CHAPTER 3 – INTRINSIC QUALITIES Intrinsic qualities are defined as inherent, essential, unique or irreplaceable features representative of, or distinctly characteristic to, an area. These qualities may be natural or historic features and create a sense of place unique to an area. The six intrinsic qualities that are evaluated are scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological and recreational. Workshop participants developed the intrinsic qualities discussed in this corridor management plan. Intrinsic qualities can be listed under multiple categories. Rock formation resembling a bear, locally known as the “Bear of the Buttes” Scenic Environment From the west, Highway 49 winds down Depot Hill into the Yuba River Canyon where it begins to parallel the Yuba River, providing an intimate scenic experience. Several special places along the byway are known for their scenic qualities. Cannon Point overlooks Downieville, the canyon and the surrounding mountains. This view has been appreciated by photographers, artists and tourists for 150 years. View from Cannon Point 21 Yuba River Corridor Management Plan Durgan Bridge, in Downieville, overlooks a pool that is usually full with large fish. People love to view the fish through the clear water of the Yuba River. Visible from the byway between Sierra City and Loganville, Keystone Gap, was identified during public meetings as a scenic stop along the route. Other scenic gems accessible from the byway include Loves Falls (on the Pacific Crest Trail), Mountain House and Pauly Creek Falls. North of the byway, near Downieville, Saddleback Lookout overlooks the entire Yuba River canyon. The Rocky Rest and Downie River Trail traverse magnificent old growth forests. Aspen provide visually pleasing fall colors that are rare in a conifer-dominated landscape. Stands are scattered along Highway 49, but historically they likely dominated much of the corridor between Bassetts to Yuba Pass. Montane meadows at Yuba Pass are a spring favorite. Physical Features and Landforms The most well known landform along the byways is the 8,700-foot Sierra Buttes mountain range. These year-round picturesque mountains are visible on the drive from Yuba Pass to Sierra City, but the best viewpoint is from Bassetts Station. Looking to the Sierra Buttes from Gold Lake Road at the turn out just north of Bassetts Station, observant byway visitors can distinguish a bear shaped rock formation locals refer to as the “Bear of the Buttes.” In Downieville, the North Yuba and Downie River meet and create the Downieville Forks at a spot known as Tin Cup Diggins. Sierra Buttes Scenic Vista Points and Turnouts Along the byway, there are several places to stop and enjoy the scenery. Vista points allow visitors to view magnificent views, historic landmarks and wildlife. They are also excellent locations for interpretive materials. Chapter 9, Interpretive Plan and Appendix C include vista points and turnouts accessible along the byway. Natural Environment Visitors can experience the natural environment – diverse vegetation, wildlife, flowing water (Yuba and Downie Rivers, including many tributary creeks and waterfalls) and wildflowers – from the byway or the many trails accessed from Highway 49. Visitors drive the byway in the fall to view the changing fall leaves. Vegetation The byway transects several Sierra Nevada bioregion vegetative communities – mixed conifers, hardwood, red fir, montane riparian and montane meadows. A longer section of 22 Chapter 3 – Intrinsic Qualities Highway 49, through Nevada, Yuba and Sierra County (east of Yuba Pass) provides a unique cross-section of the Sierra Nevada that can be interpreted in a one-day drive. This would include lower elevation foothill vegetation to high elevation red fir and across the Sierra Valley (the largest valley in the Sierra Nevada). Downieville is an old community rich with heritage plants, including rose, butternut, chestnut, hops, walnut, dogwood, Canadian maple and big leaf maple. Wildlife The Yuba River Scenic Byway corridor is home to many wildlife species. Bald eagles forage along the North Yuba River and are a common sight from the byway. Kokanee Salmon from Bullards Bar Reservoir spawn in North Yuba River, especially in the vicinity of Indian Valley/Lower Carleton Campgrounds. The story could be told here of historic bald eagle use and native salmon runs along the North Yuba River, which has been replaced by land-locked Kokanee, planted in a local reservoir. A maternity colony of Townsend’s big-eared bats can be observed at Kentucky Mine Museum. The Townsend’s big-eared bat is a California species of concern and is sensitive to human disturbance. Visitors can observe this unique colony at the mine without detriment to the species. The Rocky Rest Trail, a relatively easy hiking experience through mixed-conifer forest, provides excellent birding opportunities. San Francisco State University Sierra Nevada Field Campus The Field Campus, located 5 miles west of Yuba Pass, “provides a mountain forest setting for instruction and research in the environmental sciences and other creative disciplines. Facilities include two cabins and a dining hall on nine mostly forested acres within the Tahoe National Forest. Presently the facility supports a summer and weekend course and research program, which utilizes a variety of vegetation types, landforms and aquatic habitats near the field station. Other unique sites occur within two hours drive, including Sierra Buttes, Sierra Valley, Gold Lakes Country, Mt. Lassen, Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake, Eagle Lake and Mono Lake (http://www.sfsu.edu/~bulletin/current/rnlfac.htm ).” Historical Resources The Maidu and Washoe Indians are the first known residents of the Sierra Nevada. In the summers, they came into the mountains to hunt and fish. During the fall and winter, they returned to the foothills and valley below. The Nisenan people of the Maidu Tribe occupied the drainages of the Yuba River. They had a rich culture, were skilled basket makers and traded with the Coastal Tribes to the west and the Wahoe to the east. When 23 Yuba River Corridor Management Plan gold was discovered, emigration from around the world brought a new cultural era to the region. Mining camps and towns sprang up in Sierra County with each gold discovery. Some, like Downieville and Sierra City remain, but many faded into history as the gold was worked out. The Yuba River Scenic Byway is rich with the history of indigenous and emigrant residents. Gold was found in 1852 in Camptonville, which quickly developed to large-scale gravel mining by 1857. Sierra County produced $150,000,000 worth of gold between 1848 and 1965. Digging and tailing piles are still visible at Union Flat campground and many other places along the byway. Chinese labor was used to get bedrock from Union Flat and China Flat. China Flat is an historic town site with historic buildings and foundations in a large meadow. It was likely a gold rush era settlement and placer mining area, developing later to a town with a U.S. Post Office in the 1930s. A resident of Camptonville, Lester Pelton, developed a split bucket water wheel, named the Pelton Wheel in 1879. Still in use today, this invention powered stamp mills, pumps and machines and was used in the development of hydroelectricity. A Pelton Wheel is on display at the Kentucky Mine, located on the byway. Hydraulic mining was used at Joubert’s Diggings until 1941. Old settling ponds provide habitat for wildlife. In 1849, Indian Valley was an isolated community of miners, loggers, ranchers and shop owners until the highway was completed in 1921. Established in 1849, was an Goodyears Bar Joubert's Diggings early mining camp inhabited by as many as 400 people from China. The Goodyears Bar cemetery and school are some of the few remaining historic structures. Forest City is on the National Register of Historic Places. Old Mountain House was a lodge at the top of a mountain along the road Goodyears Bar and Forest City. It originally operated as a stage stop and later as an auto stopover for traffic traveling north to Downieville. It was abandoned soon after Highway 49 opened. Parts of Old Mountain House survive today as part of the St. Charles Hotel in Goodyears Bar. Cannon Point, overlooking Downieville, houses a cannon last fired to celebrate the victory of the North at Vicksburg at the end of the Civil War. It was brought to Downieville July 1, 1862. Local tradition says it was situated as it was to protect Downieville gold from being taken by the South. 24 Chapter 3 – Intrinsic Qualities Downieville What is now Downieville began in 1848 as three flats divided by the confluence of the Downie River and the North Yuba River. The area that is now downtown Downieville was “The Forks,” the area on the east side of the Downie River was “Jersey Flat,” and the area on the south side of the North Yuba River was “Durgan Flat.” Miners originally worked their way up the North Yuba River along what is now Highway 49. By May 1850, Downieville had 15 hotels and gambling houses, four bakeries and four butcher shops. As the population of the area grew, Downieville served as a trading center for the northern mines. By the mid-1850s, Downieville was California’s fifth-largest town. Visiting this wonderful community of approximately 325 residents has been described as “stepping back in time” with comforts of modern amenities. Within the village of Downieville, there are numerous historic buildings located on the byway itself, including Downieville Grocery, Craycroft Building, I.O.O.F. Hall (organized in 1888), the Methodist Church (oldest Protestant Church in use in the State), Catholic Church and the Elmwood Cottage. Near the courthouse, two Mountain Howitzers are on display, one of which was used in the “Paiute War,” in the 1860s. “Construction of the Methodist Church of Downieville also began in 1853, the same year as the First Catholic Church.