Category Archives: Events

Bike Trail, Events, safety, Water, Wildlife

Sacramento County Sued Over Parkway Events

A group that has fought to protect the American River Parkway for more than 50 years is suing Sacramento County in a bid to stop officials from allowing permits for foot races, concerts and other events that it says are harming the area and threatening the safety of parkway users.

Save the American River Association, a nonprofit group that helped create the 23-mile parkway enjoyed by an estimated 5 million people each year, filed suit in Sacramento Superior Court last week seeking an injunction against events that it says are violating parkway guidelines and state law.

“We have tried to work with the county, and for 50 years we were able to work with the county on any issue that came along with the parkway,” said Stephen Green, the association’s vice president. “We can’t do that anymore, and it’s very unfortunate.

“The county has been issuing permits for events that are totally inappropriate and are not allowed by the American River Parkway Plan, which is in state law.”

County spokesman Zeke Holst declined to comment Monday, saying the county had not yet been served with a copy of the lawsuit, which was filed Thursday.

The complaint takes aim largely at events held away from the bike trail and is not targeting longstanding community events such as Eppie’s Great Race.

Instead, it is seeking to halt the issuance of permits for some events that are being allowed on equestrian and hiking trails, and at other locations where SARA claims events have damaged parkway property and disturbed riparian areas.

“The more intensive uses include concert events, food truck events and competitive events off the bicycle trail,” the complaint states. “The more intensive uses by organized groups and special events can impede and deny access to individuals, families and small groups.”

The suit is the second SARA has filed this year against the county seeking to stop such events. The first was filed in April and was aimed at stopping a 100K “Gold Rush Run” last May from Sutter’s Mill to Sutter’s Fort that charged a $150 entry fee. That event took place with 190 runners and is scheduled to be repeated next year, although on a different course that will not use the parkway.

Ellen Moore, executive director of the Sacramento Running Association that sponsors the event, said the change was not made because of the lawsuit. She added that her group has supported the county’s efforts to allow such events to take place on the parkway.

“We want to support that and feel that different groups can co-exist,” she said.

More at SacBee.com >>>
Events, Fish, Salmon, Wildlife

Why do Pacific Salmon Die After Spawning?

The upriver salmon run is one of nature’s great migrations. Each year mature salmon make the long journey back to their natal river to reproduce, just once. For the five species of Pacific salmon (Chinook, chum, coho, pink, and sockeye), this arduous journey is a race against the clock that ends in a fleeting romance and ultimately death.

The answer to why they die, it turns out, hinges on a problem every animal on Earth has had to solve.

“Every kind of organism has evolved to solve the problem of balancing how much energy to put into surviving to first reproduction and how much energy to put into surviving to reproduce repeatedly,” said Steve Lindley, the director of NOAA’s Fisheries Ecology Division.

“Salmon are one of the extreme cases where they put everything into reproducing just once, and then getting old and dying almost immediately thereafter (a common strategy among insects but much less so for vertebrates).”

The reason for this, Lindley suggested, has to do with the difficult upriver migration salmon make back to their own spawning location. Flipping their bodies in the air and hurling themselves against the downward flowing water is no easy feat and one that is energetically exhausting. Because of this, salmon must fully develop in the ocean and build up fat reserves. Once they enter the river there is little food to eat and they stop investing in the maintenance of their bodies.

“The proximate reasons have to do with DNA switches,” Lindley said. “Essentially many of the activities that operate in immature salmon to allow them to maintain their health, grow and mature are turned off after maturation, and without maintenance they pretty rapidly ‘fall apart’.”

An alternative for these salmon species would be to spend more time in the ocean, accumulating food and energy so they are then able to migrate back after spawning. But this increases their risk of dying before getting the chance to spawn and for Pacific salmon, this is a risk too great.

From BayNature.org >>>

Events, Fish, safety, Water, Wildlife

1964 Highway 49 Bridge Rubble Remains A Cleanup Quandary

HWy49Bridge

By most accounts, the Highway 49 bridge blowout of December 1964 was spectacular.

The Dec. 23, 1964, bridge washout put traffic on the Mountain Quarries Railroad Bridge for four months, and a new Highway 49 bridge was in place by spring of 1965. That year was also when the Auburn dam project was authorized by Congress. Though the dam was never built, the possibility that it would be constructed left the option of doing nothing open. The downstream rubble and steel the washout left behind would soon be under hundreds of feet of water.

Almost 50 years later, the dam has yet to be built and the remains of the bridge have yet to be cleared away – leaving a quandary for several levels of government, as well as environmentalists advocating greater use of the Auburn State Recreation Area as a park.

During fall days like Wednesday, when the American River flows are down to their lowest levels of the year, the mangled steel can be seen clearly in the river bed, some of the pieces poking up above the water line. The broken concrete – giant gray chunks weighing several tons – litters the canyon shoreline.

Elias Silver of the Lake Tahoe area was at the shoreline skipping stones with friends as their dogs romped in the calm, meandering waters at the confluence below the newer Highway 49 bridge.

“It’s definitely noticeable,” Silver said. “With all the state budget problems, it would be expensive to fish out. It’s not a small project.”

More at FolsomTelegraph.com >>>

Events, Fish, Salmon, Wildlife

Salmon leap at a chance to spawn at hatchery

With a swish of its tail, a salmon jumps more than 20 steps – one at a time – to the top of the Nimbus Fish Hatchery ladder Monday as the annual fall migration takes place. Nikolai Andryhoushkin, pictured, of Sacramento photographs the event, vital to the survival of salmon and steelhead in the lower American River.

Once they make their way up the fish ladder, the salmon are sorted and spawned on a table. An average salmon female has more than 5,000 eggs. The eggs are housed in the spawning building and the fish are raised until they are 4 to 6 inches long before being released. Steelhead are also raised at the hatchery, just off Highway 50 in Rancho Cordova.

Since 1958, the Nimbus Fish Hatchery has been successfully providing mitigation for the loss of natural fish habitat in conjunction with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the state Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

More at SacBee.com >>>
Events, Fish, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Salmon ladder opens at Nimbus Hatchery on Monday

Chinook_Nimbus

The fish ladder at Nimbus Hatchery on the American River opens Monday, and salmon are reportedly piling up waiting to use it.

The Chinook salmon run is an annual spectacle on the American River as the giant fish return each fall from the ocean to spawn. This year, the run that continues into December should be noteworthy, because the salmon population is expected to rebound significantly from recent lows.

The fish ladder leading to the hatchery is a great place to view the run, and visitors can stand alongside the ladder while the big salmon jump into the hatchery. The ladder is scheduled to open at 10:45 a.m. Monday.

“There will definitely be fish,” said Andrew Hughan, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which operates the hatchery.

More at SacBee.com >>>

 

Bike Trail, Events, Rafting, safety, Water, Wildlife

Volunteers needed to help remove trash from American River and other waterways

Whether it’s the ocean you love, the rushing American River or the sparkling Yuba, you’ll have a chance Saturday to help keep the water free of debris.

Saturday is the International Coastal Cleanup, an annual event that last year drew more than 500,000 volunteers who removed 10 million pounds of trash from shorelines worldwide. Conservation groups around the country have scheduled river cleanups to coincide with the coastal effort, begun nearly three decades ago by the Ocean Conservancy. In the greater Sacramento region, these include the Great American River Cleanup, the Annual Yuba River Cleanup, the Great Sierra River Cleanup and Teaming up for the Tuolumne. (See www.arpf.org)

More at SacBee.com >>>

Bike Trail, Events, Fish, Rafting, safety, Water, Wildlife

Join The Great American River Cleanup September 21

Saturday, September 21, will be the annual “Great American River Clean Up” during the hours of 9 a.m. to noon which over the years has generated countless volunteer hours dedicated to gathering tons of trash.  The American River Parkway Foundation sponsors the annual event as one way to maintain the natural habitat that comprises the 23 mile stretch along the American River.

Volunteers can register online and many students use the event as a way to earn community service credits for school.  Staging sites where you can check-in include Alumni Grove at CSUS, Ancil Hoffman Park, and William Pond Park.  Details and more information can be obtained online at the American River Parkway Foundation website.

Events, Rafting, safety

Alcohol Ban Slated Over Labor Day Weekend at American River Parkway

Anyone planning to drink some alcoholic beverages to celebrate Labor Day along the American River will want to think twice.

A temporary alcohol ban will be in place over the holiday weekend. Officials say the ban is designed to increase safety in local parks and waterways.

The ban on consumption of alcohol and possession of open containers will be in place beginning on Aug. 21 and lasting through Sept. 2, in the American River Parkway on the shore and the river within the Parkway between Watt and Hazel Avenues. Violations of the alcohol restriction may result in citation or arrest, and the restriction will be strictly enforced.

Additionally, during the Labor Day holiday weekend, entrance fees to Sacramento County Regional Parks will increase to meet the demand for greater patrol and maintenance of the park system.

Non- Annual Pass Holders vehicle entrance fees will increase to $8 for single vehicles and $13 for oversized vehicles and vehicles with trailers at all County Parks.

More at Patch.com >>>

Bike Trail, Events, Rafting

Coming Saturday: Your chance to paddle and pedal for charity

Thousands of Sacramento-area residents will participate this week in a peculiar local tradition.

No, not the State Fair, although that’s happening too. It’s Eppie’s Great Race, a 24.67-mile triathlon that combines biking and running with paddling a boat rather than the usual swimming.

The 40th annual Eppie’s will be held Saturday on the American River Parkway. About 2,000 people participate each year, from casual joggers and cruisers to serious contenders.

Some complete the entire course; others form teams to split up the 5.82-mile run, 12.5-mile bike ride and 6.35-mile long paddle, which can be done in either a kayak or a canoe.

The race is named after local restaurant legend Eppie Johnson, 85.

An avid kayaker, Johnson started Eppie’s in 1974 and remains involved in organizing and fundraising.

Proceeds – a total of $1 million so far – have gone to Sacramento County’s Therapeutic Recreation Services, which offers activities for those with physical and mental disabilities.

For more information and to register, visit www.eppiesgreatrace.org.

More at SacBee.com >>>

 

Bike Trail, Events, Rafting, safety

‘Rafting Gone Wild’ on American River less extreme this year

They came in hordes, ready for a wild time.

Several thousand rafters jammed the American River on Saturday for “Rafting Gone Wild,” tugging ice chests full of drinks and, in some cases, alcohol.

Showing up in skimpy bathing suits, the rowdy crowd of youngsters was unfazed by the massive police presence and a county ban on alcohol for river activities from Hazel Avenue to Watt Avenue.

By early evening, approximately 20 arrests had been made, said Sgt. Steve Dutra of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. The first arrest occurred just before 1 p.m. when a man jumped off the footbridge at Sunrise Park with a backpack full of alcohol, said R.L. Davis, Rancho Cordova’s assistant police chief.

There were also four medical transports by 6 p.m., all due to alcohol, said Capt. Bryan Thomson, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spokesman.

Thomson said the criteria for medical evacuations were that people were “so intoxicated they can’t take care of themselves. They need to be evacuated.”

There were 39 medical transports last year, Thomson said.

More at MercedSunStar.com >>>