Gems in Shaver Lake? No one will know. Environmentalists / Government Regs strike again..
McEwen: Gems in Shaver Lake? No one will know
By Bill McEwen / The Fresno Bee, Fresno California
Wednesday, Sep. 14, 2011 | 10:31 PM
Gems in Shaver Lake? No one will know
In the 84 years since the 170-foot concrete dam was built, there's no telling how many rings, boats and fishing lures have wound up on the bottom of the Sierra lake.
Nor is there any way to know how much amethyst quartz the February birthstone might be dug up as the water recedes to streambed levels.
The possibilities also excited historians wondering what remains of the original rock dam constructed by lumberman C.B. Shaver in 1893. That dam created a millpond to support Shaver's logging enterprises.
"Shaver Lake has such strong emotional and geographic ties to Fresno," author and historian Gene Rose says. "It's a lake full of memories and now speculation."
The possibilities were such that I envisioned a reality television show shot there scavengers, gold panners and rockhounds competing for the most valuable find. Call it "Sierra Treasure Hunt."
But environmental regulations and safety concerns are leaving prospectors out in the cold.
There will be no guys or gals with metal detectors going to the pawn shop with a diamond ring from the finger of a water-skier. In fact, treasure seekers will have less access to the exposed lakebed than in dry years.
Southern California Edison, which owns and operates the lake, is restricting access for safety reasons and to protect historical sites such as the Old Mill Pond site.
Security guards will be assigned to the lake. They'll be responsible for protecting areas of cultural or historical significance and preventing people and vehicles from getting stuck in deep silt that has been compared to quicksand.
Kris Rowe, a member of the Fresno Gem & Mineral Society, says that restrictions now in place forced the cancellation of a group dig at Amethyst Cove this Saturday. Rowe says he has talked with Edison officials about allowing access, but they say the rules are absolute.
"It's due to new constraints by the Interior Department," Rowe says. "Under the federal permit, no surface disturbances are allowed, and no one will be allowed past the mean high water line."
Last year, when the lake was lowered 75 feet for the extensive dam maintenance project, Rowe was among 40 people who made a November trek to Shaver. Sixty people were expected this time.
Rowe says that he was originally told by Edison officials that rockhounds and gold panners would be allowed into some of the exposed areas. In a news release last month, Edison said the lakebed would be open until the end of September.
"We've dug for decades and we're careful not to disturb anything else," Rowe says. "Now we are being denied the possibility of a lifetime."
Rowe's hope is that when the project is finished, people will be allowed to search before the lake fills again.
"Shaver amethyst is as good as or better than any other in the world," Rowe says. "In 1997, I hit a major pocket after two days of digging very, very hard and came up with some beauties."
I would've settled for recovering one of the many Rapala and Ford Fender lures I've lost while trolling for that elusive trophy brown trout.
But such dreams like those of other scavengers are down the drain.
McEwen: Gems in Shaver Lake? No one will know
By Bill McEwen / The Fresno Bee, Fresno California
Wednesday, Sep. 14, 2011 | 10:31 PM
Gems in Shaver Lake? No one will know
In the 84 years since the 170-foot concrete dam was built, there's no telling how many rings, boats and fishing lures have wound up on the bottom of the Sierra lake.
Nor is there any way to know how much amethyst quartz the February birthstone might be dug up as the water recedes to streambed levels.
The possibilities also excited historians wondering what remains of the original rock dam constructed by lumberman C.B. Shaver in 1893. That dam created a millpond to support Shaver's logging enterprises.
"Shaver Lake has such strong emotional and geographic ties to Fresno," author and historian Gene Rose says. "It's a lake full of memories and now speculation."
The possibilities were such that I envisioned a reality television show shot there scavengers, gold panners and rockhounds competing for the most valuable find. Call it "Sierra Treasure Hunt."
But environmental regulations and safety concerns are leaving prospectors out in the cold.
There will be no guys or gals with metal detectors going to the pawn shop with a diamond ring from the finger of a water-skier. In fact, treasure seekers will have less access to the exposed lakebed than in dry years.
Southern California Edison, which owns and operates the lake, is restricting access for safety reasons and to protect historical sites such as the Old Mill Pond site.
Security guards will be assigned to the lake. They'll be responsible for protecting areas of cultural or historical significance and preventing people and vehicles from getting stuck in deep silt that has been compared to quicksand.
Kris Rowe, a member of the Fresno Gem & Mineral Society, says that restrictions now in place forced the cancellation of a group dig at Amethyst Cove this Saturday. Rowe says he has talked with Edison officials about allowing access, but they say the rules are absolute.
"It's due to new constraints by the Interior Department," Rowe says. "Under the federal permit, no surface disturbances are allowed, and no one will be allowed past the mean high water line."
Last year, when the lake was lowered 75 feet for the extensive dam maintenance project, Rowe was among 40 people who made a November trek to Shaver. Sixty people were expected this time.
Rowe says that he was originally told by Edison officials that rockhounds and gold panners would be allowed into some of the exposed areas. In a news release last month, Edison said the lakebed would be open until the end of September.
"We've dug for decades and we're careful not to disturb anything else," Rowe says. "Now we are being denied the possibility of a lifetime."
Rowe's hope is that when the project is finished, people will be allowed to search before the lake fills again.
"Shaver amethyst is as good as or better than any other in the world," Rowe says. "In 1997, I hit a major pocket after two days of digging very, very hard and came up with some beauties."
I would've settled for recovering one of the many Rapala and Ford Fender lures I've lost while trolling for that elusive trophy brown trout.
But such dreams like those of other scavengers are down the drain.