Feb 1

Written by:
2/1/2012 3:09 PM 

As gold hits $1,700 an ounce, dredgers lament lost income

Rick Eddy and Steve Tyler are gold bugs who think they are being robbed.

Their problem is that they are suction dredgers. They ply the rivers in their raft-sized crafts in search of gold. Until recently they were able to make a good living at it. Department of Fish and Game regulations allowed any California resident or non-resident to obtain a suction dredge mining permit after paying a nominal fee. On average 3,650 of these permits were issued every year.

However in July of 2009, in response to a lawsuit brought against the DFG by the Karuk Tribe of California, the DFG stopped issuing suction dredge permits. The lawsuit contended that DFG’s administration of the suction dredging program violated the California Environmental Quality Act and various provisions of the Fish and Game Code.

Then in August of 2009, all California in-stream suction dredge mining was suspended when Gov. Schwarzenegger signed SB 670. The bill prohibited the use of vacuum or suction dredge equipment in any California river, stream or lake regardless if someone had an existing permit.

Read more in the Mountain Democrat