There is nothing “recreational” about real mining – it is hard and dangerous work. Putting the terms “recreational” and “mining” together has always seemed ludicrous to me. Scientists also tell us that the clean gravel piles left by dredging are unstable salmon nests made in the loose piles rarely if ever survive the flood flows of winter.ĭewatered dredge tailings on the Scott River, a major Klamath River tributary As in the picture below, the gravel piles left behind by dredgers can attract spawning salmon only to dewater the nest and kill the eggs when the water level drops. But scientific studies and experience on the ground has not substantiated these claims. Recreational miners claim that dredging is good for salmon because the practice puts food into the water column and cleans spawning gravels. For more on this issue – including information on the ecological impact of suction dredge mining - follow this link to the Klamath Riverkeeper website’s extensive section on the issue. High Country News has not reported on the battle over suction dredge mining in California. When dredging was banned in California these folks simply moved a bit north to the Rogue River. Many of California’s suction dredgers do their thing along the Klamath River just south of the Oregon border.
Led by the Klamath River’s Karuk Tribe, the drive to end the practice has resulted in litigation and a new California law which bans suction dredge mining in California until the Department of Fish and Game completes and environmental review of the practice and issues new regulations. Those who oppose the practice say that it harms salmon runs. The increase in “recreational” dredge mining in Southern Oregon this time, however, is also related to a successful drive by a coalition of tribes and environmentalists to end the practice of suction dredge mining in California. Suction dredges on the Scott River, a major Klamath River tributary
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