The “Who’s Who” of the Rubicon
Posted: February 17, 2014 Filed under: Access | Tags: El Dorado County, ENF, LTBMU, Placer, TNF Leave a commentWho’s Who? A look at the government agencies, clubs, organizations, forests, property owners, representatives, counties and water districts that affect or govern the world famous Rubicon Trail
Alright, this article grew to be longer than I thought as there are far more interested parties regarding the Rubicon than originally thought. That and I tend to go overboard. In no particular order:
Counties
The Rubicon Trail spans two counties, Placer County (PCo) in the east and Eldorado County (ElDoCo) in the west. The dividing line on the Rubicon Trail is the north border of the “Rubicon Springs” property. Both counties are involved with managing the Rubicon Trail. Below are links to the Rubicon Trail pages for each county.
Placer County Rubicon page:
http://www.placer.ca.gov/departments/works/mckinneyrubicon
El Dorado County Rubicon page:
http://www.edcgov.us/Government/Rubicon/Information_to_the_Rubicon_Trail.aspx?terms=rubicon%20trail
Rubicon Oversight Committee
El Dorado County has a long established committee that deals with nothing but Rubicon Trail issues called the Rubicon Oversight Committee (ROC). This has been a huge help to getting things accomplished by both the county and the users. The county run meetings are monthly meetings are attended by county officials, FOTR, RTF, users, anti-OHV people, sometimes state officials and other interested parties. The meetings are open to the public and held on the second Thursday of each month at the ElDoCo facilities in Placerville.
The county supervisors for each county are:
Jennifer Montgomery
Placer County
175 Fulweiler Avenue
Auburn, CA 95603
Norma Santiago
El Dorado County
330 Fair Lane
Placerville, CA 95667
Key county workers:
Placer County – Kansas McGahan, Senior Civil Engineer, works out of the Kings Beach office at Lake Tahoe.
El Dorado County – Vickie sanders, CAO Administrative Analyst at the County of El Dorado, I think is now in charge of ALL parks/trails within ElDoCo. A Donna Mullens is now the one sending out the minutes and agendas for the ROC meetings.
Forests
The Rubicon Trail crosses three ‘forests’: the Eldorado National Forest (ENF), the Tahoe National Forest (TNF) and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU, technically not a forest). The Rubicon crosses the border between the ENF and the TNF at Miller Creek at the bottom of Cadillac Hill. The Trail crosses from the TNF to the LTBMU east of Miller Lake. (When you see an Arizona crossing with rocks imbedded in it, from there east is the TNF). The TNF is working to replace the sign that was once there.
Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU)
Home http://www.fs.usda.gov/ltbmu
Rubicon http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/ltbmu/recreation/ohv/recarea/?recid=11829&actid=93
Nancy J. Gibson is the Forest Supervisor
(Still working on who should be THE contact for Rubicon issues)
Tahoe National Forest (TNF) – Truckee District
Home http://www.fs.usda.gov/tahoe
Rubicon http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/tahoe/recreation/ohv/recarea/?recid=56204&actid=93
Tom Quinn is the TNF Forest Supervisor
Joanne Robique is the Truckee District Ranger
Susanne Jensen is the seasonal OHV Recreation Specialist for the Truckee District
Eldorado national Forest (ENF) – Pacific Ranger District
Home http://www.fs.usda.gov/eldorado
Rubicon – The ENF does not have a Rubicon page
Lawrence Crabtree is the Forest Supervisor
Richard Thornburg is the Pacific District Ranger
Debbie Gaynor is the Recreation Specialist for the Pacific District
Water Districts
This is where things really got started back in 2000. A complaint was filed and the Lahontan Water Board stepped in to make sure the Rubicon Trail was not harming the water entering Lake Tahoe. Years later, a similar complaint was filed with the Central Valley Water Board for that watershed. Both efforts failed to close the trail but instead brought funding to maintain the Rubicon Trail.
The Lahontan Water Board manages the Lake Tahoe Basin watershed and thus covers the LTBMU. The Central Valley Water Board covers both the TNF and the ENF sections of the Rubicon Trail.
Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/lahontan/
Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/rwqcb5/
State (wide) agencies
CA State Parks – Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR)
State Parks are involved in the Rubicon Trail by providing grant funding to the national forests, and non-profit groups and by providing law enforcement as needed for the Rubicon Trail and all other OHV trails in the state.
Grant contact – George MacDougall
LEO Contact – Brian Robertson
CA Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs (Cal4)
Cal4 has been around for a VERY long time, if you’re not a member, sign-up now. They are THE agency that allows scores of clubs to stand together to fight for OHV access on public lands.
Nevada 4 Wheel Drive Association (N4WDA)
These guys are new to the scene. There have been Nevada state organizations around before but they didn’t last. With the new OHV registration requirements in Nevada, there was a need to have a formal group to work with those collecting the money to make sure it goes to OHV needs and not in to the general fund. There are also access fights to be fought, like the grouse issue, in Nevada.
Government (elected) Representatives
Governor
Jerry Brown
Senators
Barbra Boxer
Dianne Feinstein
State Representative for the Rubicon area
Ted Gaines – State Senator
Brian Dahle – State Assembly
Frank Bigelow – State Assembly
US Representative
Tom McClintock
Volunteer Organizations
Friends of the Rubicon (FOTR)
Rubicon Trail Foundation (RTF)
www.RubiconTrailFoundation.com
Country wide agencies
Blue Ribbon Coalition (BRC)
Tread Lightly!
United Four Wheel Drive Association
Private Property owners
Rubicon Soda Spring Incorporated (RSSI)
(Sixteen or seventeen owners in this group)
The half section that is the “Rubicon Springs”
Rubicon Trail Partnership (RTP)
(I think there are only six people in this group)
East half of the Spider Lake area
Auburn Jeep Club – private parcel
Five acres between Ellis Creek and Walker Hill
Rubicon Trail Foundation (RTF) – not yet open to vehicle traffic, working on an easement
The half section between the Spider section and the Rubicon Springs section
There are many other privately owned parcels along the Rubicon but these are the groups I had information on and that are known to support OHV use.
Disclaimer: I know this is NOT a complete list of everyone out there that is helping or at least interested in the Rubicon Trail. If you feel your organization should be on this list, send me the details and I’ll add you.
Adopt – a – trail (water bar)
Posted: January 19, 2014 Filed under: Maintenance | Tags: FOTR, grant, LTBMU, Placer, TNF Leave a commentThe Rubicon Trail Foundation has recently released information about the ability to ‘adopt’ a section of the Rubicon Trail within El Dorado County:
Okay, you’re asking, “I thought this website was about the Tahoe side of the Rubicon Trail?” Well, it is. Let me twist the story a little bit.
RTF has again stepped up to better organize getting maintenance done on the Rubicon Trail. They have worked out a plan with El Dorado County to have different clubs/groups/organizations to adopt a section of the world famous Rubicon Trail. Basic, routine maintenance and clean-up will be done by club members. Any major projects that come up will be led by the club but put out to FOTR for additional support as needed.
So, the Tahoe side twist is this, what about an “Adopt-a-water bar” program?
There were 28 ‘rolling dips’ (we all refer to them as water bars) built on the Rubicon Trail within the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) in 2001. Over the years they have received some annual maintenance but they could use a little more love. This summer, Placer County will use OHMVR funds to create more rolling dips and drains (like 35 of them) along the Rubicon Trail between Miller Lake and the turn at Barker Pass Road (Forest Road 03).
Why not ask OHV clubs to ‘adopt’ one water feature, be it a water bar, a rolling dip or a drain? All that would be asked of these clubs would be to do maintenance on their one water feature once a year.
Dozens of clubs, from all over the western United States, organize an annual club run to the Rubicon Trail. It would be a simple addition to that trek to stop at the clubs’ one “Adopt-a-water bar” and spend an hour or so clearing the drain, digging out any sediment and re-covering any bare spots with rock.
As FOTR steps up to help Placer with labor and thus ‘matching finds’ for the OHMVR grant, the clubs involved could volunteer to adopt whatever water feature they were working on. This would establish ‘ownership’ from the beginning and instil pride in creating and maintaining each feature.
There would be some details to work out, namely, a Tahoe side local might be needed to scout the water feature to determine if any materials would be needed for any maintenance effort each year and then get those materials dropped off prior to the maintenance effort but easily overcome.
LEOs on the Rubicon Trail
Posted: January 6, 2014 Filed under: Access | Tags: grant, law enforcement, LTBMU, Placer, Rubicon, TNF Leave a commentLast May, I organized a meeting of different law enforcement agencies that have jurisdiction over the Rubicon Trail: Placer County Sheriff’s Office, Tahoe National Forest, CA State Parks and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.
What I wanted to avoid was the lack of communication and the inconsistency of enforcement that plagued the El Dorado side of the trail when law enforcement started patrolling there years ago. The goal of the meeting was to do a face to face meeting of the different agencies and officers who would be patrolling the trail. We weren’t trying to solve issues or plan out the 2013 season but just get everyone in the same room.
The Rubicon Trail runs within Placer County and the county recognizes the trail as a public right of way, therefore, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office has jurisdiction on the trail. The Sheriff has put in for and was awarded OHMVR grant money to buy a side-by-side capable of getting anywhere on the Rubicon. The Rubicon will not be the only place the sheriff will use the side-by-side. Any OHV trail within Placer County can be considered the jurisdiction of the Placer County Sheriff.
The Tahoe National Forest has also received OHMVR grant money. They share law enforcement officers with the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. The TNF also has an awesome ‘OHV Recreation Specialist’ that is a pleasure to work with. She and the TNF understand that motorized recreation is a legitimate use of our public lands. She also has access to the TNF’s newly built up Jeep Rubicon to patrol OHV trails within the forest. The Jeep currently lives in the Auburn area but can be requested for use in the Truckee/Tahoe area when needed.
The CA State Parks LEOs have been on the Rubicon Trail for years, but only on the El Dorado side. For 2013, things changed. The park service decided that El Dorado sheriffs and the ENF could handle the west end of the trail (This was before the county removed the ability of the FS to cite for county laws.) and so they moved their operation to the Tahoe side. The plan is to store a side-by-side at the nearby Sugar Pine State park and trailer it to the trailhead to use. They also have an officer who drives the state’s Jeep Rubicon, that is quite capable, and he loves to get it out on the trail. They are working to store equipment at Rubicon Springs so they can patrol on the way in, spend a night or two and then patrol on the way out. Again, the state parks LEO can patrol any OHV trail, so they are not limited to the Rubicon.
The meeting went well and all who attended were glad for the opportunity to put faces to the names of those officers in their sister agencies.
For 2014, I look forward to working with the different LEO agencies to maintain the safety of the OHV trails and public lands on the Tahoe side of the world famous Rubicon Trail.
Placer County – Rubicon Grant
Posted: December 16, 2013 Filed under: Maintenance | Tags: LTBMU, Placer, Rubicon, TNF Leave a commentCA State parks has awarded Placer County a grant worth almost $300,000!
Link to a chart of awarded values, Placer County is number 67.
Starting October 15, 2013, Placer County has one year to spend the money and document matching funds through volunteer hours for labor and equipment. The grant funds: signage, rolling dips, filling holes, water bars, material and repairing the single lane of asphalt from the residential area to the staging area.
The wording of grant application can be found at the link below. The actual grant awarded changed mostly in the amount not the scope.
Link to Placer County grant application.
Thirty five different spots along the trail from the boundary with the Basin to the turn at Forest Road 03 have been identified as needing attention. Most are either creating a rolling dips or reestablishing the natural drainage from the trail.
The spots were identified, GPSed, photographed and sent to Placer County. A small group provided transportation while Placer toured the sites to take detailed notes and discuss options and fixes. Once Placer County documents the proposed fixes, they will get sent to the TNF to make sure the FS is good with each fix. This might require a trail visit.
Once all the fixes are decided and approved, the details of how to make each one happen will be documented. Contractors will need to submit bids for the ‘heavy lifting’, materials and transportation costs. This could take until July! At this point, the volunteer leadership will need to step in and work with Placer County to organize the volunteer labor portion of this plan.
The grant is HEAVY with matching funds from volunteers, so we will all need to document any and all maintenance efforts within Placer County.
This will probably be a September project with finishing touches leaking in to October. You might want to keep your calendar clear.
The 'Other' Rubicon 