Odds and Ends

Just a little in the way of news.

At

http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=164295&one=T

see my photo of a Gopher Snake on the HOUT.

And at

http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=164294&one=T

see my photo of the Common Tarweed, Madia elegans, also on the HOUT.

OK. I received a reply to my letter of a week ago or so from Jan Cutts of the newly-named American River Ranger District of Tahoe National Forest, re OHV damage to trails, garbage, etc.

As must be expected, there is very little if anything which TNF can do with its Green Sticker OHV money to repair OHV damage to trails, effect OHV closures anywhere, or to clean up garbage brought into the canyon using OHVs. The reason? They are tightly restricted in uses of these funds.

However, Ms. Cutts seemed interested in these problems, and I will have a chance to meet with her soon.

On a related front, down by Upper Lake Clementine in the Auburn State Recreation Area (ASRA), a 30-acre parcel has come up for sale, asking price, $49,000. The parcel straddles the river near Long Point in the SW 1/4 of Section 15. The owner, on his web site, makes much of the road and jeep trail forking away from Applegate's Boole Road, and leading down to Long Point. He considers this road to be a public road by prescriptive right, and to constitute legal access to the 30 acres, where he suggests someone could build a nice house with a great view of the North Fork canyon. He describes the route in some detail.

See

http://clay.akoss.com/applegate/

for the owner's presentation of the 30 acres and its access.

From his description I deduce that this is one of the routes OHVs use to gain illegal access to the North Fork. They drive up and down miles of the canyon in the summer and fall. I have complained to ASRA about this OHV invasion of a very wild and pretty reach of the North Fork, between Long Point on the west and Codfish Canyon on the east, but thus far ASRA has mre or less thrown up its bureaucratic hands and replied, "What can we do, unless we know how they are getting in there?"

So, I have made a point of telling ASRA about this 30-acres-for-sale, and the road and jeep trail at Long Point, where ASRA tried to block the road/jeep trail years ago, but, it seems, failed.

Parenthetically, I would like to see ASRA buy this 30 acres.

There is a major OHV invasion going on here in Placer County. It's past time to insist upon some limits.