Love of Gold, Love of Salmon
By John Driscoll, Eureka Times Standard
January 14, 2006

A battle over gold mining is brewing on the Klamath River and its tributaries, pitting the Karuk Tribe in Orleans against a quickly growing club called the New 49'ers Inc.

The Karuk Tribe and the California Department of Fish and Game recently reached an agreement to impose new regulations on suction dredge mining on the mid-Klamath and its tributaries. The technique of vacuuming creek beds to find gold harms threatened salmon, sturgeon and lamprey, the Karuks say.

The dredges suck material up from the bottom of a stream and send it into equipment that recovers heavier gold. The gravel and sand is sent back into the stream.

Gold panning -- in which small amounts of gravel are processed in a pan -- would not be affected by the regulations.

The tribe sued the department in May 2005, alleging that Fish and Game didn't rewrite its mining regulations after it protected coho salmon, green sturgeon and lamprey. That violated the California Environmental Quality Act, the tribe claimed.

”What we're trying to do is protect the most critical cold water refugia for spawning and migration,” said Craig Tucker, a spokesman with the Karuk Tribe.

The new regulations apparently caught gold miners off guard.

This month, the New 49'ers rifled back in Oakland Superior Court -- where the Karuk's challenge was filed. The club claimed that there is no evidence that suction dredging harms salmon, and in any case, Fish and Game must go through the public rule-making process before issuing new regulations -- or be in violation of CEQA.

New 49'ers member and Klamath River claim owner Mike Higbee said the new regulations would severely limit money-making opportunities. He said the miners are being singled out when other users like fishermen have a greater effect on salmon.

”We're being singled out as this murderous group when there's not a single study showing we've ever killed a fish,” Higbee said. “I'm sure the Karuk folks dip-netting at Ishi Pishi Falls have an effect on them.”

Which is where something of a clash of cultures becomes evident, with miners clinging to 1872 federal mining law as preserving a right to gather gold, and the Karuks who depended on salmon for subsistence for hundreds of years but are now unable to catch substantial numbers of fish. Tucker said the tribe wants salmon to thrive so it can again catch fish.

The department rules would arbitrarily close 100 miles of rivers and creeks to the increasingly common method of culling out gold from stream gravel, the miners claim.

But the Karuks said the agreement leaves open another 250 miles for mining, and some areas closed during the fall, winter and spring would be open during summer months. The thermal refuges that salmon rely on during warm weather -- typically where creeks run into rivers -- are too important to be disturbed, according to the tribe. That's especially in light of the sometimes severe fish troubles on the Klamath, Tucker said.

In several years since 2000, thousands of adult and young salmon have been killed by diseases made more potent to fish in warm, low-water conditions. Last summer, divers in the clean-running Salmon River found fewer that 100 fish in a river that averages 750. Last year fishing quotas in the Klamath and off the North Coast were tightened and fish managers could be facing the same scenario this year.

Oakland Superior Court Judge Bonnie Sabraw will weigh the miners' claim and the stipulated agreement between the state and the tribe at a hearing on Jan. 26.

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and as defined under the provisions of "fair use", any copyrighted material herein is distributed without profit or payment for non-profit research and for educational use by our membership.

Minor Restrictions on Suction Dredges Could be a Major Boost for Salmon Recovery
Karuk Tribe Press Release
January 5, 2006

Happy Camp, CA – A pending agreement between the Karuk Tribe and California Fish and Game could place proposes minor restrictions on recreational suction dredge mining that will pay big dividends for salmon recovery efforts. By selectively protecting the best remaining cold water sources used by young salmon at certain times of year, the agreement will aid salmon recovery efforts while still allowing for recreational suction dredge mining. Panning for gold will not be affected by the agreement.

“This should not be interpreted as Indian versus miner issue. This is a win-win for the entire river community since we all depend on a healthy fishery. Miners still have over 255 of miles of river open to them yet the most critical cold water habitats will be protected, ” according to Sandi Tripp, Natural Resources Director for the Karuk Leaf Hillman, Vice-chair of the Karuk Tribe.

The agreement stems from a complaint filed by the Karuk Tribe earlier this year charging that California Fish and Game was failing to adequately protect fish from the negative impacts of suction dredge mining. In 1994, the agency’s own Biological Opinion pertaining to suction dredge mining stated that the practice could jeopardize the continued existence of any threatened or endangered species or “species of special concern.” A year after the Biological Opinion was adopted the State of California recognized Coho salmon, Pink salmon, Chum salmon, Green sturgeon, and Klamath River lamprey as “species of special concern.” In March of 2005, the state listed Coho as a Threatened Species under the California Endangered Species Act.

According to HillmanMrs. Tripp, “despite the clear recognition that salmon and other fish species are in trouble, Fish and Game continued to allow suction dredging during spawning and migration. This agreement redresses the issue.”

Suction dredge mining is done recreationally throughout the Klamath Basin. The practice involves what is essentially a gas powered vacuum cleaner mounted on pontoons anchored in the river. The miner then swims along the bottom of the river vacuuming up river sediment which is run through a sluice box. Any gold would fall into the sluice box trap and the rest of the sediment is simply dumped back into the river. Depending on location, dredge size and density large areas of the stream bottom can be negatively impacted by this recreational activity. The practice harms fish by suctioning up and killing salmon eggs and frye, modifying the streambed, and degrading water quality.

“The overall impacts to miners will be minimal, but the benefit to the fishery and the local economies that depend on the fishery will be huge,” according to Hillman Tripp.

Efforts to protect Klamath salmon have intensified since the fish kill of 2002 where over 68,000 adult salmon died before spawning. Agencies cited low flows and warm water temperatures as the cause of the kill. “We are focused on identifying and protecting the most important cold water areas and the change in mining rules would be step in that direction,” according to Hillman Tripp.

The Karuk Tribe hopes that by taking measures to protect critical fish habitat that there will not be any future ESA listings of fish and that species such as Coho can one day be de-listed. Hillman adds that, “Indians don’t want fish on the Endangered Species List, we want them in our smoke houses.” According to Karuk Vice-Chairman Leaf Hillman, “Indians don’t want fish on the Endangered Species List, we want them in our smoke houses.”

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and as defined under the provisions of "fair use", any copyrighted material herein is distributed without profit or payment for non-profit research and for educational use by our membership.