Rubicon Oversight Committee

If you don’t know the name, maybe you’ll recognize them as the R.O.C.

They want your input! And they’re coming to you to get it. Keep reading.

The ROC is El Dorado County’s effort to bring people together to better manage the Rubicon Trail. Vickie Sanders runs the show. She’s been making things happen on the Rubicon since the early days of FOTR. No one has done more for the Rubicon Trail than Vickie Sanders, no one.

The ROC meets every third Thursday of the month at the El Dorado County offices off Forni Road in Placerville at 8:30am. It’s great for those in the area of the western entrance to the Rubicon but not so convenient for the rest of us in Truckee, Tahoe City, Reno, Carson, Auburn, ETC.

Well that’s about to change. El Dorado County is taking the ROC meetings on the road.

From Vickie:

We will be holding several meetings of the Rubicon Oversight Committee at various locations in an effort to get the education and coordination message out to a broader group of interested parties.  Please pass this information along.  Let me know if you have any questions.

WE ARE TAKING THE ROC ON THE ROAD

Rubicon Oversight Committee (ROC)

PURPOSE:

• To educate a larger group of users on the educational program for the Rubicon Trail
• To discuss maintenance efforts and how we work on the El Dorado side of the trail
• To help facilitate maintenance activities in Placer County
• To get more clubs, groups and individuals involved
• To provide a holistic approach to the Rubicon

AGENCIES THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE:

• Tahoe National Forest
• Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit
• Eldorado National Forest
• State Parks OHV Division
• Placer County Sheriff’s Office
• El Dorado County Parks Division

MEETING DATES, LOCATIONS AND TIMES:

May 30, 2018 –            6:30 p.m.

North Tahoe Event Center

8318 North Lake Blvd.

Kings Beach, CA 96143

June 4, 2018 – 6:30 p.m.

Murphy House at the Auburn State Recreation Area

501 El Dorado Street

Auburn, CA 95603

(El Dorado Street is HWY 193/49 as you head out of Auburn south towards the river crossing)

June 27, 2018 – 6:30 p.m.

(Tentative Location)

California Conservation Center

1949 Apache Ave

South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

This is most likely due to the rumors that El Dorado County is looking to sign an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) that would allow El Dorado County to manage the Placer County portion of the Rubicon Trail.

For the most part, this would be a very good thing. Vickie and El Dorado County has done wonders to mange, maintain and honestly, to keep the trail from being closed.

Placer County has been reluctant to step up their game and put more effort in to managing the Rubicon Trail. Placer has done things for the trail over the years but more needs to be done. El Dorado has demonstrated the willingness and ability to do just that.

My concerns are the actually being addressed by this mobile meeting plan. Over the years, the ROC has made many major decisions regarding the Rubicon Trail. If you weren’t in the room that day, you didn’t get a say in the decision. I drove to ROC meetings in Placerville, from Sparks NV, many, many times, as the Placer side user representative. It’s a 2.5 hour drive each way for a two hour meeting. It got old.

Once I stopped attending the meetings, I felt out of the loop. There were no efforts to continue to reach out to people not in the room. Even being on the email list for “all” things ROC, they didn’t reach out. The ROC made decisions that effected the Tahoe side of the trail and yet they didn’t reach out for input prior to the decision and implementation.

I am encouraged by this effort to reach out to the “other” side.

Let’s let Vickie, El Dorado County and Placer County know that the Tahoe side users care about the trail and we are willing to work with anyone and everyone that wants to better manage the Rubicon Trail.

Doug Barr