Pirate 4x4 banner

URGENT! Little Sluice to be altered this Friday.

41K views 199 replies 127 participants last post by  ISDTBower 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey everyone, the famous Little Sluice on the Rubicon trail is set to be majorly altered this Friday. They are planning of flying in tons and tons of fill rock and cracking up to 13 boulders in this small 100' section of the Rubicon trail.

We are trying to stop this from happening and can use all the help we can get.

Here is part one of the plan.....

Email El Dorado County and ask them to halt all alterations of the world famous little sluice.

Send El Dorado County Supervisor Jack Sweeney and his fellow Supervisors an email and CC it to the other contacts below. It is important that this be made known to as many people as possible, they need to be pressured into stopping this!


Email to:
El Dorado County Board of Supervisors
edc.cob@edcgov.us
bosthree@edcgov.us
bostwo@edcgov.us
bosone@edcgov.us
bosfour@edcgov.us
bosfive@edcgov.us

CC:
senator.gaines@senate.ca.gov, ca04tmima@mail.house.gov
CDaley@mtdemocrat.net, mtdemo@mtdemocrat.net, lkalb@sacbee.com, clocke@sacbee.com, damador@cwo.com, granat.amy@gmail.com

Step 2.....This has been in motion for a while I guess so I'm going to help spread the word.

Protest in Paradise

El Dorado County Supervisors to waist hundreds of thousands of tax payer dollars to fly in tons of rock and use it to fill in the world famous Little Sluice, a 100' "hardcore" section on the Rubicon Trail.

Users have produced a huge email campaign to the Supervisors board in an attempt to stop this from happening.

On Friday there will be a physical protest on location starting at 8:00am
 
See less See more
#4 ·
Dear Supervisor Sweeney,

I have been told that the Little Sluice is going to be permanently modified on Friday, September 28th by your order.

I am a resident of Montana, but have been wanting to come visit the Rubicon and your area for several years. I travel annually to Southern California to recreate at the Johnson Valley OHV area and spend $1,500-2,000 locally every trip for fuel, food, groceries, lodging, and entertainment. There are a lot of other out-of-state residents who also travel to California for OHV recreation.

Please do not crack the large rocks in Little Sluice or the other areas slated for permanent destruction. Please do not fill Little Sluice with imported rock. I am still planning to travel to your area with my kids in the next couple of years to show them this pristine alpine recreation area. I doubt I'll make the trip or invest in your local economy if the spectacular and beautiful challenging features are obliterated.

Sincerely,
Shawn Baker
Kalispell, MT
 
#7 ·
Really getting tired of this:mad3:





To whom it may concern,

I am writing you in regards to the extreme trail modification measures planned to Little Sluice on the Rubicon Trail, and I urge you to reconsider these irreversible modifications. There are thousands of outdoor enthusiasts that cherish the Rubicon Trail across the country, and these massive trail modifications that destroy key aspects of a historic trail need to be reconsidered. I, among thousands of other recreational off-roader's across the nation, hold these trails and our public land dear. These trail modifications destroy key areas on the Rubicon Trail, and it pains me to hear that such a historic trail could be altered in such a manner.

Unfortunately, I have never had the opportunity to enjoy the Rubicon Trail first hand, but like countless others, it is on my "dream list" of places to visit and recreate with my family. Hopefully the decision is made to reconsider these trail modifications and we can work together to help preserve the Rubicon Trail for the next generation of recreational enthusiasts without permanently altering the essence of the landscape.

Please do not permanently destroy a key aspect of a historic trail.

Sincerely,

CCCCC CCCCCCC
 
#12 ·
It was passed by the board of supervisors which in and of itself was a sham.

Not RTF, FOTR or anyone else but the politicians.

Jeremy - if those of us who are in the loop are writing letters, there is a reason. We were told we would be included in this project, and all of a sudden, while we are waiting (2yrs) for the phone call, we hear on the 805 it's happening in 4 days, no seat at the table, no phone call, nothing.
 
#17 · (Edited)
The maintenance of the trail (30 years deferred) is only a small portion - Water Board, Forest Service etc. etc. That has also been ongoing for 2 years.

Blowing up the box was one man's agenda who happened to be a County Sup - who only needed a majority vote. He got it.

Letters to the right people can get it stalled at least.

Please write - copy paste whatever.

Thanks, Bebe
 
#21 ·
Sit ins are great but it isn't enough. Pro-motorized access enthusiasts are viewed as the path of least resistance in most cases and most agency personnel are anti-access. If you can get support from the community in writing, it can make a difference.

The main thing people need to do in situations like this is make sure your voice is out there.

Ryan hit it right on, write/email/call the people in office and let them know your opinion. Be polite, but firm.
 
#19 ·
to: bosthree@edcgov.us, bosone@edcgov.us, bosfour@edcgov.us, bostwo@edcgov.us, bosfive@edcgov.us

cc: senator.gaines@senate.ca.gov, Congressman Tom McClintock <ca04tmima@mail.house.gov>

date: Tue, Sep 25, 2012 at 9:43 AM

subject: URGENT: TIME SENSITIVE - Destruction of Little Sluice

Dear Supervisor Sweeney,

We have heard recently that the Little Sluice is going to be permanently modified late this week (Friday, September 28th) by your order. I am asking you to not crack the rocks, and to not dump 800 cubic yards of rock, destroying what has become a iconic section of the world famous Rubicon Trail.

During the Eldorado County Board of Supervisors Meeting where many users gave passionate testimony on the Easement options presented to us, we were blindsided by you adding, at the last minute, an item to Option 2, to the crack the rocks in Little Sluice. Three of your fellow board members followed suit, blindly in my opinion. Which led many of us to wonder what political benefit possessed you to do such a thing to the very people who have supported you throughout your entire career.

You shoved it through despite over 100 trail users in your chambers objecting to this action, hundreds of letters, e-mails and faxes.

There are bypasses around the 100" of trail that all users have access to. There is no impediment to the trail. The issues of degradation have been managed by both the County and user groups. There is no good REASON to reduce this Icon of the trail to rubble.

We objected to it then and we object to it now. Little Sluice must be left in tact. Call off the Helicopter, call off the cracking crews. Then we will sit down and devise a plan to manage the area to whatever standards we as users can agree on with the County.

Do not destroy Little Sluice, it is an Iconic section of the famous Rubicon Trail.

Sincerely,

Jacquelyne "Bebe" Theisen
Friends of the Rubicon
Friends of Greenhorn
 
#22 ·
The county will have to pay six figures to helicopter in all that rock. If there are a few rigs parked in the that section they will not drop rocks on rigs. While the county is fighting it out with peaceful non-violent protesters, the meter will be running on the helo company's clock. After a day or two, the county won't have the budget to keep paying for helo's to be on standby.


If I still had a rig, I would be up there parked in the box waving at the helo's. How many people can EDC Sheriff transport in the back of their jeep out to the trailhead?

Let's make a stand. If not now, when? If not you, who?

This is a profound waste of taxpayer resources and the news papers need to know about it.
 
#23 ·
The bird is around $16,000/hr.

The newspapers are in the CC emails above. Every letter will make it to the papers, as well as our Senator and Congressman.

Lets see if writing letters and peer pressure from newspapers, Senator Gains and Congressman McClintock will put a halt to this first, then we will get to stage two.
 
#28 ·
"I do not have the rig that can navigate that section and happily go around. We usually stop to watch others try their hand. It IS one of the few challenges where challenges have been consistently eliminated. Here, it can remain and those less adventuresome can escape.

Do not destroy Little Sluice, it is an Iconic section of the famous Rubicon Trail.

Sincerely,



Visiting and recreating since the 25th Jeepers Jamboree. 1977...And have been going around since probably 1980.

P.S. Since there may be blasting/rocks, consider a ramp onto the adjacent South slab. That would then be the same freeway, within the easement, same enviornmental control, and not as intimidating for some as the North/East bypass...if that is the scope of the project. "
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top