The Struggle for the Stanislaus River
Those of us fortunate enough to have experienced the Camp 9 section of the Stanislaus River near Angels Camp in the early 1970s remember the exciting rapids, the towering limestone cliffs, the caves decorated with Native American petroglyphs and the stunning beauty of Rose Creek. Like Yosemite Valley or the Grand Canyon, Sierra Rivers are world treasures that deserve to be protected!
Tragically, the Stanislaus, the most popular whitewater river in the West at the time, was destroyed by a dam in the next decade. Next came the realization that all the remaining rivers in the Sierras are threatened. That was how our original river company, Scott Free River Expeditions, was born. Its purpose was to help California’s rivers get off “Scot-free”, and when Mother Lode and Scott Free joined in 1984, the need could not have been greater!
The 2018 rafting season marked three important victories for Mother Lode’s river conservation effort. First, if you wrote one of the 2400 letters in support of the Mokelumne River, congratulations and thank you! The Mokelumne was given permanent protection under the California Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in June of 2018. This successfully concluding a 40 year effort by the Foothill Conservancy, Friends of the River, and the entire river community.
Second, if you wrote one of the 1200 letters written to the Nevada Irrigation District Board opposing the Centennial Dam project on the Bear River, you will be pleased to learn that the State Water Board ruled the Centennial Dam project to “be of no significant public benefit” and denied it funding. Nevertheless, the fight continues, and SYRCL will need our continued support again this season on the Bear River.
Third, 2018 marked the 50th Anniversary of the Federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, a great victory for river conservation nationwide. Yet without the public’s support, there would be no rivers protected under this act. Designation as Wild and Scenic requires that you, our rivers’ protectors, show up and tell your legislators how much you love your rivers!
With this in mind, Friends of the River, California’s foremost grass roots river conservation organization, held its annual California River Awards banquet on October 20, 2018 to recognize as “River Heroes” such conservation advocates as former President Carter, California Gov. Brown, Mark DuBois, Steve Evans, Ron Stork…...and yes, the Mother Lode River Heroes…you! Over 40 years, 29,000 letters,15 different rivers- it is a great record, and you own it.
Without such efforts the North, Middle or South Fork of the American River would likely no longer exist. Similarly, the Consumnes, Eel, Trinity, Yuba, Merced, Tuolumne, Mokelumne, Kings, Kern, Sespe, Cache Creek, the Bear…the list seems long, until you realize there are already over 1400 dams in California and only 5% of our rivers are actually protected. The threat continues, so thank you for caring. We look forward to seeing you on your rivers again this season!
We are pleased to report that because of all the hard work you helped us do supporting the Alternative Proposal during the FERC relicensing on the South Fork, there will be at least a minimum of 5 days of guaranteed robust rafting flows on the South Fork of the American River this season. It is also likely there will be similar flows on the Middle Fork.
So come join us this season and write a letter in support of your rivers. Be a river hero!
For our rivers,
Scott, Catherine, Emily and Adrienne Underwood and the MaLode Crew