For more than twenty years boaters and anglers have sought access to the section of the Mokelumne River controlled by the East Bay Municipal Utility District. This portion of the river, between Highway 49 and the Middle Bar Bridge, known as the Middle Bar reach, is named after the historic town once located in its lower regions.

We are all guaranteed the right to use and enjoy navigable rivers under the public trust doctrine, which was passed down to us from the Roman Code of Justinian through English common law. The doctrine is explicitly supported in both the state and federal constitutions and has been upheld in many court cases. Yet EBMUD has long ignored this right and worked to keep people off the Middle Bar reach.

Efforts to secure access to the river are moving forward. Back in December 1999, four kayakers were cited for trespassing on EBMUD's land after floating down the river and getting out near the Middle Bar Bridge. An Amador County sheriff's deputy issued the citations after receiving a call from EBMUD rangers.

Foothill Conservancy learned of the citations and put the kayakers in touch with Sutter Creek attorney Brad Sullivan, who in turn contacted Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe. Sullivan gave Riebe information on the public trust doctrine, court cases, and local background. He also advised Riebe that the state attorney general's office, acting on behalf of the State Lands Commission, was now working to secure better access to the Mokelumne.

Riebe contacted Deputy Attorney General Lisa Trankley to learn more about the specific legal issues, considered the federal and state guarantees of river access and a local Mokelumne fishing ordinance, looked at the particulars of this case (where the kayakers had crossed a short strip of EBMUD land between the river and the county road), and dismissed the trespassing charges.

Riebe's dismissal of the trespassing charges was met with strong public support from Foothill Conservancy, the Amador Flyfishers' Association, and local anglers interested in access to the Middle Bar reach. And it caused much excitement in the regional kayaking community. In early March, one of the previously cited kayakers, Andy McKinsey of Groveland, and a local kayaker, Keith Franklin of Pine Grove, decided to take their chances and paddled the reach. They were cited for trespassing by Calaveras County authorities.

On April 7, Calaveras County District Attorney Peter Smith announced he would not pursue the trespassing charges against the two men. According to an April 8 article in the Stockton Record, Smith concluded that the kayakers were not trespassing because they appeared to exit the river within a 1933 easement granted Calaveras County by EBMUD. It also noted that Smith, "said his office's resources 'should be spent prosecuting more serious offenses than people who kayak down the Mokelumne River.'"

Local support

On March 27, the Jackson City Council approved a resolution supporting Middle Bar access on a 4-0 vote. Council member Keith Sweet, who brought the resolution to the council, spoke eloquently of the need to restore river access for local residents and noted the economic import of this issue to local businesses.

State involvement

The State Lands Commission, which is responsible for all of the state's waters below the ocean high tide level and river high water marks, began acting on this issue in late 1999. First, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Trankley, acting on behalf of the commission, filed a motion for late intervention in the relicensing of PG&E's Project 137 (see article page 4). The state wants to make sure PG&E builds a proper boating takeout with parking along the river near Highway 49. In February, Trankley and other state representatives met with EBMUD representatives to discuss Middle Bar access. We expect more activity in the coming months. As far as we know, this is the first time that the state has been actively engaged in securing access to the Mokelumne, a development we find quite encouraging. We've assisted the attorney general's office by providing historical information, copies of pertinent local documents, maps, and site visits.

What's next

As things move ahead, we'll stay in touch with the kayakers, the district attorneys, the attorney general, and interested organizations to continue seeking permanent access to the river, a boating takeout upstream of the Middle Bar Bridge, parking, and other necessary recreational improvements. And of course we're interested in ensuring that cultural sites, bald eagle habitat, and the river itself are protected at the same time access is assured.

Now is the time to help

If you'd like to help, please call or write your Amador and Calaveras county supervisors and urge them to support local access to our own river (you can e-mail supervisors in both counties by following this address format: Amador Supervisor Tom Bamert's address is tbamert@co.amador.ca.us). The supervisors meet with representatives of the EBMUD board on a quarterly basis, and they're working with EBMUD to try to buy the PG&E hydro project on the river (see article page 5). If you live in the East Bay, please contact EBMUD's directors and urge them to open the river to all. Contact information for EBMUD is available from us, or on the EBMUD Web site: www.ebmud.com.

If you've ever thought about helping with Middle Bar access, think no longer -now is the time to act!