Archives: river conservation

Solar Exploratorium Opens on the American River

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As you can see, the Exploratorium benefited from the artistic talents of Allen Carrozza whose Earth portrait exceeded our expectations by several parsecs! The Moon portrait is even more remarkable and the “Earthrise” behind the Moon is truly outstanding. You must see it. It is rare to find someone who is an expert in solar installation, an artist, a sculptor and who knows what else? Stay tuned for more surprises.

The “timeline” is the final touch as yet to be completed but, as the picture illustrates, certainly is not needed to make this space both entertaining and educational. It will decorate the ceiling and stretch from 4.5 billion years ago and the beginning of our solar system to the present, a span of roughly 60 lineal feet. Our Sun, a medium sized star, is the hero of this saga as the source of energy that has made it all possible. Interestingly, had the Sun been a giant star, it would have burned out ages ago, a victim of its own gravity. Although there is controversy over the exact time of the beginning of the saga, the longest period it can continue is more clear. The Sun will inevitably heat up, become a “Red Dwarf” and ultimately burn out approximately 650 million years from now, a relatively short time on this timeline but a long time by human standards.

If I remember my college biology correctly, the origin of life on Earth is placed on this timeline at approximately one third of its length, making each living species a genetic message and evolutionary legacy 3 billion years old. It is humbling to recall that humans appear in the last millimeter of this timeline. In fact, if the timeline were Mt. Everest, all of human history would be the last few snowflakes.

It is the legacy of “species diversity” that is currently disappearing at a rate that exceeds any known to have occurred in the past. This is in what is now being termed the “Sixth Great Extinction.” For comparison, it is useful to recall that the Fifth Great Extinction was the disappearance of the dinosaurs and approximately one third of all species then living on Earth that occurred over 65 million years ago. This extinction took over a million years. By contrast, the Sixth Extinction, if current trends continue, will account for the disappearance of 50% of the all species on Earth by the year 2050. This extinction would be the first massive extinction caused by a single species….us! The primary mechanism is not global warming. Rather, it is habitat destruction, the majority of which is concentrated in the tropics where the greatest number of species on the planet lives.

We hope the “timeline” and the other exhibits will provide food for thought. As has been the case before, the Sun holds the key to many of the potential answers to these challenges. We look forward to your visit and are excited to share these solutions with you.

SEE you soon,
Scott, Allen, Danielle and the MaLode Crew

Wild and Scenic: South Fork American River

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Over the years MaLode has supported Wild and Scenic Status for several different California Rivers including the Tuolumne, Merced,etc. These efforts have succeeded in part because of the letters written by MaLode participants. For instance, the Tuolumne River Wild and Scenic campaign coordinated by Friends of the River produced 10,000 letters total. In spite of the fact that we don’t run the “T”, 5,000 of these letters were written by MaLode participants.

Last season a very special thing happened. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) completed a study on our home river, the South Fork of the American, and found it suitable for protection under the “Recreational” classification of Wild and Scenic. There are three different classifications: Wild, Scenic, and Recreational. A river need not be a “wilderness” river to be protected under Wild and Scenic.

As the most popular whitewater river in the West, one would think the South Fork is a “Recreational” category slam-dunk. One problem has been that some Federal Agency must own a specified percentage of the land along the river. Fortunately, acquisitions of land along the South Fork by the BLM have been occurring through the American River Conservancy over the past 16 years and have finally made this possible.

The BLM asked for public comment on its Wild and Scenic proposal. The initial comment period ended December 13, 2006 with over 2000 letters received. This is the largest number ever received by the BLM on such a proposal. Of these, three (3) were against Wild and Scenic and the rest (1997) supported it. Done deal? Not quite. The rubber now meets the road and local opposition is expected. This opposition is largely from landowners who mistakenly think their private property rights might be affected. This is not true. What it will do is prevent dams or diversions that interfere with recreation. Everything else is unaffected.

How likely is it that the river could be dammed? Unfortunately, the South Fork currently has no protection from dams or diversions. In 1974 when I started boating on the river, the South Fork had two proposed dams which had been approved and were seeking funding. One would have been at Salmon Falls and would have destroyed the Gorge Run. The other was above Troublemaker Rapid and would have destroyed the Chili Bar Run. We defeated those dams. However, these or other proposals could come back without permanent protection.

Given this situation, MaLode will be supporting Wild and Scenic designation for the South Fork in every way we can. Stay tuned and remember to ask your guide for an update!

Alternative Proposal wins on South Fork American River

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As many of you no doubt recall, during the 2006 season you were asked to write letters to the Board of Directors of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). The purpose was to urge the acceptance of the “Alternative Proposal” for the re-licensing of SMUD’s Upper American River Project (UARP) hydroelectric facilities on the South Fork of the American River. This proposal provided for ecological restoration in areas historically de-watered by the UARP and, for the first time, a predictable water flow regimen for recreational and whitewater boating below Chili Bar Dam.

Your response was awesome! Over 1000 letters resulted. These were hand written, and since pollsters say one hand written letter is the equivalent of 100 typed or e-mailed letters, and represents the opinion of over a thousand people who don’t bother to write, it said a lot! Some letters were illustrated with pictures of fish and critters that were very cool. All reflected the passion we share about rivers. The MaLode guides were awesome too. They were virtually the only commercial company’s guides there, and definitely the only ones to attend more than one meeting. They spoke eloquently and personally read some of your letters to the Board of Directors of SMUD.

The Board listened and heard what you asked. The negotiations, which were going badly, turned around after the Board appointed an oversight committee that helped get things back on track. Bottom line, the river won! The Alternative Proposal was the basis of the final agreement and more water will flow for fish, wildlife, recreational boating and other uses. We should all be proud of this achievement. It probably wouldn’t have happened without your help. Thank you from the fish, frogs, deer, macro-invertebrates and other critters whose homes you helped enhance. Now come enjoy the recreational boating flows that are mandated for the next fifty (50) years! Who says democracy can’t work?