3/23/15 Update | North Fork American River Alliance

The North Fork lost one of its champions on February 24 with the passing of Matt Bailey. Matt was actively involved with a variety of wildlife and land conservation issues in Placer County and served several terms on the County Fish and Game Commission. His crowning achievement was the inclusion of 38 miles of the North Fork into the National Wild and Scenic River System in 1978. His ten year crusade to protect the North Fork included the Matt Bailey

formation of the North Fork Wild River Council and the campaign to stop the proposed dam at Giant Gap.
    Matt was born in San Francisco in 1925. After graduating from Lowell High School, he enrolled at Cal Poly San Louis Obispo. When the school was converted to military use, Matt took an appointment to the US Merchant Marine Academy. He graduated in 1946 as a marine engineer. Following a few years at sea, Matt did ranch work in Montana and California and packed mules in the Sierra Nevada. He married Betty in 1952. After trying his hand at farming in Pennsylvania, he moved back west and took a job with PG&E at Lake Spaulding. In 1958 he transferred to Drum Powerhouse. Matt, Betty and their three daughters settled in Dutch Flat where Matt became a community leader. His accomplishments are many. In addition to his conservation work, Matt took a leading role in the establishment of the Dutch Flat Water Company, the founding of the local historical society, and the effort to get historic zoning for Dutch Flat.
    Those of us dedicated to protecting the North Fork owe Matt our deepest gratitude. Without his tireless work (and the work of other earlier champions) we would not have a wild river to protect. Matt was not involved with NFARA’s creation. However, he did give a presentation about his efforts stopping the Giant Gap Dam at NFARA’s first event. We were very pleased when he joined NFARA; we felt it was his endorsement of us. We intend to keep his memory alive and continue his crusade to protect the North Fork.
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2) About NFARA

      North Fork American River Alliance is an active and respected organization dealing with a broad range of issues. From protecting water quality and the viewshed to preserving giant-gap

public access to promoting non-motorized recreation, our voice is being heard. We also volunteer to maintain area trails. We are a small all-volunteer group that relies on memberships and donations. We need your support for continued success.

NFARA Activities:
Suction Dredge Mining: NFARA is a member of a coalition that filed a lawsuit in 2012 against the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) over their Suction Dredge Mining regulations. Our case has been working its way through the courts. Unfortunately, this past January a Superior Court Judge in San Bernardino County ruled that DFW regulations restricting motorized suction dredge mining and the current moratorium on permits are pre-empted by the 1872 Federal Mining Law. This essentially means the state has no authority to regulate suction dredge mining. Fortunately, the moratorium will remain in place until the California Supreme Court reviews a separate case on which the pre-emption ruling was based. It is unknown what effect the pre-emption ruling will have on our case. NFARA believes California has the right to regulate activities that adversely impact its rivers and streams. We will continue the fight to protect our river from this inappropriate and destructive activity.
Land Acquisitions: NFARA supports the acquisition of sensitive private lands by land trusts to prevent inappropriate development. We have given financially support to Truckee Donner Land Trust, Placer Land Trust, and American River Conservancy for their efforts protecting lands in the North Fork watershed.
Public Access: NFARA is deeply concerned with maintaining access to our public lands. We have taken successful legal action in the past and monitor this issue throughout the North Fork.
Spring Thing: NFARA hosts an annual spring event. Last year's Spring Thing, highlighted by a presentation by Eric Peach of PARC and music by Paula Peach, included afternoon walking tours of the area. A similar itinerary is planned for 2015.
Cleaning up the North Fork: We enjoyed a very productive season. NFARA volunteers joined PARC, BLM, and a CHP helicopter crew in a cleanup of Green Valley where 8oo pounds of trash were removed. NFARA participated in the Great Sierra River Clean-up and helped organize the effort at the Colfax Iowa Hill Bridge. 25 volunteers removed several hundred pounds of trash and cleaned graffiti off rocks.
Sponsorship: NFARA sponsored several events in 2014. In February we co-sponsored an informational meeting, hosted by The Sierra Fund, in Foresthill regarding the impacts of pollution from historic mines. In November we were a venue sponsor for the Wild and Scenic Film Festival on Tour hosted by American River Conservancy.
Photos courtesy of Susan Prince and Krista Weidman.

3) Final Shot rainbow north fork