Dear Fellow Gold Prospector,

Our lobbyists in Sacramento have been working aggressively on our behalf to overcome California Senate Bill 670 which was introduced by Senator Wiggins on February 27. If passed into law, the bill would prohibit the State of California from issuing any further suction dredging permits until the Department of Fish & Game (DFG) has adopted new regulations pursuant to a full update of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that was completed in 1994.

The earlier EIR is what has supported our existing regulations for the past 14 years. This was completed after a very long and contentious process in which every potential impact upon fish from suction dredging was carefully considered. While they have refused to present any evidence showing that suction dredging under our existing regulations has ever harmed a single fish in California, the Karuks have been challenging the earlier EIR because it has not been updated since 1994.

During earlier litigation which we Intervened in, the Alameda Superior Court in California Ruled against the Karuk Tribe and DFG, deciding that DFG could not change our suction dredge regulations without first reviewing the existing EIR through the proper administrative process (which requires the least-restrictive regulations to be imposed upon private industry to resolve problems which must be demonstrated by best available science).

Ultimately, the Court Ordered DFG to conduct a proper review of our EIR. But the review process has basically been stalled because California is having serious financial difficulties (which are likely to continue).

If the Karuks have their way, this legislation will prevent further suction dredging in California until the full environmental review is completed. Then they will continue to do everything within their power, as they have already been doing, to make sure the review process is never completed! You guys see how this works?

Our lobbyists are right on top of this as the legislative process is underway in Sacramento. They are now asking for us to encourage all of our supporters to immediately send a letter, fax or email to Senator Wiggins which opposes SB 670, with copies to 2 other senators and Governor Schwarzenegger.

Here is a ready-made message (email, fax or letter) in opposition to SB 670. It is better if you just use this sample to write your own message. But if you do not have time to do that, please at least copy the text from our sample message over to create your own fax, letter or email to the Senator.

If you don’t know how to copy and paste material off the Internet, please click  here.

To make certain your message actually makes it to the Senator’s desk and to the other lawmakers, our lobbyists are asking that you please direct them to one of the following addresses:

The girls in our office, along with our lobbyists in Sacramento, will then make certain that your message is delivered to the office of Senator Wiggins and to the other key lawmakers on the list!

Important: Even though you send your message to our office, the heading of the message should be addressed to Senator Wiggins as shown in our sample message.

Very important: You must include your own full name and return postal address on whatever letter, fax or email that you send to the Senator. That is the only way that these lawmakers can recognize and weigh the importance of your communication!

Thank you very much for your help in this very important matter!

Please Help to Support our Legal Fund!

Because our need to raise funds is immediate, once again, we have our ever-vigilant member, Jim Yerby, to thank for organizing yet another set of very valuable prizes for a prize drawing – which is already in progress. In addition to 53 very nice prizes which have been donated by others, we also are expressing big thank you to Jeff Kuykendal at Proline for donating a brand new 3-inch Proline dredge (worth $2,500.00) as our main prize, and to Louie Welding for donating a 2 ½-inch dredge/high-banker combo!

Here is a link to the list of prizes in this latest fundraiser.

The contributors of these prizes have authorized the girls in our office to print a ticket on your behalf for each $10 contribution that we receive from you ($100 contribution will generate10 tickets, etc.). This prize drawing will take place on 4 July, 2009. There is no limit to the number of tickets you can accumulate, or the number of prizes that you can win in this drawing.

Important note: The legacy of small-scale mining for precious metals in America is in our hands. This represents one of the last true freedoms remaining; we still have the right to freely explore for rich gold deposits and claim them for ourselves once found. We really ought to hold onto that one! Don’t you agree?

Please send financial contributions to: The New 49’ers Legal Fund, P.O. Box 47, Happy Camp, CA 96039. Or, you can call in a donation at (530) 493-2012 .

Thanks very much for whatever you can do to help with the immediate matters at hand!

Dave McCracken

The New 49’ers27 Davis Road, Happy Camp, CA 96039 (530) 493-2012

www.goldgold.com