Story time! The story of how A 15 year old got kicked out of a state park.

[MinorMiner]

DISCLAIMER: I DECIDED TO REPOST THIS STORY FROM THE GENERAL DISCUSSION FORUM BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS THE DESIGNATED PLACE FOR PROSPECTING RELATED STORIES. I apologize, this is my first time on the forum.

>be me
>be 15
>be in Henry Cowell state park
>have been to this spot multiple times before with my folding sluice, buckets, and digging/crevicing tools
>have only found 3 tiny specs, and one almost picker so far (people say there is no gold in this river, but it's the closest river to me and I don't want to have to drive to the Yuba)
>have new info about where old timers found gold in this area before from old newspaper (PLANT ROOTS)
>go to work with pick maddock and folding military shovel
>run about two buckets through sluice
>do a clean up
>find 5 small pieces
>theprophecyhasbeenfulfilled.jpg
>snufter up the 5 pieces
>go back to work with pick maddock and folding shovel
>everything is going great
>suddenly, everyone is trying to get my attention
>look over, see people pointing to the top of the river bank
>look up
>see state parks lady
>sp lady: "HEY THERE'S NO GOLD PANNING HERE"!!!!!
>me: "really"?
>sp lady: "YEAH YOU CAN'T TAKE ANYTHING FROM A STATE PARK"!
>me: "Okay, I'll leave, just let me pack my stuff up and I'll respectfully leave".
>while walking back to the car, I realized that people have more sand on the bottom of their shoes when they leave than I do gold in my snufter
>I still won, the gold went home with me

END

More info: on the california state parks website, it says nothing about gold panning or sluicing, and there are no laws against it. I was being very respectful and friendly to the people around me (and I stayed out of their way). I don't know who tipped off the state parks people, because no one said anything to me. I also have never had problems there before, and I'm almost positive that the SP people have seen me prospecting before, or at least me walking with my stuff. My point is, I'm almost certain the SP people themselves don't care, but I think if someone makes a big deal, they have to do something. They have to do their jobs, and they did.

 

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[Clay Diggins]

So who kicked you out? You left that part out of your story.

Heavy Pans

 

[smokeythecat]

I'm beginning to believe we will soon need a permit to breathe.

 

[oneguy]

I'm beginning to believe we will soon need a permit to breathe.

Chatted with a claim owner today (1 placer, 2 lode) on the river and his valid frustrations just went on and on and justifiably so. Between FS dragging their feet on his plan of operation, FS PLANTING devils club to keep people out of creek, bull trout, etc. and on and on....he's decided that he's had it and he's going to mine it anyways and deal with the fines, court crap later! We walked his 1 placer and he's parked it out, pulled dead fallen trees out of creek, leveled and made a NICE kinda campground area the public uses, removed old wooden falling in cabin boards and stacked them up to haul off/burn, trimmed old road regeneration limbs so old road is hikable (FS says no can't do that),shored up a bank, and REALLY made a nice looking claim he's been mining for a few years.

I learned a lot from him today about the headaches in present day and the future don't look good...... Pretty much the same reasons my "mentor" sold his very last claim as he knows he'll never really be able to mine it with equiptment............

so sad...........

 

[Hoser John]

sic sic world we live in-John

 

[Molewacker]

Minor Miner: Please read/network the other, more experienced CA gold hunters on this - just because it doesn't specify Gold panning for you, or metal detecting for me, other park rules can come into play. Hoping this will save you a fine or such in the future - GL & HH

Incidental removal of material(surface mud/sand on shoes) vs. Deliberate removal of specific material (gold obtained by deliberate actions) do not equate. Bad argument -

From the Henry Cowell state park Pamphlet; "All natural and cultural features are
protected by law; do not disturb them"

From Cal.State website

The California Department of Parks and Recreation has established rules and regulations to protect park areas for the enjoyment of future generations as well as for the convenience and safety of the park visitors. To ensure your visit is a pleasant one, please observe the following:

NATURAL SCENERY, PLANTS AND ANIMAL LIFE are the principal attractions of most state parks. They are integral parts of the ecosystem and natural community. As such they are protected by Federal, State and Park laws. Disturbance or destruction of these resources is strictly forbidden.

 

[MinorMiner]

Haha, you're right. I did, I guess. I'm not one to frolic about in the river, so if I can't prospect, I'm leaving.

May the majority of the heft from your pan come in the form of gold~

 

[MinorMiner]

You mean the c02 tax? It's already a thing here in California.

 

[MinorMiner]

Yuuupppp.

 

[MinorMiner]

Minor Miner: Please read/network the other, more experienced CA gold hunters on this - just because it doesn't specify Gold panning for you, or metal detecting for me, other park rules can come into play. Hoping this will save you a fine or such in the future - GL & HH

Incidental removal of material(surface mud/sand on shoes) vs. Deliberate removal of specific material (gold obtained by deliberate actions) do not equate. Bad argument -

From the Henry Cowell state park Pamphlet; "All natural and cultural features are
protected by law; do not disturb them"

From Cal.State website

The California Department of Parks and Recreation has established rules and regulations to protect park areas for the enjoyment of future generations as well as for the convenience and safety of the park visitors. To ensure your visit is a pleasant one, please observe the following:

NATURAL SCENERY, PLANTS AND ANIMAL LIFE are the principal attractions of most state parks. They are integral parts of the ecosystem and natural community. As such they are protected by Federal, State and Park laws. Disturbance or destruction of these resources is strictly forbidden.

You are right. Thank you.

I think that my argument still stands, though, as "deliberate" can be defined differently by different people. You know you have sand on your shoes when you leave (unless you're blind, and in that case, next to the river might not be the best place for you), and I know I have gold in my snufter when I leave. Same same. Also, I find garnets, shark teeth, air gun pellets, etc. I'm not looking for a specific material (imagine me air quoting, of course I'm looking for gold).

Define a natural and cultural feature. More vague language. Pretty much anything you look at is one of those two things.

Also, define disturbance. People walk on the banks, and the sand gets "disturbed". They are not bothered. Anything I dig gets filled in during the flood season. My dad is an arborist, and I made sure to ask him about me going through a few tree roots (it's fine, no harm, no fowl).

Explain at what point you "cross the line" because to me it looks vaguely worded on purpose so that the rules can be selectively enforced.

 

[winners58]

alot of the California parks you can pan, its not very consistent read the rules at the gate or ask.
get a map or ask them to show you the boundary's of the park so you can recreate like the rest of the park goers...
most panning falls under rock hounding, no tools, shouldn't be that way as Gold panning is an existing use.

 

[Molewacker]

MM - Winner58 has good advice, and sounds like he's dealt with the system a bit. Just make sure the SP is open for panning/rock-hounding and what area/equipment / extraction styles are allowed.

As a example - South Yuba State Park - hands and pans only.


Many legal cases are argued in court on vague wording of laws. That's why the state writes tickets and lawyers have work

Webster says:

Deliberate : adj
1. done consciously and intentionally. (I need beach sand for my fish tank)

Incidental: adj
1. occurring merely by chance or without intention or calculation - (I got sand in my shoes from walking the beach.)

May you enjoy the sport, and find a nugget of your dreams - HH

 

[MinorMiner]

I'm just gonna backpack in my pans and classifier and digging stuff and hike farther away from people. I was right next to the visitor center, with buckets, a sluice, etc.. I was being super obvious. If I'm more low-key, I think I can do my thing without anybody noticing.

You are right about the State, and the lawyers. They run this place. Seriously.


The same to you - JA (don't tell nobody my initials)

 

[Reed Lukens]

I'm just gonna backpack in my pans and classifier and digging stuff and hike farther away from people. I was right next to the visitor center, with buckets, a sluice, etc.. I was being super obvious. If I'm more low-key, I think I can do my thing without anybody noticing.

You are right about the State, and the lawyers. They run this place. Seriously.


The same to you - JA (don't tell nobody my initials)

Out of sight, out of mind works real good and generally you will find more gold the farther out that you go. I'm not familiar with your area but there's plenty of gold in Southern California, so if your finding it at the bottom of the steps at the visitor center, then head up stream. Take a look at some maps in the area and try and find some access a couple miles up river.
The Stribbling mine was a gold mine. It's that yellow dot just off of the lower right corner of the info window, right in the park. It might be worth a look also.

 

[Clay Diggins]

Out of sight, out of mind works real good and generally you will find more gold the farther out that you go. I'm not familiar with your area but there's plenty of gold in Southern California, so if your finding it at the bottom of the steps at the visitor center, then head up stream. Take a look at some maps in the area and try and find some access a couple miles up river.
The Stribbling mine was a gold mine. It's that yellow dot just off of the lower right corner of the info window, right in the park. It might be worth a look also.
View attachment 1481111View attachment 1481112

The park is in the redwoods just outside Santa Cruz Reed. Not Southern California. The park was formerly a city park and is less than 2 miles across. It's surrounded by private property and U.C. Santa Cruz. There is no way to go "a couple of miles upriver" without trespassing on private land. You would be in someones yard.

The "park" was originally a quarry that produced a lot of the limestone used to build San Franscisco. The redwoods were logged off for the same purpose and the land was donated to the town of Santa Cruz in the late 1920s.

I know this area well. I have friends with land in both Ben Lomond and Felton. The odds of going anywhere in or out of the park without being seen are slim to none. It's a pretty urban area and all the local busybodies like to call stuff in, like people digging in creeks.

Heavy Pans

 

[beekbuster]

definitely stay out of sight. all it takes is one fs or blm to ruin your day. this guy got lucky getting off with a verbal. you can do everything right and still get screwed.

 

[MinorMiner]

definitely stay out of sight. all it takes is one fs or blm to ruin your day. this guy got lucky getting off with a verbal. you can do everything right and still get screwed.

Do they take your ****?

I didn't realize it was that bad...

 

[Hefty1]

Do they take your ****?

I didn't realize it was that bad...

Yes they do!