Sawyer Decision Law

In 1884 the farmers got laws enacted that made the mining companies stop dumping debris in the rivers and streams. The debris additionally spread out into the rich farmlands causing a great deal of damage. A new law was passed out known as the Sawyer Decision and it made a lot of the hydraulic mines to close down. Some hydraulic mines tried to control the tailings and continue working but this was pretty much what ended hydraulic mining in the Mother Lode.

Another method for mining in the Mother Lode was the bucketline dredge. Giant bucket dredges were set up to work the auriferous gravels of the rivers flowing westward from the Sierra Nevada. In the 1930's and continuing to 1955 these dredge operations were the most important producers of placer gold in the State. In 1959 a great part of the State's placer production came from seven bucketline dredges in Sacramento and Yuba Counties.

The last gold dredge that was worked was in the Hammonton district located in the Yuba County and the huge mounds of tailings of these operations can be seen along the banks of the areas that were dredged.

The stamp mills have not been touched for some time now but ever since gold ownership was once again allowed; the desire to attain it has once again awakened interest in the precious metal. People are going to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada searching out for new lodes, prospectors do panning, sluice boxes are being put to work again and there are attempts at reopening some of the old mines.