In the never ending push for growth, and the deep seated human desire to preserve heritage, there are always compromises; and they are between two truths.
Our organization would like to see the gold rush historical heritage embodied in the American River Watershed someday become the Rivers of Gold National Heritage Area.
National Heritage Areas is a program of National Parks that provides funding and planning help to areas that wish to protect their heritage for future generations. A central aspect of the River of Gold National Heritage Area would be a higher level of protection over the American River Parkway, bringing somewhat the same level of designation as the Wild and Scenic Rivers designation for the Lower American River did several years ago.
To honor and defend
Indian artifacts are lost as forests are logged, critics say, because safeguards are inadequate
By Christina Jewett - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Monday, January 1, 2007
SONOMA COUNTY-In a remote clearing in a ridgetop forest, Reno Franklin kneeled to the ground and flicked scraps of bark with a trowel.
He was looking for ancient evidence of his people, the Kashaya band of the Pomo Indians. A fine mist fell. Fir trees, huckleberry bushes and chanterelle mushrooms surrounded Franklin.
"You could hang out here and sharpen your tools," he said, as if viewing the land through the eyes of his ancestors. "This is a nice spot."
The recent hunt was part of an exploration of lands where private owners plan to cut trees, with Franklin accompanied by a state archaeologist whose job is to fulfill an obscure mission of state law: safeguarding archaeological and historical artifacts deep in the woods.
But controversy surrounds the 25-year-old program, with some scholars and American Indians saying it is so understaffed that irreplacable, ancient treasures are being destroyed.
"It's just impossible for those people to cover a state this big," Franklin said of the half-dozen archaeologists who oversee state and some private lands. "It's a joke."
The six archaeologists employed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection monitor nearly 180,000 acres where landowners harvest trees each year, documenting archaeological discoveries and working with landowners to be sure the sites remain unharmed.
In contrast, 75 state archaeologists monitor new road projects for Caltrans and 26 monitor digging in state parks.
Bill Snyder, deputy director of resource management at CDF, said the program seems to be working well, particularly in contrast with a complete absence of archaeological oversight in the early 1980s.
