Monday, Feb. 4 UPDATE:
IMPORTANT: PLACER CO TRAILS AND PARKS PLAN DRAFT NOW COMPLETE AND WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS on Tuesday, February 5, 2019, at 10:00 AM 
If you are a trail user in Placer County, it will be necessary for you and representatives of trails organizations to attend this Board of Supervisors meeting.
The completed draft and updates will be accessed HERE. 
<http://placerparksplan.com>
For further information, contact Senior Planner Lisa Carnahan at
530-889-6837 or email to: [email protected]

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Old news:
UPDATE ON JANUARY 31, 2019
IMPORTANT: PLACER CO TRAILS AND PARKS PLAN DRAFT NOT COMPLETE
Because the Draft Plan is not complete, and will only be presented to the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 5, NOT to be approved, it will not be necessary for trails organizations to attend and will not be needed until the Board of Supervisors receives a completed draft plan to approve.
The completed draft and updates will be accessed HERE.
<http://placerparksplan.com>
For further information, contact Senior Planner Lisa Carnahan at
530-889-6837 or email to: [email protected]

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On Tuesday, February 5, 2019, there will be an important meeting for trail users at 10:00 AM of the Placer County Board of Supervisors. As part of the agenda, the Supervisors are to approve the draft "Placer County Parks and Trails Master Plan" which has been two years in the making. Placer CO Parks has asked all trails group to attend to be in favor of this comprehensive plan.
The complete draft can be accessed HERE. <http://placerparksplan.com>

It is expected that some homeowners along Scott Road will be at the meeting to ask that Hidden Falls Expansion Plan be removed from the Placer County Plan, which eliminates the new parking area. This plan addresses expanding the parking to the north side to relieve the pressure on the existing parking area on Mears Place. By spreading and dividing the parking into separate areas, all homeowners and trail users will be better served.

Trail users should be there to show Placer County Supervisors that they approve the scope and content of the Parks and Trails Master Plan.

For further information, contact Senior Planner Lisa Carnahan at 530-889-6837 or email to: [email protected]

A new trail system below Scotts Flat Lake across Deer Creek (above Nevada City), first proposed in late 2017 after a controversial decision by Nevada Irrigation District to fence off the spillway at the reservoir, has gained momentum.
The closure of the spillway, regularly used by walkers and bicyclists to cross from the Highway 20 side of the lake to the Cascade Shores side, was reversed after substantial public outcry. But the impetus to create a trail, with the district meeting with a number of groups such as Sierra Express Bike Team, Bear Yuba Land Trust and Bicyclists of Nevada County to discuss some of the alternatives.

The options all start at the bottom of the dam road from Pasquale Road at the start of the spillway, are a little over a mile long and have bridge options to span Deer Creek, said district Assistant General Manager Greg Jones. The trail would not be open to equestrian or motorized vehicle use.

Jones noted the trail proposals do cross some private property and the district has reached out to the owners. They are generally open to the idea of a trail, he said, although one has expressed concerns over fires.

In December, the district issued a Request for Proposals for engineering and design services for the Scotts Flat Lower Connector Trail, for an approximately 1-mile multi-purpose use trail plan. On Jan. 22, water district staff conducted a site walk with several organizations and companies that received the Request for Proposals for review; responses are due by Feb. 8.

On Tuesday, Jones provided an update of the process so far, as well as the two trail alternatives, to the Maintenance & Resource Management Committee. One of the options would stay along the south side of Deer Creek and would then cross it just above Lower Scotts Flat Lake. That option, however, is problematic due to probable maximum flood flows, Jones said.
The better option, he said, would require two bridges. The first bridge would cross the spill channel immediately downstream of the spillway and a small, secondary bridge would cross the northern hydro channel downstream from the power plant. In both cases, the trails connect to an existing trail along Snow Mountain Ditch up to the campground.

CLICK HERE to see the original article in The Union Newspaper, written by Liz Kellar

In 2018, trail service was the most popular category among volunteers with 265 people, while those working in visitor services logged the most time, at 8,256 hours.
Alan Kushner, 75, paints stripes at the Wrights Lake campground as part of his volunteer service with the Eldorado National Forest. Kushner is one of 1,038 volunteers who worked on forest projects in 2018. Courtesy photoMore than 1,000 volunteers provided nearly $1 million in service hours to the Eldorado National Forest in 2018, according to the forest’s annual volunteer report issued late last month.
The dollar figure comes from a $24.69 per-hour value of volunteer service established by Independent Sector, a coalition of nonprofit organizations. Volunteers in the Eldorado National Forest logged 36,493 hours in 2018, the report said.
According to the report, 470 of this year’s hours came from Camino resident Alan Kushner, 75, who has volunteered in the Eldorado National Forest for at least a decade. Every spring, he and wife Patty, who works in the information center at the Crystal Basin Ranger Station, take their camp trailer up to the area where Kushner works on facility repairs, mentoring younger people and showing them how to fix tools and structures.
He also takes photos of workers that the National Forest uses in service group presentations, but Kushner said mentoring and teaching the younger workers is what he likes most, since it gives him a chance to make use of his experience. Kushner, who also serves as a county chaplain, said before retirement he worked for the Western Electric Company installing communication systems for 37 years.
“I enjoy working with the young people and it gives me something to do. I’m up and about,” he said. “Before doing this I had a lot of medical problems and wasn’t getting enough exercise. This gets me up and out and moving most of the day. I feel a whole lot better and am doing a whole lot better.”
The report recognized specific individuals like Kushner and more than 50 local service groups who worked on projects in recreation, wilderness, trail maintenance, historical and cultural resources, natural resources and visitor services. As far as actual projects, volunteers engage in things like trail maintenance, wildlife and cultural surveys, campground hosting, snow grooming, weeding and working public events.
In 2018, trail service was the most popular category among volunteers with 265 people, while those working in visitor services logged the most time, at 8,256 hours. History and cultural resources was the service category with the lowest number of volunteers and hours logged, with one person, Genevieve Cameron, making up more than a quarter of the 864 total hours.
In terms of what opportunities await volunteers and prospective volunteers in 2019, the Eldorado National Forest said it seeks those to work in volunteer program management, where lead volunteers assist staff with projects, recruit and put together a newsletter and annual report. Opportunities for general forest work include taking photos, video production, light maintenance on non-wilderness trails and forest cleanup.
One reason Kushner said he feels volunteer work is important is because it saves the United States Forest Service money.
“Most employees are seasonal and they don’t have the experience necessary to do some of the things they’re asked to do,” Kushner said. “If I wasn’t volunteering, they’d have to call plumbers, they’d have to call electricians … it’s very expensive and right now (the Forest Service) is spending all their money fighting fires.”
Due to the federal government shutdown that began Dec. 22, 2018, representatives from the Eldorado National Forest could not be reached for comment by press time.
CLICK HERE to see the original article and photos in the Mountain Democrat newspaper, story by MacKenzie Myers