of fisheries and water quality.
LINK (Via: Cal Trout)
tagged conservation in Conservation
conservation in Conservation
Reader Comments (5)
Right Fucking ON!
DEERHAWK SOUNDS LIKE SOME DUMB ASS INDIAN. TO BAD WE DON'T CARE ABOUT OURSELFS AS MUCH AS THE FUCKING FISH.
BOOGIE, YOU JUST SOUND LIKE A DUMB ASS, NOT SURE ABOUT YOU ETHNICITY.
You both write like Nigerian scam artists, I know your ethnicity!
this law was a grudge match between bitter indians and greedy entrepenuers on the Klamath. It has affected all of california's recreational miners. most dredgers pull vast amounts of lead and residual amounts of mercury out of the river. Lead is collected in the sluice boxes and the mercury amalgams to the gold. It really takes a tainted research study to find this is causing salmon to depopulate the rivers. maybe over dredging one section of the river can have an effect but most dredges are separated by many miles and do not have a significant cumulative effect. A summer flash storm probably moves more silt in a river than a decade's worth of dredging could do by tenfold. It scares me that the government has taken away another use of our natural resouces from recreationalist. What happened to "Land of Many Uses"? Have you ever seen the government return a right it has taken away? If they do introduce mining the rivers back, how much do you think they will then charge us to use our lands? What will be next: ATV usage, fishing, hunting, hiking, kayaking, jeeping...or......? Each sport has some downside. Some people don't treat the land with respect, others litter, others are careless. Most respect the land and we should find ways to assist Mother Nature to deal with our impact on her. Not forbid Her use.
It is estimated this act will impact the state to the tune of 100 million dollars. Too bad that money couldn't have been used to build fish ladders, enchance fish spawning beds, and open up more recreation to both miners and indians.