From the Truckee-Donner Land Trust News:
Summer is here and the snow has melted from most Royal Gorge trails on Donner Summit, giving way to bright green foliage, blooming flowers and sweeping views – making now the time to hit the trail.
Thauvette's Frolic, named for former Truckee Donner Land Trust Board President Bill Thauvette, is a great trail that links to many others, giving you the opportunity to hike as far, or short, as you want.
Start at the Summit Station Trailhead at the end of Pahatsi Road in Soda Springs to take Thauvette's Frolic, linking any number of the great trails at Royal Gorge replete with views of Castle Peak and the Upper South Yuba Basin. Wildflowers, including corn lilies, leopard lilies, delphinium, penstemon and more start blooming this time of year, lasting into mid to late july. The trail features a bench at a scenic overlook for a short evening stroll.
Associate Director John Svahn's favorite loop starts on Big Ben Trail to Buckeye Trail, then connecting Thauvette's Frolic to Hellman's Way Trail and Castle Pass, which brings hikers to a beautiful stand of mature red fir. Take Reindeer back to the trailhead to complete the loop. An out-and-back on the Point Mariah Trail can be added to reach a beautiful overlook of the North Fork of the American River.

Please note: While Thauvette's Frolic is a foot trail, most Royal Gorge trails are open to mountain biking.

To read the original article and see photos, CLICK HERE.

Find more information on Donner Summit hiking here.

Hike this trail in early spring when you have to dodge butterflies. Take in the panoramic view of the Yuba River but don’t forget to enjoy the variety of wildflowers at your feet. Appreciate the rock benches and well maintained trail and ignore the parking and mass of people you will share this trail with. Take the dog but make sure you have them on a leash. Enjoy the blissful suffering of a high traffic, but amazing, trail at its peak.

This trail used to be our little secret. I blame social media for its rise in popularity. But do it anyway. Then after you have enjoyed the spring time version of this trail, come back. Come back during the week. Come early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Come back in every season.

The sound of the river pounding forward toward the sea against sun bleached granite boulders is worth the trip. With each bend in the trail that follows the hillside a new view of the river is a gift to the eyes. If you are lucky enough to see a kayak float through the canyon, you get some perspective of just how massive this river is. Photo by Mary West.

Toward the end of the trail, you find several volunteer trails down to the water. A few have small sand bars ideal to spend time on a hot summer day. At the 1.25-mile point, a sign clearly marks the end of this mostly level and easy trail. This is where you enjoy the view for the just as amazing return trip.

There is one gentle upslope. A few narrow sections require you to watch your step.

To get there: take Highway 49 north to Grass Valley. Take the Highway 20 exit toward Penn Valley/Marysville. Turn right at Pleasant Valley Road. Go over the modern bridge and park in the north parking lot. The fee is $5.

Mary West is a retired radio personality and news reporter with a longtime love of the outdoors, sharing her favorite day hikes in Placer, Nevada, El Dorado and Yuba counties. West won Best Outdoor Newspaper Column for this column, Day Hiker, from the Outdoor Writers Association of California 2017 Craft Awards. Learn more about local trails by following Mary on Facebook and Instagram.

CLICK HERE to see original article and photos by Mary West

Pennsylvania group joins stand against mountain bikes
Add the Friends of Allegheny Wilderness to those opposed to mountain biking in wilderness areas. Last week the group joined 149 other conservation groups in opposing legislation in Congress.

The sign-on letter from 150 organizations was prepared in response to two Republican bills (S. 2877 and H.R. 1349), which would open up all of America’s 110-million acres with “wilderness” designation to mountain bikes and other wheeled vehicles within two years of passage. The Senate bill was just recently introduced in Congress.

“Tionesta, Pennsylvania native and Wilderness Act of 1964 author Howard Zahniser during his long career wrote chapter and verse emphasizing that all forms of modern mechanization must be prohibited from wilderness areas in perpetuity,” said Friends of Allegheny Wilderness executive director Kirk Johnson. “For example, as early as 1949 Zahniser wrote the following to Congress: ’Wilderness areas must be forever kept free from the sights and sounds of mechanical civilization, and all the influences which clash with the primeval environment or detract from its full enjoyment.”

“Any honest person can readily see what the original intent of the Wilderness Act was in this regard. Zahniser would be spinning in his grave in Tionesta’s Riverside Cemetery along the banks of the National Wild and Scenic Allegheny River were these two obtuse and hostile, overtly anti-wilderness, bills to pass,” Johnson said.

To see the original article in GoErie.com CLICK HERE. This article is added to our SPECIAL NEWS SECTION: ASSAULT AGAINST THE WILDERNESS ACT on our home page.
News from around the nation regarding Bill HR1349, pushing to change the 1964 Wilderness Act, that would allow mt. bikes and other wheeled vehicles into our public designated Wilderness. Now 150 conservation groups and the International Mountain Bicycling Association are firmly against this threat to our most vulnerable lands, which consist of of less than 5% of our federal holdings.

--Article and photos by Mary West
I return to Cronan Ranch in Pilot Hill every year in the springtime. It’s a great trail system any time of year but the panoramic view of green hillsides in spring is a favorite. Each year I check to see what is left of the Hallmark movie “Loves Comes Softly” movie set. Katherine Heigle starred. On my last visit I noted the rough-cut ladder featured in the movie that used to lean against the tree is now gone. The barn is on the ground. The homestead is still standing but who knows for how long.
So much more than the movie set makes this area worth visiting. Access to the American River is one. Wide open green space is another. I enjoy watching the hang gliders soar from one of the hilltops near the trailhead. The grass grows lush beneath the majestic live oaks that dot the area. Wildflowers and rattlesnakes can also be found here. The area is open to equestrians but there is ample parking for all. Parking fees are not collected here. 

This is another trail friends tell me not to write about. With the Auburn State Recreation Area becoming so popular as is the Hidden Falls regional park, Cronan Ranch is a low stress destination for local hikers.

To get to Cronan Ranch from Auburn, take the Elm Ave Exit (119c) off Interstate 80. Turn right on Elm Avenue up to Highway 49/El Dorado Street/High Street. Turn left on Highway 49/El Dorado Street. Take it into the canyon. Turn right over the American River at the Confluence. Follow Highway 49 out to Pedro Hill Road into the parking area.

(Equestrians can continue 2 miles further to the Magnolia Ranch Trailhead with a larger parking area.)

Mary West is a retired radio personality and news reporter with a longtime love of the outdoors, sharing her favorite day hikes in Placer, Nevada, El Dorado and Yuba counties. West won Best Outdoor Newspaper Column for this column, Day Hiker, from the Outdoor Writers Association of California 2017 Craft Awards. Learn more about local trails by following Mary on Facebook and Instagram.

From our series of news from around the nation regarding Bill HR1349, pushing to change the 1964 Wilderness Act.

Ted Stroll, a bespectacled, balding, retired attorney whose remaining hair is short and white, doesn’t fit the stereotype of an extremist mountain biker. But his group, the Sustainable Trails Coalition, is challenging the mainstream mountain biking establishment by fighting to permit bikes in America’s wilderness areas. Photo credit: Leslie Kehmeier/IMBA

A new law could change the nature of wilderness travel.

Stroll’s crusade has sparked strong resistance, particularly from wilderness advocates and environmentalists. His alliance with notoriously environmentally unfriendly Republican congressmen, whom he has enlisted to push a bikes-in-wilderness bill, is particularly controversial. Stroll’s small group has alienated would-be allies in the mountain biking community, who are loath to ostracize the greater recreation and conservation communities, especially at a time when many feel public-lands protections are taking a back seat to extractive industries.

The original text of the 1964 Wilderness Act bans “mechanical transport” — and bicycles are clearly a form of mechanized transport. For the federal agencies tasked with enforcing the ban, however, the definition hasn’t always been clear-cut.
In 1966, in its first rule on the issue, the Forest Service banned only devices powered “by a nonliving power source.” That left the door open for bicycles. Mountain bikes did not yet exist, however, so neither the original framers of the law, nor the agencies interpreting it a couple of years later, even considered the possibility of bikes venturing into the mostly roadless areas and extremely rugged trails.

In 1977, as the first mountain bikes were being manufactured — evolving beyond the earliest jerry-rigged cruisers — the Forest Service changed its rules to prohibit bikes in wilderness areas. After a couple of conflicting decisions in the early 1980s, the agency confirmed the prohibition in 1984. By that time, mountain bikes were being mass-produced and rapidly gaining in popularity. Still, the ban has stood ever since.

Now, however, that may be about to change. H.R. 1349, introduced by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., would amend the mechanized transport section ban of the Wilderness Act to read: “Nothing in this section shall prohibit the use of motorized wheelchairs, non-motorized wheelchairs, non-motorized bicycles, strollers, wheelbarrows, survey wheels, measuring wheels, or game carts within any wilderness area.” Utah Republican Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee brought similar legislation to the Senate floor in 2016.

Many environmental groups are opposed to the idea of allowing bikes into wilderness, but even some of the more permissive ones were alarmed by the congressmen carrying Stroll’s water. All three made the Center for Biological Diversity’s “Top 15 ‘Public Lands Enemies’ in Congress” list in 2017. Hatch and Lee are both standard-bearers for the federal land-transfer movement and favor opening public lands to extractive industries. President Donald Trump dedicated his controversial shrinking of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments to the Utah senators.

Stroll acknowledges the congressmen’s records, but says that they are taking a stand based on principle. The legislators “want this corrected because it’s a wrong,” he says. “We’ve had extensive talks, and I don’t perceive that they have ulterior motives.”

The mountain bike industry’s most prominent voice for expanded access, the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA), opposes the legislation, arguing that it could undercut the important relationships already forged between the outdoors and public-lands communities. IMBA has long fought against the loss of mountain bike access to wilderness areas, but has largely focused its efforts on making sure new designations don’t include popular trails. In some cases, it has lobbied for modifying existing wilderness so that trails lie outside the boundaries. The organization has worked with wilderness advocates to come up with mountain-bike-friendly compromises.

In a letter stating its opposition to the House bill, IMBA writes that collaborative efforts with Congress and land managers on future land designations are a proven way for bikers to gain or maintain access to trails. IMBA also cautioned that the legislative push could alienate the conservation community. “Public lands are being threatened at an unprecedented level, and it’s imperative that public land users come together to protect these cherished places and offer our voices in this critical dialogue,” wrote Dave Weins, IMBA’s executive director, in a letter to members describing the organization’s stance on bikes in wilderness.

Conservation groups have formed a broad coalition against what they’ve dubbed the “Wheels Over Wilderness” bill. In an open letter to Congress, 133 groups asked legislators to oppose it. A separate joint letter from The Wilderness Society, Back Country Horsemen of America and the Pacific Crest Trail Association wrote that the bill “undermines one of our nation’s bedrock conservation laws, jeopardizes America’s wilderness and won’t advance mountain biking.”

Stroll, however, remains undaunted. “The real fear isn’t that mountain biking will cause problems, but that it won’t cause problems,” he says. Stroll predicts that if the Sustainable Trail Coalition’s quest succeeds, no harm will come from biking in wilderness. Instead, backcountry access will improve for everyone, and his detractors “will be left with egg on their face.”

To read the original article in The High Country News, CLICK HERE.

Expect new drone laws here in California and particularly drones flying without permission over public lands and/or harassing animals. We already have this one:
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW): CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS TITLE 14, §251.1. Harassment of Animals. Except as otherwise authorized in these regulations or in the Fish & Game Code, no person shall harass, herd or drive any game or nongame bird or mammal or furbearing mammal. For the purposes of this section, harass is defined as an intentional act which disrupts an animal's normal behavior patterns, which includes, but is not limited to, breeding, feeding
or sheltering.  Report harassment to CalTIP: 1-888-334-2258
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Utah passes law against drones who harass or injure livestock
Gov. Gary R. Herbert, R-Utah, has signed into law H.B.217, a bill that keeps unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operators from “harassing” livestock.
Rolled out earlier this year by chief sponsor Rep. Scott Chew, R-District 55, and floor sponsor Sen. Don Ipson, R-District 29, the legislation says “a person is guilty of harassment of livestock if the person intentionally, knowingly or recklessly chases or otherwise disturbs the peace of livestock” via UAS. The bill also covers harming livestock via motorized vehicles/ATVs and dogs.
For a first offense – and if the animal is not “seriously injured or killed” or “displaced onto property where the livestock is not entitled to be” – a person who is found guilty will be charged with a class B misdemeanor.
On the other hand, a person will be charged with a class A misdemeanor if it is a second offense, if the livestock is “seriously injured or killed,” or if there is livestock or property damage in excess of $1,000.
CLICK HERE for the original article in Unmanned Aviation.
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Cows don’t like drones.
They’re loud, low-flying, and—in the hands of pranksters--dangerous.
But help is on the way after a unanimous vote in Utah’s House on Monday for a bill to make harassing livestock with unmanned aircraft a crime. If it passes the state senate, it might become America’s first law explicitly protecting animals from this remote-controlled menace. Cow harassment is no laughing matter, Utah lawmakers say; as drones become cheaper, the tiny aerial terrors are reportedly wreaking havoc on America’s pastures.
The bill’s sponsor, Utah Rep. Scott Chew is a rancher. But he first learned of his state’s drone problem when two constituents called to complain of drones crash-landing in their horse pastures.
“I’ve had two different individuals contact me in more urban areas,” Chew told The Daily Beast. “Their horses were frightened after a drone crashed through their fence.”
Sometimes a drone crash is just an accident, Chew said. As remote-control planes and unwieldy quadcopters become more popular, a few unmanned aircraft are bound to touch down among grazing animals. But a particular kind of malicious drone campaign is on the rise, in which troublemakers will unleash drones in “small, fenced-in areas” where animals have less room to run, Chew said. Corralled beneath the whirring blades of a teenager’s Christmas present, animals can panic or stampede.
Chew’s bill would make it a Class B misdemeanor to deliberately harass livestock with unmanned aircraft, all-terrain vehicles, or dogs. Repeat offenders could be found guilty of a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Utah’s Department of Agriculture doesn’t have hard numbers on livestock harassment by drone, but they suspect the cow crime is happening.

“We see people harassing livestock with all-terrain vehicles … People in four-wheelers have chased down and run over calves,” Larry Lewis, a spokesperson for Utah’s Department of Agriculture told The Daily Beast, adding that some trespassers have even shot at cows for sport.
He said the state lacks records on drone harassment because aggrieved livestock owners currently have no way to report drone crime.
“There’s no reporting of such instances now because there’s no laws on the books that would require it. We feel it’s going on, but it’s not being reported upstream to our agencies,” Lewis said. “We feel that if people are using ATVs to do this, it follows that they will start using drones.”
While a small drone might seem less dangerous than an ATV, the unmanned aircraft can seriously harm livestock.
“Chasing cows leads to stress,” Lewis said. “Cows don’t need to run much. [Doing so] can lead to death,” especially if the cow runs through a fence or another structure.

“A mama cow can end up on the opposite side of a fence as her baby, and then you’ve got an orphan,” Chew said. “Or the cow gets stuck on the other side of the fence and you’ve got trespassing livestock.”
Cows’ fear of drones is no secret on the internet, where a thriving genre of videos show famers using drones to herd cattle. The startled animals usually start stampeding away from the drone, leading some farmers to herald drones as the future of budget-friendly ranching.

Drones might one day have a place on the farm, in the hands of trained ranchers, Lewis said. But, “it depends on how you manipulate the drone. Drones can be used by livestock owners to do legitimate work for their herds in a way that doesn’t spook or stampede them.”

Widespread drone harassment might be “a couple steps down the road,” he said, but it’s a real concern in Utah.
“We see people harassing livestock with ATVs, with vehicles,” Lewis said. “It’s a sad state when people take technology and tools at their hands for mean and unnecessary purposes like harassing livestock.”

CLICK HERE for the original article in The Daily Beast.

For mountain bike riders, gate 128 leads to mile 6, 7 and 8 of the Foresthill Divide Loop Trail. The trail is 11-miles in length and crosses Foresthill Road at 8-Mile Curve gate 128. From gate 128 the trail leads to Upper Lake Clementine Road. A length of more than three miles. Across Upper Lake Clementine Road the trail continues. At the 2.5 mile point, on this length of the trail, and 5.5 miles from gate 128, is a great overlook of Lake Clementine. (Photo credit: Mary West)
Those first three miles are not much to see for hikers so it is left to mountain bikers who prefer to stay away from hikers and equestrians as much as we avoid them. But curiosity gets the best of most of us and we need to know, what is behind that gate.
If you need to know what is behind gate 128, park in the wide parking area off Foresthill Road at 8-Mile and head off on foot behind the gate. The trail begins with an open area including a picnic table and chemical toilets. Armed with sturdy shoes and a supply of water, start your walk along the rolling hillside trail about a mile and half above the North Fork of the American River.
I cannot tell you there are great views of the river here. I can tell you there are some ups and downs and even some level spots. It isn’t peaceful. You hear noise from the road nearby. This is a popular mountain bike trail so be prepared to step off the trail occasionally to allow them to pass. Due to the frequent road apples I encountered, I would say it is also a popular equestrian trail.
Here is where I get philosophical and equate a less than stellar bit of trail to life. A connector trail makes you look close for beauty because it is not abundantly evident. I found it in the fall colors. I found it in the peeling red bark of Manzanita outgrowing its skin. I found beauty in the form of kindness in the simple message on a sticker. it is beautiful. You just have to choose to see it.
To get there from Auburn take the Foresthill exit of Interstate 80. Drive over the Foresthill Bridge toward Foresthill. Just past Driver’s Flat Road you will see the wide curve that is 8-mile on the left. Watch for cross traffic, and park. This is a $10 fee parking area.
In life the connector trail is where the work gets done. The thinking, the deciding, the conviction to get to the next trailhead and onto the next adventure. The length of trail is not amazing but like life, this is a trail that gets you from where you are, to where you want to be. The trail “connects” you … to you.

Mary West is a retired radio personality and news reporter with a longtime love of the outdoors, sharing her favorite day hikes in Placer, Nevada, El Dorado and Yuba counties. Learn more about local trails by following her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

CLICK HERE to see the original article and photos by Mary West, written for the Auburn Journal newspaper.

Retirement for Auburn State Recreation Area supervising ranger Scott Liske means an opportunity for something new to him but not necessarily to too many other people.
“I’ve earned a summer vacation — finally,” Liske said.
For 15 years as a State Parks ranger in the 35,000-acre recreation area, Liske has patrolled canyon areas above the north and middle forks of the American River that are both scenic and dangerous. Timing of shifts is dictated when the most people will be in the park.
“The last 4th of July I had off was in 1985,” Liske said. “Part of being a ranger is working holidays and weekends. When most of society is off, I’m working.”
So this coming summer and retirement will mean Liske will have time for experiencing what others were experiencing while he was working as a ranger. That means the freedom to travel inside the U.S. and overseas, he said. April 30 will be his last patrol day.
Now 56, Liske started his career with the state in 1985 as a Cal Fire seasonal firefighter. During the summer fire season, Liske was stationed near Angel’s Camp off Highway 49, working there for seven fire seasons. Coincidentally, the last two digits of his badge number are “49” and he’s been working out of the State Parks office on Highway 49 at Auburn since 2003.
Liske was on the groundbreaking Morris Fire near Monterey that burned several homes along 17-Mile Drive. That fire changed Cal Fire actions during fires toward protecting structures as well as lives.
Moving over to serve a four-year stint as a state correctional officer at maximum security Folsom Penitentiary, Liske was planning to continue with Cal Fire, after hiring resumed.
But with an opportunity for State Parks ranger training opening up, Liske again moved over to a different state job in 1997. His first assignment was at Folsom Lake Recreation Area and a transfer to Auburn came in 2003.
The recreation area’s tragedies, quirky stories and political donneybrooks over building an Auburn dam would be chronicled in 2005 by former recreation area ranger Jordan Fisher Smith in the book “Nature Noir.”
Liske said he is asked on occasion about when he’ll write his book about park experiences.
“I could,” Liske said. “There a lot here that could be put into one.”
Some of the oddest tales in Fisher Smith’s book dealt with the 730-foot-high Foresthill Bridge — the highest bridge in California and fourth highest in the nation. Liske estimates that he’s been called to 19 fatal leaps off the bridge, including one afternoon when a man jumped and then — about an hour later — a woman who had no knowledge of the first jump made a second fatal plunge off the span.
“And there have been countless drownings and fatalities,” Liske said. “It’s an unfortunate part of the Auburn State Recreation Area.”
Liske said he has gained particular enjoyment during the times when he has led walks like last new year’s day’s First Day tour of the confluence area that brought out 100 people.
Above and beyond his normal duties, Liske said he’s proud of accomplishments like adding enclosed kiosk buildings at four locations in the park — Mammoth Bar, Upper Lake Clementine, Lower Lake Clementine and the confluence — that increase employee comfort and provide better security for visitors.
Liske also led an effort to identify all gated entrances to the park along Foresthill Road with numbers. That not only has made it easier for emergency personnel to be dispatched by provides a simple meeting location for trail hikes and other activities.
The future of the park is in good hands with Superintendent Mike Howard, a former river guide, understanding its function as a river-oriented facility, Liske said.
But State Parks and government officials should be cognizant of the rapid growth in park user numbers that Liske said can be attributed to social media spreading the word. That means keeping hiring up and equipment upgraded, he said.
“Up until 10 years ago, the recreation area was off the radar for most people,” Liske said. “People took selfies next to an incredible river scene or sunset and that changed things.”                  Photo credit: Auburn State Recreation Area

CLICK HERE to see the original article and photos in the Auburn Journal.