This fall, we celebrated the five-year anniversary of the South Yuba River Public Safety Cohort (known as “the Cohort”), a roundtable discussion group led by myself -- District 4 Supervisor Sue Hoek -- and District 1 Supervisor Heidi Hall, and comprised of representatives from the many agencies that oversee public safety in the South Yuba River Corridor, including Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, State Parks, CAL FIRE, South Yuba River Citizens League, Bear Yuba Land Trust, Nevada County’s Office of Emergency Services, Community Development Agency, and others. The group, which convenes monthly, troubleshoots safety issues in the river canyon, ranging from lack of cell reception to illegal campfires to illegal parking. The group’s work has resulted in numerous wins for public safety at the river, including the ongoing presence of porta potties at Purdon Crossing, the distribution of free bandannas to river visitors with safety and visitor etiquette information, funding to expand the River Ambassador program, heightened traffic enforcement during peak visitation, and so much more.
One of the Cohort’s big wins in 2022 was the placement of three emergency call boxes at popular river crossings where cellular phone service is unavailable: Maybert Road in the Town of Washington (near the Golden Quartz Picnic Grounds), Hwy 49 River Crossing, and Edwards Crossing.
