Busted @ Ruck-a-Chuck Middle Fork Camp. Community input please?

[CApicker]

The weekend started out nice as I arrived at Rucky Chucky on the Middle Fork American and met up with a couple of my good prospector friends... Until...

The tide came up quick as it does prior to the rafters taking their run through, and we waved and chatted with them as they rafted by. finally as the rafters finished I noticed a green colored raft pull up to the bank a little ways from where we were working. I paid little attention until I came up from panning out some pay dirt to see my friend being told to gather up his stuff and get the hell out of there! The 3 Rafting Rangers had come on land to check us out. Once they had departed my friend showed me that he had been served with a ticket for defacing State property; the charge was "Rock Hounding" this offense caries between $10.00 to $1,000.00 depending on the judge I guess...

This was mostly due to having small garden shovels and pry-bars. as the Ranger said "you should know the rules going into the park - hands and pans only"
My question to all of you is - have I been doing this all wrong? Is it time to call it quits? Without some of my scrapper tools I would have not gotten any gold this year at all. Does anyone else use a shovel, pry-bar, sucker bottle, spoon - knife etc... to get into the cracks? I guess it's all illegal
Please respond with what is in your Gold Bag, and any other thoughts on what this ticket means. Thank you!

 

[KiddoTheMiner]

well don't think you area allowed to do much on state property and parks you have to go to the national forest to prospect

 

[Hefty1]

Get out of CA state parks...

 

[goldenmojo]

Were you in ASRA? I think Ruck-a -Chucky is. Your ticket should be null and void. The hands and pans was rescinded years ago. There are many posts on here concering the topic and it includes a copy of the letter from Superintendent Mike ? rescinding the hands and pans and allowing for any kinds of tools. Contact Auburn Goldhounds if you don't find it here as they are the people that helped to write the conditions of use in the ASRA. Good luck. I know it was discussed in a MadMarshall post in January or February or search ASRA.

I have seen those guys on the SF floating with the rafters also.

 

[goldenmojo]

Did you get any color?

 

[Aufisher]

Were you near the launch and retrieve area? Think I saw a closed area for prospecting. Other than an old e-mail floating around the posted rules are quite restrictive. Good luck, tons of b.s. citation for sure!

 

[goldenmojo]

Here is the letter by Mike Lynch Superintendent rescinding the hands and pans ordinance. I am going to carry a copy from now on in ASRA.

Auburn Area Recreation

 

[Aufisher]

What's the point of having a "park" if the public can't use it. Turning honest people into outlaws.

 

[goldenmojo]

It's easy enough to catch them doing something wrong and file a complaint.

 

[roadrunner]

I know we are supposed to abide by rules and laws.
And nothing against the op or anyone else.
But how do all these over weight, slow moving,uniformed,with there agency or plain clothes sneak up on people.
I have never been snuck up on, ever.
I know everything that is going on in my immediate area.
All you have to have is a butter knife, keep it under water, and if someone shows up,bury it under the water as you are moving your Hands.

 

[Aufisher]

Keep your nose to the wind and you can smell the doughnuts on their breaths

 

[NuggetN8]

I know we are supposed to abide by rules and laws.
And nothing against the op or anyone else.
But how do all these over weight, slow moving,uniformed,with there agency or plain clothes sneak up on people.
I have never been snuck up on, ever.
I know everything that is going on in my immediate area.

Pretty easy for them to sneak up on you when they're floating down the river on a raft. Same guys on the same river did the same to me but I was only sniping and didn't have any tools out or even a pan so they didn't have much to say to me and I didn't get a ticket. I had my head down in the water waving gravel around when they floated up next to me and parked their raft. They didn't make a peep until they were right on me.. Told me not to harm any plants or rocks because they're protected. Should have put a small hole in their raft.. Hehe As they pushed off again my buddy who was with me yelled "Don't fall in!" I think they only do their little raft patrols on weekends so if anyone wants to avoid them go during weekdays if possible or prospect in an area where it's impossible for them to stop.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Using a pan only without even a trowel is ridiculous to the
point of absurdity. Clearly, the statute was written solely as
a money maker for the state. They're a bunch of thieves
and they have guns and badges to prove it.

Can't say here what my response to the cops might be if some
knothead with a ticket book told me he was going to write me a
ticket for that, but I can assure you it would involve the strong
suggestion that he take off on a flying sexual encounter with a
globally rotating lunar object.

Absolute lunacy.

 

[Hefty1]

That letter is 4 years old.....allot could have changed.

 

[2cmorau]

go to forest circus on Hwy 49
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/502/files/ASRABrochure032807.pdf
Gold Panning & Rock hounding
Recreational gold panning and rock hounding is allowed only in permanent running stream beds in the Auburn State Recreation Area. The following regulations must be observed when panning for gold:
4610.00 Rockhounding...is authorized by Section 5001.65 of the Public Resources Code and is defined as being the recreational gathering of stones and minerals found occurring naturally on the undisturbed surface of the land, including panning for gold in the natural water-washed gravel of streams.
4610.1 Rock hounding may be practiced in the Auburn State Recreation Area - Department jurisdiction in permanent running stream beds, with the exception of the North Fork of the American River from the main dam to a point one (1) mile up- stream.
4610.2 Commercial Use. Rocks or mineral specimens gathered within a unit may not be sold or used commercially for the production of profit.
4610.4 Disturbing Land. Digging, excavating, or otherwise disturbing the surface of the land may not be practiced in the search for mineralogical specimens in a unit.
4610.5 Tools, except gold pans to be used in gold panning, may not be used in rock hounding within a unit.
4610.6 "Float" materials only occurring naturally on the surface of the land, may be gathered.
4610.8 ...In state recreation areas rock hounding is limited to beaches which lie within the jurisdiction of the Department and to the beaches or gravel bars which are subject to annual flooding on streams.
4610.10 Use of Tools. The gold pan is the only exception permitted to the exclusion of tools from rock hounding.
Section 4610.5 Muddy water from panning operations must not be visible more than 20 feet from the panning operation.

Metal Detectors​

Metal Detectors may only be used at the Auburn State Recreation Area under the following restrictions:
1. Metal detectors may only be used for recreational mineral collection and/or searching for recent items.
2. Metal detectors may not be used in area possessing historic or prehistoric resources.
3. No historic or prehistoric items discovered by metal detection or otherwise, may be collected or possessed.
4. The area west of Hwy. 49 in El Dorado County is closed to the use of metal detectors.

 

[Hoser John]

Son of a motherless dog. New regs again as all rights go down the ol'proverbial $$$hiter. We ran 5-6-8-10" dredges for years EVEN the campground host Ray Elam for many MANY years and no damages what so ever. Every time a new god is encased as boss new garbage(read BS) starts up. Regs must be redone legally so now much digging needed to find out. Like Whiskeytown here ya can't do squat sic sic sic dying america-John

 

[infotraker]

Below Is a link to a letter with reply concerning the Auburn rec area prospecting rules. The rules seem to have changed again with no public input. I will get more information and if needed get the Goldhound club to look into any changes.



http://goldhounds.com/ARD.htm

 

[Clay Diggins]

That brochure is older than the dredge ban. Nothing "new" about it.

The State Parks Superintendent Order Number 690-006-2010, changing the SRA to a "Hands and Pans only" was withdrawn in April of 2010 - long after that brochure was printed. It is still legal to dig your material with tools. The Auburn SRA rules allow gold panning, the use of sluice boxes, power sluicing, the use of non-motorized small tools (for example shovels, pics, and hand trowels) and the use of metal detectors.

That fat revenue agent is trying to enforce rules that haven't existed for more than 4 years.

 

[infotraker]

My above post was redundant, sorry. It ma y be a good idea for us to print the letter and carry it in our pack for backup.

 

[goldenmojo]

Claydiggins states it right. Mike lynch the former superintendent has retired and the new superintendent is from the beach area. There has been no rule change from the tools are acceptable written policy of 2010. The powers that be on our side are addressing it . In the meantime copy and carry the notification letter of Mike Lynch that is posted higher up in this thread and contact Auburn Goldhounds for support.