![]() ![]() Dredging even extended up the Cracker Creek for a few miles. What they left behind were dredge fields of large gravel and cobble that extend for nearly 8 miles, from Phillips Reservoir up to Sumpter. This wasn’t the only dredge to churn up the Powder River Valley… in fact there were as many as three dredges crisscrossing this valley back in the early to mid-20th century. The dredge sits on the edge of miles and miles of old tailing piles. The Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge is in excellent condition and is now an Oregon State Heritage site. ![]() This is where you can find one of the best preserved gold dredges in the United States. Sumpter is located at the confluence of Cracker Creek and McCully Fork. Its headwaters start in the heart of Gold Country, accumulating water from numerous creeks that drain the Blue Mountains and the Elkhorn Range. Perhaps the most well-known of these is the Powder River. 30.Eastern Oregon has several major river systems where gold mining has occurred since the early 1860s. The DEQ defers enforcement to state police, who have warned that turbidity restrictions will be difficult to enforce. But miners don't have to submit those records for public review or specify where they plan to mine when applying for the $25 permit. It also requires miners to keep records of their activity. The new permit has stricter regulations on how much silt miners can kick up in the water, known as turbidity. The number of California miners registered rose from 51 to 85. Through July, 1,205 miners were actively registered for 2010, up from 934 last year, DEQ says. Given record high prices for gold and temporary ban on suction dredging in California, environmental groups expect more mining on Oregon rivers this summer. The permit from the Department of Environmental Quality covers instream miners who use small suction dredges to vacuum streambeds and extract gold. Oregon issued a new permit for small-scale gold miners today, tougher than the old one but still largely self-enforcing. ![]()
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