What's up, yall. Just found your forums after doing a search for "Sierra Fund" "Downieville Classic".
I don't ride much anymore since my pups are getting too old to keep up. I am, however, always up in the hills around Downieville looking for some color. While up there, I meet a LOT of mountain bikers (maybe even some of you), and my offer of a cold beer is usually accepted.
While hanging out (sometimes for an hour or so) we usually discuss gold prospecting, as that is what I'm usually doing at the time. I get lots of questions and have made quite a few friends over the years. I'm not going to name drop anybody, but you can ask the Downieville locals about me. Yes, you can say 2Dogs.
What I mainly stopped by for was in regards to The Sierra Fund and Izzy Martin. Make no mistake about it, her main goal is to shut down the Classic, and the article on the Sierra Fund's website is her first crack at it. That group has been making millions from the state (our tax money) by finding problems for their solutions. I won't go into the dredging ban here, but it started out the same way: mercury advisory signs all over the lakes and rivers and then a ban. You see, when dredging was permitted (literally), Nevada County and N.I.D. had a thing called "Operation Milk Run" in which gold dredgers could turn in the mercury they recovered - so as not to sit for years in people's garages, only to turn toxic if vaporized - for safe disposal .
During Milk Run, however, Carrie Monahan and Izzy Martin (who were both involved in the project) saw dollar signs. Carrie Monahan can be seen on a youtube video explaining to the state legislature that they had to shut down Milk Run because it was "too successful"...that they were getting more mercury than they knew what to do with. Long story short - the Sierra Fund now has a monopoly on gold dredging, as they are currently dredging the Combie Reservoir (a private lake) on the Bear River and are getting millions of our tax dollars each year to do it. They say they are doing it to remove mercury, but we all know the truth. As for the gold they are also getting, they proudly say that they will market it as "E3 Gold," as it is Environmentally, Economically, and Ethically Mined Gold. Yes, they even use the term "Fair Mined Gold" on their website.
I could go on about this all day, but I won't. Just know that Mike was right in what he saw in the Sierra Fund's name alone. As for why they are trying to shut down mountain biking in the Sierras, I can't say. You can be certain, however, that there's money or power to be gained somewhere.
If you make it up to Downieville, have fun on your ride and if you see me and my two huskies - stop by for a beer and try your hand at getting some gold.
And of course you can keep what you find, but know that I'll be getting the rest after you leave .
Alright, yall...I'm out. Thanks for your time. See you around.
