Correction: Despite the promoter's claim that he was meeting with Placer County on March 18 to discuss the TOE permit, the County has stated that the promoter has neither contacted the County, nor set up any meetings with them. 

March "Save Serene Lakes" update:

Note: Tell friends to go to www.saveserenelakes.org and sign up for these monthly email updates.

Special: Get window stickers, bumper stickers, buttons and flyers at www.SaveOurSummit.org/flyers.html. Get the word out, show your friends and neighbors you care! They are free!

News: (for a complete news timeline see "news timeline")

• A 100 mile mountain bike endurance race has been announced which will be held on Royal Gorge and US Forest Service land on the weekend of September  5, 6 and 7th. The organizer's website is: Tahoe Sierra 100 The race features up to 700 riders, with free camping, bands and entertainment at Royal Gorge for all participants. The race will start on Royal Gorge lands, descend down Soda Springs road to the North Fork of the American River, over to the French Meadows Road, and then back to Foresthill Road. Unlike casual mountain biking, competitive races with hundreds of riders tear up trails and fire roads similar to motocross events. Concerns besides trail destruction are increased fire danger and the impact of over 1,000 campers on Royal Gorge and Forest Service lands. Royal Gorge and the Tahoe Sierra 100 bike race promoter need to get a Temporary Outdoor Event permit from Placer County. The permit is to ensure that a plan exists for crowd control, traffic, parking, camping, outdoor music, etc.. There is also a very strong chance that Royal Gorge's Conditional Use Permit for XC skiing would not cover a bike race. If you have questions or objections for Placer County, Crystal Jacobsen is currently the appropriate person to address them to; the race promoter will be meeting with her this Tuesday, March 18. Her email is: cjacobse@placer.ca.gov. Fire risk questions related to camping at Royal Gorge and other emergency services questions can be addressed to truckeefire@truckeefire.org
• Ice thickness measurements taken on March 11th were released at the SLCWD water board meeting. The ice is approximately 5 feet thick near the middle of the lake and 3 feet thick around the edges. This means there is only between 2 and 2.5 feet of water available between the bottom of the ice and the top of the district's water intake manifold. This may mean that there is less than 50 AF of water available during the winter months. Current water usage is 39 AF from Dec through March, which would use up most of that 50 AF. It should be noted that RG's proposed development is projected to consume 48 AF per month.
• The two proposed SLCWD ordinances are being revised and were not discussed or voted on during the March 14th board meeting. The ordinances will likely be ready for the April 11th meeting.
• Royal Gorge's lawyers sent another comment to the SLCWD board addressing the two draft ordinances. In a convoluted argument that not even a lawyer could appreciate, Royal Gorge is apparently arguing that the district can provide water to fill Royal Gorge's "West Lake" for recreational purposes, but can not consider keeping water in Serene Lakes for recreational purposes. For editorial commentary, see "Legal Lunacy or Water on the Brain". 
• On February 28th a motion activated camera captured a picture of a Wolverine in Sagehen Canyon just north of Truckee. The previous confirmed sighting was over 80 years ago. How the Wolverine will effect the Royal Gorge proposal is yet to be determined. For more information see Wolverine Spring in California’s Central Sierra Trumps Punxsutawney Phil and the excellent website: www.WolverineFoundation.org

Upcoming Events:

• March 20: Thursday 7-9PM at the Miner's Foundary, Nevada City KVMR community public radio (89.5 FM) is hosting a water seminar featuring several water experts. See this article on YubaNet.com for details: It's your water-- Or is it?
• April 11, 5PM, SLCWD Board meeting at the district offices. The board is expected to discuss the two new ordinances mentioned above. In addition, Carello Engineering will present Royal Gorge's sewage treatment plans.

Recent Publications: (for links to these and other publications see "articles")

• The following articles were published on the web, in the Sierra Sun, YubaNet or The Union: 

Troubled Trails at Donner Summit? (YubaNet.com, Mar 13 2008)

Wolverine Spring in California’s Central Sierra Trumps Punxsutawney Phil

(CaliforniaProgressReport.com, Mar 7 2008)

Paying the piper and calling the tune in Placer County politics and planning

(CaliforniaProgressReport.com, Feb 25 2008)

Money down the drain on DonnerSummit? (YubaNet.com, Feb 22) 

• The March issue of the Donner Summit Clarion is available now.

Current Placer County Status:

• After 9 weeks of not hearing from Royal Gorge, Placer County planning has been told that RG will be submitting their application soon, but RG would not say when.  RG asked the planning department how many copies of the application they should prepare. The planning department says that the plans will be submitted in both hard copy and electronic form for easy distribution and will be available to the public immediately.
• Nevada County planning reports that Royal Gorge's Van Norden Meadow project (inherited from the previous RG owner) has been on hold for over six months without any contact from the developers in that period. The planning department considers the project to be stale, states that the unfinished EIR contract has been closed and says RG would probably have to start the process over again in order to proceed.

Quotes of the month:

"What nature has made whole cannot be divided but only mutilated." 

-Napolean

"I believe natural beauty has a necessary place in the spiritual development of any individual or any society. I believe that whenever we destroy beaty, or whenever we substitute something man-made and artificial for a natural feature of the earth, we have retarded some part of man's spiritual growth." -Rachel Carson

"Man has been endowed with reason and creative powers to increase what has been given to him, but so far he has not created but destroyed. There are fewer and fewer forests, the rivers are drying up, the game birds are becoming extinct, the climate is ruined, and everyday the earth is becoming poorer and more hideous."

 -Anton Chekhov

"Away, away from men and town,

To the wild wood and the downs- 

To the silent wilderness

Where the soul need not repress

Its music." 

-Shelly

"Only when the last tree has died, the last river poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we cannot eat money" 

-Cree proverb

Web Sites of Interest:

www.SaveOurSummit.org

www.sierrawatch.org

www.syrcl.org

www.saveserenelakes.org

www.saveVanNordenMeadow.org

www.savethesummit.com

www.savedonnersummit.org

www.saveroyalgorge.org

www.pissdsociety.com

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