Goldfields barbecue raises
ample legal defense funds
MARYSVILLE 6/11/02 (YNS) -- A barbecue featuring guided tours of the usually closed Yuba foldfields held Saturday raised the $5,000 a landowner needs to fight charges vandalized a lock and chain barring entry to the natural wonder, organizers said Tuesday.
Yuba Goldfields access advocate Chuck Smith said the Yuba Goldfields Access Coalition fund-raiser attracted more than 300 visitrs at $25 a head, raising more than the $5,000 retainer the lawyer defending ranch owner Bill Calvert, Smith said.
Calvert, a curmudgeonly rancher who has been battling goldfields leaseholder Western Aggregates for years demanding an open roadway to his ranch, now isolated by locked gates patrolled by company security guards.
Outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers have joined with Calvert to open u the goldfields moonscape environs to the public.
Recent court rulings have favored Calvert and access fans in civil cases. Calvert hopes to prevail in his criminal case set to debut July 17 in Yuba County Superior Court.
Operating Engineers Local #3 is also a supporter of Calvert. The union wants the vast region of high quality aggregate opened up to other construction industry vendors.
The goldfiields were created by gravel washing down the Yuba River during the heyday of hydraulic mining in the gold rush era. About nine miles of the river has essentially been kept closed by private company controlling the goldfields, access advocates claim.
The land is owned by the US and administered by the fedreal Bureau of Land Management.
ample legal defense funds
MARYSVILLE 6/11/02 (YNS) -- A barbecue featuring guided tours of the usually closed Yuba foldfields held Saturday raised the $5,000 a landowner needs to fight charges vandalized a lock and chain barring entry to the natural wonder, organizers said Tuesday.
Yuba Goldfields access advocate Chuck Smith said the Yuba Goldfields Access Coalition fund-raiser attracted more than 300 visitrs at $25 a head, raising more than the $5,000 retainer the lawyer defending ranch owner Bill Calvert, Smith said.
Calvert, a curmudgeonly rancher who has been battling goldfields leaseholder Western Aggregates for years demanding an open roadway to his ranch, now isolated by locked gates patrolled by company security guards.
Outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers have joined with Calvert to open u the goldfields moonscape environs to the public.
Recent court rulings have favored Calvert and access fans in civil cases. Calvert hopes to prevail in his criminal case set to debut July 17 in Yuba County Superior Court.
Operating Engineers Local #3 is also a supporter of Calvert. The union wants the vast region of high quality aggregate opened up to other construction industry vendors.
The goldfiields were created by gravel washing down the Yuba River during the heyday of hydraulic mining in the gold rush era. About nine miles of the river has essentially been kept closed by private company controlling the goldfields, access advocates claim.
The land is owned by the US and administered by the fedreal Bureau of Land Management.
<< Home