The Sierra Fund was excited to see that Governor Brown’s proposed budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year includes funding allocated specifically for addressing hazardous materials remaining from historic mining activities at Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park. Malakoff Diggins is one of the many historic hydraulic mines in the Sierra Nevada that suffer from environmental effects of legacy mining.
Since 2011, The Sierra Fund, California State Parks, CSU Chico, USGS and others have been working collaboratively to better understand and identify what is happening environmentally at the park and develop conceptual methods to create a solution at Malakoff Diggins; which hopefully can serve as a model for other sites across the Sierra.
The proposed funding in the Governor’s budget would allow the project to continue to move forward to gather data on cultural resources and environmental assessment, to ensure that proposed solution(s) both protect the park’s fantastic historic legacy, which earned it a place on the National Register of Historic Places, and also address contamination remaining from historic mine operations.
This proposed budget item is a great investment by the state, and shows the pro-active and responsible management stance of the California State Parks. The Sierra Fund supports this crucial funding in the Governor’s budget as it moves through the hearing and review process.
