RECREATIONAL ADVENTURES
Recreational Gold Prospecting:
Recreational gold prospecting enthusiasts have an even greater challenge locating a stream or river to legitimately dip a gold pan into than they do finding the precious flecks of gold. In this area, gold can be found in many places; publicly available locations to prospect that are not already covered by existing mining claims are rare.
Given the rich mining heritage of the central Sierra Nevada Mountains, almost every foot of stream or riverbed on public lands administered by National Forests are staked by claim holders who enjoy exclusive mining rights on their claims. And that’s the vast majority of public lands within the Range. State Park and public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are also available for public prospecting, but each organization has a different set of rules.
Nearly 2.9 miles of prime South Yuba River channel near Nevada City became available to public recreational gold prospecting only a few years ago. Through land exchange with Sierra Pacific Industries, a timber management company, the Tahoe National Forest acquired nearly two square miles of land adjacent to the South Yuba below the town of Washington. Mineral rights were donated to the Forest Service and are not open for mineral entry under the 1872 Mining Law. Mining claims can not be filed, but the Forest has left the river channel open for recreational, casual mining.
Recreational panning within the river channel is open to everyone -- as long as you follow the rules. But tool-up for what you’ll be up against. And scale your dreams accordingly.
The South Yuba was, and is, one of the richest locations of gold in the Sierra Nevada, and she has shared her bounty with miners -- from 1849 to today. But if you dig into a little of the local history first, you’ll appreciate what you’re digging into today -- and you’ll increase your odds of finding good color.
California’s Washington lies about a mile upriver from the upper end of this area, and over 3,000 men were mining in this immediate vicinity in the 1850s. Production of gold through river mining, however, had peaked in 1851-1852. Initially, miners improved techniques enabling them to move into older river benches farther from the existing channel itself. At times earth moving became the prime concern and recovery of the gold secondary. Much of the gold was never recovered, and much of the overburden ended up in the river channel.
By mid-1850s most of the effort had moved out of the river itself, and on to nearby slopes and ridges. Towns boomed nearly overnight. Alpha and Omega were discovered upstream of Washington. These and other rich Tertiary gravels deposited by the Ancient Yuba River became the focus and hydraulic mining the method of choice.
Overburden from these hydraulic mines were washed downstream until they essentially covered the river channel by the mid-1850s. Much of this material remains today and has affected river mining ever since.
The parcels recently reacquired by the Tahoe National Forest had become private lands through railroad patents by the early 1900s. They were included as lands selected in lieu of payment for construction of the transcontinental railroad. Mining was not a focus under private ownership, but individuals leased mining rights from the private corporations. Some suction dredge mining occurred on these parcels until 1997.
The river has constantly accumulated gold -- long before the Gold Rush and in every year since. Much of the gold-bearing material has been removed, but much has not. The Tertiary deposits up river are no longer worked through hydraulic mining; some have never been worked, and much of what was mined was worked with relatively crude techniques overlooking sizable amounts of gold. Reason stands, there is more gold left upstream than has been removed to date.
With each season, when the snow melts and every time it rains hard, “new” gold makes its way toward streams and, eventually the South Yuba River, itself. Gravity and time are two natural laws that work to the advantage of gold prospectors.
Access to the vicinity below Washington is via the graveled Relief Hill Road connecting Washington on the east and North Bloomfield and Malakoff Diggins State Park on the west. The South Yuba River National Recreation Trail is the only direct access to the river. The nearest road access is the Poorman Creek trailhead on the east end -- about a half-mile upstream of the closest stretch that is open to casual mining. The Missouri Bar trailhead and the Edwards Crossing trailhead serve the west end but are from 1.5 mile to 2.5 miles distance away from the National Forest lands. The trail is closed to motorized vehicles.
This area is a complex pattern of ownership: private lands, National Forest previously claimed under the 1872 mining act, and the newly acquired parcels of National Forest held open for casual or recreational mining. It is your responsibility to know where property boundaries are, and to insure you are on available lands.
Several areas adjacent to lands reserved to casual mining are public domain -- but are open to mineral entry, and are previously claimed under mining laws. Please respect claimants' rights of ownership of minerals on their claims. Some claimants will allow panning, but only if you receive permission first. Private properties not only require permission for any mining, they require permission to enter. Period.
The Tahoe National Forest has maps available at their headquarters and has posted the areas open to casual mining. Some of those signs were vandalized or moved within the first season, so make sure you know where you are before panning. Claimants and private landholders don’t take kindly to someone else panning “their” gold.
On the other hand: the Tahoe National Forest wanted any of us to be able to have the thrill of finding a show of colors -- perhaps even a nugget. If you are after money, you might want to try your luck elsewhere. If the thrill of finding something millions of years old, not to mention that it has instant value, then these areas along the South Yuba can keep the dream alive.
PROSPECTING REGULATIONS:
……Hands and Pans
You’ll need to follow the regulations for all National Forest lands. Here are a few key ones:
· No permits are required for “hands and pans” prospecting
· Metal detectors can be used without permit to search for precious metals but check on restrictions before looking for historic artifacts
· No camping for over 14 days
· Campfire Permits are required for open fires or stoves. No fires will be permitted during fire season
· No new trails or campsites may be constructed
· Campsites must be kept clean at all times, and garbage must be removed, not buried
Specific to the casual mining area are regulations designed for protection of riparian and recreational values of the South Yuba River:
· Mining can only take place within the wetted perimeter of the river channel and stream banks may not be undercut
· Motorized equipment such as suction dredges, winches, or other powered equipment are not allowed
The Tahoe National Forest has prepared a map and small brochure describing the rules. The basic rule is to avoid disturbing riparian vegetation, especially root wads holding stream banks in place. They provide a diagram to describe the “wetted perimeter,” which is much different from the high water line. In short, it describes the existing water line at the time you are out there -- which, of course, means a line that changes with the snowmelt, rainy days, and even the time of day. Check it out, before you start prospecting.
The lands now available for recreational gold prospecting along the South Yuba River were acquired with an emphasis toward recreation and enhancement of the scenic river. The Tahoe National Forest designed guidelines for recreational gold panning with that same emphasis. The goal is to avoid significant disturbance of the riparian area, especially vegetation, while providing relatively pristine, quiet, recreational experiences.
Pick up a map and brochure at the Tahoe National Forest Headquarters, 631 Coyote St., Nevada City, CA 95959 (530-265-4531). Also available is the South Yuba River Recreation Guide. It shows not only the newly opened lands on the National Forest but also lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, Army Corps of Engineers and California State Parks that are available for casual mining downstream of this area. Their regulations are different, so check with the responsible agency for more specific information.
PROSPECTING HINTS:
……Hands and Pans
As you know, gold is heavy. It will settle to the bottom of the river wherever the water velocity slows to the point that its weight will cause it to drop to the bottom. Once gold is deposited on the bottom it tends to stay there. It would only move again if the velocity of the water increases to a point higher than the flow that deposited it there. Torrential rains will cause movement, but once gold is deposited it usually takes a higher velocity of flow -- say from spring floods. Once a flood event deposits the gold flakes, it takes an even bigger flood event to move it again. As lighter materials such as sand and silt move over the top of the heavier gold, not only is the gold buried and hidden but it is buffered still again from moving.
The steeper the river gradient and the more the volume of flow the more likely the gold can be moved down stream. Once the flow can no longer suspend the gold, it will be deposited.
The heavy weight of the gold and the moist, nearly liquid state of the gravel, sand, and silt on the bottom allows the gold to continually sift downward until it finally hits something solid such as bedrock. It will stay there until some force of nature dislodges it -- such as a monstrous flood, perhaps the biggest even in the last 100 years. Until then the gold remains – unless some lucky prospector finds it.
The major skill to locating placer gold deposits is the ability to read the action of the river as it flows downstream. It’s not easy to read a stream and there is no guarantee the gold will always be found in similar locations. Or if gold was there, perhaps someone else found it first. Recreational gold prospecting is a game of solitaire -- a game of skill and luck.
One last note: miners during the Gold Rush could hope to locate pockets of gold that had been accumulating for hundreds of thousands of years. They probably searched every foot of likely river. So the days of large accumulations of placer gold are gone forever. What we are looking for today are places where the accumulation could result only after one runoff. We can always hope to find locations everyone else has overlooked for perhaps twenty-five years. It’s possible, but not likely.
As was discussed earlier, the history of these streams has resulted in a tremendous deposit of overburden -- rock and graveled deposited onto the bottom of a river. Thus the best deposits that date back for very many years are covered with tons of material from a few feet to perhaps 60 feet deep. Large dredges are the only possible way to move this kind of material. We are not including that type of prospecting in our discussion of “recreational gold prospecting.”
The most basic rule is to look for gold wherever the water has slowed to the point that it could not continue to carry the heavier gold. Eddies, holes at the bottom of waterfalls, or smaller cascades, or slack water in the bend of the river are all good candidates. Pools behind boulders are easy to see, but it’s the placement of the boulder in relation to high water during the flood stage that is most important.
……Basic tools for panning
A recreational prospector should invest only in a few basic tools. Yet, there are a few essentials: a small shovel, a small pick, and a smaller tool suitable for digging into confined areas. This could be a small pick, or a large screwdriver. You want something small enough to allow you dig down into the sand between rocks or next to a tree root. Hint: if you bend the blade end of a large screwdriver to a 90 degree angle it will allow you to scrape material up and out. A magnifying glass is handy for separating the gold flakes and a pair of tweezers is especially helpful. Don’t forget a very small bottle or vial to keep your collection in as you look for more.
A gold pan is the other must have item. Aluminum pans became the favorite that replaced the original steel pans that can rust out. Plastic pans are not just toy pans; they have several advantages. They are light weight and indestructible. The pan should have a beaded rim to give it strength.
Size is a matter of preference and skill. Under 8 inches the pans have special uses and are not necessary for recreational panning. Sizes in between 18” to 24” are the most efficient, but 12” pans are a good size to learn on and then graduate to the larger pans.
The best way to learn is to watch someone who is skilled. The general principles can be learned with practice in a real stream. Scoop a handful of material into the pan and add water until you can slush the sand and grave around in a circular motion on the bottom of the pan. The heavier gold, as well as the heavier black sand that is associated with gold will concentrate to the center as you swirl the water and sand. Pick out larger pieces of gravel and check to make sure they are not gold bearing. Toss away the gravel. Continue working the lighter sand and small pebbles to the edge and dip the pan to let it slide out of the pan. Continue this process until you have a concentrate of the heavier material. In good gold bearing country the remaining material will be black sand and hopefully gold. Look for the shine of the gold within the black sand. Use the tweezers or a moistened finger to pick the flakes out and put into your jar.
Practice. Within an hour you should become skilled enough to begin the fun.
In addition to some rugged crevicing tools for digging, I strongly recommend you have something that you can use to suction the bottom of crevices. You can buy suction guns or “suckers,” or you can make one by reversing the pumping action of a bicycle tire pump -- even a turkey baster will help. But you’ll increase your luck if you have something that will pull the small flecks out of crevices.
RECREATIOAL GOLD DREDGING:
……Discussion:
A section of the South Yuba administered by the BLM is one of the few areas that recreational miners can find a place to operate their dredges without establishing a mining claim -- which is not easy in these times. Most of the federal public lands are already “claimed-up.”
Areas open to recreational dredging in the Sierra Nevada Range are even more rare than gold. BLM has a similar approach on the lands they manage on the Merced River, and the Tahoe National Forest permits recreational dredging on one little half-mile stretch of the North Yuba River below the Union Flat Campground near Sierra City. About 9,000 mining claims overlay the neighboring public lands, and the majority of those are concentrated within the three branches of the Yuba River.
Dredging permits are issued annually but cannot be granted before a specified date, one week before the start of each season -- on a “first come, first served basis.” Hoping to get their favored stretch of river, there have been years when miners were camped on BLM’s doorstep the morning of opening day for issuance of permits.
Gold panning is allowed without a permit. Restrictions for recreational dredging along the South Yuba vary somewhat by location -- mostly dependent on the popularity of an area by swimmers and sunbathers. Interested miners should discuss specific locations and seasonal dates with BLM managers.
Miners should also be willing to share the river with folks who revere the river -- many believing swimsuits are “optional” -- not a rule.
……Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rules:
· Seasonal dredging is permitted late May through mid-October.
· Permits are issued each year on “first come, first serve basis” one week before the start of the season.
· Applicants must have in their possession a valid State Dredging permit issued by California Fish and Game. F&G establishes each season’s dates and limits suction nozzles to a maximum of 8 inches -- less when the operations are near popular swimming areas.
· Above Overlook Point, 30-day permits are issued for $50 (in 2005), and as long as the permittee runs a clean operation, can be extended for the season with no additional fees. A permittee can also opt to take a 14 days permit with no extensions allowed. Fees $50 (in 2005)for one day or the season.
· Between Edwards Crossing and Overlook Point, there is a moratorium (as of 2003) on dredging permits pending the drafting of a river management plan.
· Except for a stretch adjacent to Edwards Crossing, camping is permitted. Camps must be temporary, and porta-potties are required. All trash must be removed weekly, and all equipment hauled out at the end of the season.
· All fire restrictions, which vary by the severity of the fire season, must be followed.
· High banking is not allowed.
· Use of any suspension cables or ropes crossing the river must be readily visible for whitewater boaters and be at least 10 feet above the water surface at all times.
……Points to Consider:
One overarching principal is perhaps the most important: “Permittee will diligently pursue mining.” Recreational permits are designed to continue legitimate mining with restrictions crafted to discourage individuals from settling on public lands as a place of residence or for long periods. The intent of the permit system is to also protect the recreational values of this popular river canyon.
Within the 10-mile stretch of river, permits are spaced roughly one-fourth mile apart, and permittees are encouraged to mutually agree to actual boundaries.
The market price of gold weighs heavily on prospective miners’ decisions to haul a dredge into the canyon or not. However, the most limiting deterrent is the lack of road or trail access. The South Yuba Trail is a National Recreation Trail, and motorized vehicles are prohibited. Roads are few and far between throughout the canyon.
The South Yuba was designated by California as a “Wild and Scenic River” in 1999.
The river canyon is not a designated Wilderness, but stretches of the canyon are the next thing to it.
Dredges are heavy and can be a significant investment. Small 2-½ inch models that can be broken down into several components for hauling in and out are the most popular. Individuals have teamed up and use 3-inch dredges, and have a compressor and “air” available for diving.
CONTACTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
U.S. Forest Service
..Tahoe National Forest
..530) 265-4531
California State Parks
..South Yuba State Park
..(530) 432-2546
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
..Folsom Field Office
..(916) 985-4474
