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NATURE NOIR - AMERICAN RIVER  Guides prepare to get their rafts through Ruck-a-Chucky Rapids on the Middle Fork. Photo © 1991-1997 Mark Leder-Adams. previous Prominent among the dam's supporters are Representative John Doolittle (R., Rocklin, CA) and the Auburn Dam Council , an alliance of Central Valley business, real estate development, and agricultural interests and political conservatives. The latter's website features an artist's conception of the completed Auburn Dam. Since no resolution for the Auburn Dam's political and economic stalemate will be forthcoming anytime soon, a project is now underway to carve a new channel for the river through the dam's foundations and install a pumping station at the dam site , which will allow the County of Placer to draw water it was promised from the Auburn Dam. Environmentalists are counting restoration of the river channel as a victory, however the site's long term future is less certain. California real estate exists largely on water piped in from the state's mountains, and the Auburn Dam was intended to provide some of that. Downstream, Congress has appropriated money to raise the crest and improve the flood gates of the million-acre-foot Folsom Dam, and levees have recently been improved downstream. This will give greater flood protection to Sacramento in the absence of an Auburn Dam. The canyons of the American River in the Auburn Reservoir site can be visited by automobile (make sure your vehicle has ground clearance for the rough, often dirt, roads) and on foot, horseback, and mountain bike via an extensive trail system. Guided whitewater raft trips offered by more than fifteen licensed guide services. There is no fee or permit required for private boaters, but the North and Middle forks have dangerous rapids where drowning take place every year. The river runs through roadless areas where rescue is difficult. Only limited portions are appropriate for beginners. For information contact the rangers and staff of Auburn State Recreation Area at (530) 885-4527 or, for whitewater rafting information, (530) 885-5648. An excellent topographic trail map of the reservoir site is available for purchase from the ranger station, and at bicycle shops in Auburn. – Jordan Fisher Smith excerpt | ranger jobs | American River Copyright © 2005 by Jordan Fisher Smith. All Rights Reserved. "NATURE NOIR" is a trademark of Jordan Fisher Smith. No portion of this Website or the works of authorship described here may be used in any manner or for any purpose without the prior written consent of the copyright owner with the exception of brief quotes in published reviews. site by Velocity7 |
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