"After months of rain and snow, last Wednesday spring seemed to have finally come to Nevada County.
The air smelled sweet, daffodils bloomed on the highway embankments, and out the third-floor window of the old county courthouse a flock of cedar waxwings cavorted over the rooftops along Main Street. People felt like going outside. I met a neighbor coming back from walking her dog — as has been the practice here for generations — on one of the Nevada Irrigation District ditch trails.
"The two crown jewels of recreation in Nevada County are the South Yuba River, and the ditch trails," Nevada City Attorney John Bilheimer said at the courthouse.
Bilheimer, a poker-faced, athletic man in his 50s with a shock of wiry, salt-and-pepper hair, was there on behalf of his clients, a neighborhood association calling themselves the Friends of Banner Mountain. Friends had filed suit against a Banner Mountain landowner who installed two locked gates blocking public access to a portion of the Lower Cascade Canal trail where it meets Gracie Road. The exhibits for trial sat stacked against the jury box, witnesses were on standby, and Bilheimer, co-counsel Jim Simon, of Truckee, and the attorney for the landowners, Craig Diamond, made a last-ditch attempt to settle the case and avoid an expensive nine-day trial.
It was a scene worthy of Norman Rockwell. In spite of frayed nerves, financial worries, and months of unsuccessful haggling, the Friends of Banner Mountain; the landowners who blocked the trail, Jonathan and Jacy Davis; and their respective supporters sat politely without dagger-eyes, and courteously stepped aside as they passed each other in the narrow hall outside the courtroom. Bilheimer, Simon and Diamond conferred with gentlemanly friendliness. There were no good guys or bad guys, just decent people on either side of a deepening cleft in American life between those who assert and protect the public domain and those who would make it private.
It is a rift extending from our little towns and their trails to the oceans, atmosphere, and even your genes — which, until a landmark case in the U.S. Supreme Court a few years ago, had become the object of a veritable Oklahoma Land Rush as biotech companies attempted to privatize chunks of the genetic code that make you you, in anticipation of huge profits from selling them back to you as lab tests or medicines.
Nevada County's beloved ditches and their trails were built during and after the Gold Rush. Separation of gold from stone took water, and after 1852, hydraulic mining took even more. By 1860, the year the Lower Cascade Canal was built, California agriculture was bigger than gold, and the ditches supplied irrigation. By the 1890s they generated electrical power. After World War II, as ranches and timberland were split into housing developments, ditches also supplied water to low-density suburbs like Banner Mountain.
On the downslope side of each ditch, the berm of soil excavated from the trench that carries the water was leveled to form a trail still used today by Nevada Irrigation District ditch-tenders on foot. There was no intent to create recreational trails, so today NID's easement allows the agency to convey water but not dog-walkers and trail runners. But the broad, nearly level trails form an intimate, green path through quiet neighborhoods, away from the hazard of being hit by a car while walking or biking a narrow mountain road. There are breathtaking views, and always the sound of clear, rippling water. From the time they were built, the ditch-tender's trails were an efficient way to walk from one place to another. And under California law if a diverse group of people used a throughway across private land without having to ask permission for more than five years before 1972, an easement is formed for public use. That case law, and the 27 middle-aged and elderly witnesses Bilheimer and Simon were prepared to put on the stand to attest to the trail's long use, were the substance of Friends' case.
On the second day, 29 hours after arriving at court, the two sides reached agreement for a stipulated judgment. The Davises would take down one of the gates and leave the one along Gracie Road unlocked with a sign proclaiming public access. It was the third time since the late 1990s Bilheimer had defended the public's right to pass on the ditch trails. He said he was tired and walked back to his office.
But really, something more is needed. As it happens, the Recreation Planning Division of the Nevada County Planning Department is studying consolidation of western Nevada County's three existing park and recreation districts and other recreation opportunities in unincorporated areas of the west county through a Sacramento consultant, Economic & Planning Systems. The NID ditch trails are already on the county's Western Nevada County Non-motorized Recreational Trails Master Plan Map. And for over a century, thanks to California law and the overwhelming majority of landowners along them, the ditch trails have provided a safe and beautiful place to walk. However recent attempts to block them are a warning not to take them for granted.
Please make your wishes for their future known in writing to your member of the Nevada County Board of Supervisors.** To see which supervisor district you're in (and other cool information about your neighborhood) see https://gis.nevcounty.net/MyNeighborhood/.
And for those of you who use and love the trails, the Friends of Banner Mountain incurred tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees defending them. They invite you to contribute to their GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme.com/save-the-cascade-canal.
*Jordan Fisher Smith is the author of the many award winning book, "Nature Noir" and his newest book, "Engineering Eden" was published last Tuesday in a paperback edition with a new foreword by Jack E. Davis, winner of a 2018 Pulitzer Prize.

CLICK HERE to see the original article in The Union newspaper.
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**P.S from MLT: You may also mention to your Supervisor that you would certainly like them to get going opening the six miles of legal public Emigrant Trail easements in south county, the ONLY county-owned public trail.  The Supes said they wanted this trail open THREE years ago and it still isn't open... www.EmigrantTrailConservancy.org

"El Dorado County is using $60,000 (of the $1.2 million) for the San Bernardino Bike Trail. The separated Class 1 path will run about one-third of a mile between West San Bernardino and East San Bernardino avenues for better bike and pedestrian access to Washoe Meadows State Park, Tahoe Paradise Park, and Lake Tahoe Environmental Science Magnet School. El Dorado County is also using $50,000 to help plan the Meyers Corridor Operational Improvement Project. In coming years, this project will deliver safer intersections, lighting, signage, and landscaping along Highway 50 and state Route 89."

To see the complete column in the South Tahoe Now website by Joanne S. Marchetta, the executive director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, CLICK HERE.

From the Mt. Democrat Newspaper, by Mary West:
"The Olmstead Loop Trail, in the Cool area of the Auburn State Recreation Area (ASRA), is an 8.6-mile stroll through some wide-open spaces. The 8.6 miles may seem like a lot but have no fear, every time I venture out this way, a new trail cutoff has been worn into the fields. Some are more pronounced than others. If you do get lost, which is easy enough to do, ask an equestrian, cyclist or fellow hiker the way. I usually keep the radio towers to my south and Highway 49 to the east when hiking in this area.

Off Highway 49, park in the car lot not the horse trailer lot. Head out on the trail at the south end of the horse staging area. The Olmstead Loop Trail meanders parallel to Highway 49 South behind a few horse ranches before in cuts west and into the oak woodland that makes up much of the area. Ponds dot the area, some more seasonal than others. In the wet season, it’s best to hike here after things have dried out for a week or two. If you go after a rain, you will find puddles, some quite large, to get around. Frogs and newts are common underfoot, watch where you step. Follow the trail markers to Knickerbocker Creek. Creek crossing during spring runoff can make for wet shoes. The trail comes out onto a road. Cross the road and continue on Olmstead Loop. Or follow the road back to the parking lot, or take the trail that runs parallel to the road back to the horse staging area and parking lot near the Cool Fire Station.

Much shorter loops are in the area and provide meadows, ponds and wildflowers in spring. It is worth checking out any time of year. I am always reticent to send people on Olmstead Loop. The directions have never been very clear. Maps don’t seem to answer all the questions, especially if a mud puddle has given you cause to go off trail."

(From Mother Lode Trails: There is a comprehensive review of this trail with maps and pictures in our LINKS section. Scroll down to Auburn SRA - Omstead Loop Trail, Map and Review.)

"To get there, follow Highway 49 north until you enter Cool. Just after the stop sign look for the Cool Fire Station on your left. This is also the entrance into the Auburn State Recreation area parking area. There is a $10-day use fee."

Mary West is author of the book series “Day Hiker – Gold Country Trail Guide.” The books are a collection of Day Hiker columns where West shares her longtime love of the outdoors, and favorite hikes in Northern California’s Gold Country and beyond. You can follow West on Facebook and Instagram.

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From the FATRAC Facebook page:
"We are happy to announce that the Bells-on-Bikes program has been expanded to several Auburn SRA Trailheads (Confluence, Drivers Flat, Grizzly, and Olmstead). Please help support the program by using a bell while riding (whatever you ride), running or hiking and returning it...or send in a donation to FATRAC if you opt to hold on to your bell. Also, if you notice bell stock getting low in any boxes drop us a note. Please spread the word!! And FYI Bell Boxes in Granite Bay, Darrington, and Sweetwater in Folsom Lake SRA are restocked as well."

From their webpage:
The FATRAC Bell Program" In 2018, Folsom Auburn Trail Riders Action Coalition (FATRAC) initiated a bell program in the Folsom Lake and Auburn State Recreation Areas to reduce conflicts and proactively facilitate better inter-user trail use. Many of the trails in the State Recreation Areas are multi-use trails that are very popular with equestrians, hikers and cyclists alike. As our trails become more popular, FATRAC wants to address the growing potential for trail conflict by doing our part to improve trail etiquette and make all users feel as safe as possible. One way we hope to accomplish this is by providing bells for all trail users. Wearing a bell, whether you are riding a bike, a horse, walking or running will make it easier to let users know where you are and avoid surprise encounters.
The way it works… 
(1) grab a bell from one of the several strategically located bell boxes; 
(2) strap the bell to your handle bars, saddle, pack or belt loop; 
(3) let it ring!; 
(4) return the bell to any FATRAC Bell Box OR donate $5 at www.fatrac.org/donate, keep the bell and FATRAC will buy more! Donate to FATRAC and the Bike Bell program here! Make a note along with your donation stating you want your donation steered towards the bell program and we'll make it happen." 

For more information CLICK HERE on the webpage.

Eleven years after its founding, Youth Bicyclists of Nevada County has won a national award as USA Cycling's 2018 Mountain Bike Club of the Year. (Photo credit: Jet Lowe)
Dedicated to getting more kids on bikes, Youth Bicyclists of Nevada County (or YBONC) is a non-profit organization founded by local cyclist Jet Lowe.
Cycling has always been a sport for the whole family, but with a recent uprise in the number of young riders and simultaneous need to get more kids outside, help for youth riders was greatly needed. Knowing this, Lowe took action and created YBONC in 2008. Since then, the organization has drastically changed the local youth mountain biking scene.
The story of Youth Bicyclists of Nevada County is a wholesome one. When Lowe's own son David was a freshman in high school, he brought his mother to a parent orientation for the local high school mountain bike club.
"There I heard Peggy Smith, mother of Evan (who now coaches the Nevada Union High School mountain bike team) and Josh Smith, tell us how in two years her sons each lost 50 pounds from mountain biking," said Lowe. "Her testimony inspired me."
It was an epiphany — mountain biking is a great sport for physical fitness, reduces time playing video games and gets kids outside. Such an incredible activity needed to be introduced to as many middle and high schoolers as possible, but in order to do that Lowe needed a new system of support.​h
"At the time, the only thing online was Trips for Kids and the NorCal High School Cycling Race League, which was just taking off," said Lowe.
Nevada County has long been known as a cycling wonderland. Filled with miles upon miles of incredible trails and view-filled fire roads, the county is an epic destination for mountain bikers of all skill levels. It even harbors a number of teams and clubs for older cyclists, but many of these clubs don't accommodate younger riders.
Driven by her newfound mission to help young cyclists in Nevada County, Lowe buckled down and shortly thereafter formed the non-profit Youth Bicyclists of Nevada County with help from Duane Strawser, John Seivert, and many other local riders and high school parents.
Since its founding, YBONC has continually gone above and beyond to support young riders in Nevada County. The organization donates to the Nevada Union High School mountain bike team and several local middle school cycling clubs, assists many cycling programs across Nevada County, helps create and organize local races such as the California Dirt MTB series, and works to promote the positive aspects of cycling to students.
It is because of these immense successes that the Youth Cyclists of Nevada County Foundation recently won the USA Cycling award. USA Cycling, the national association for all American cycling racing, recognized YBONC as 2018's best mountain bike club in the nation.
In the course of its 11 years, Youth Cyclists of Nevada County has helped hundreds of kids step foot into the mountain biking world, setting a standard for all youth cycling programs. Whether these local young riders go on to pursue mountain biking professionally or purely for fun, their lives are changed for the better, thanks to the organization.

To see the original article and photos in The Union newspaper, CLICK HERE.

Gold Country Trails Council and the Bear Yuba Land Trust (BYLT) are working together to create an equestrian parking area adjacent to the Rice's Crossing Preserve Yuba Rim trail head on Marysville Road south of Bullards Bar Reservoir. Several GCTC members met with Shaun Clark from BYLT on January 18, 2019 to look at the area. The parking area is part of a quarry which provided rock for the building of the dam. The entry into the area will be through a locked gate, and equestrians will get permission from BYLT. 

Signs, improved fencing and gate, as well as moving some of the large boulders and grading the parking area is funded by the previous donation of $1,000.00, given to BYLT by Gold Country Trails Council. Clark is currently getting estimates for the improvements and also contacting the county, who is responsible for Marysville Road, about establishing horse crossing signs.

To see more about this Bear Yuba Land Trust location and the trails here, CLICK HERE.

The trail is a combination of single track and logging skid roads on the Rice’s Crossing property comprised of 2,706 acres spanning both sides of the Middle and North Yuba Rivers and their confluence. The preserve is bounded by New Bullard’s Bar Reservoir to the North and Army Corps of Engineers area and the South Yuba River State Park on the south with BLM land and National Forest boundaries also. This is an ongoing long-term project with more miles of trails envisioned for the future. 

To see this article in the GCTC Newsletter, and more, CLICK HERE.