Frankly SpeakingLetters to the editor

Letter to the Editor: Ruddick-Please stop dumping trash! Cal Fire may close more roads to all of us, including Egg Take if it can’t be stopped

Photo of Frank Hartzell Frank Hartzell Send an email February 20, 2026
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Here is the vandalized shed at Egg Take, one of the coolest camping and hiking places that can be reached from the Coast. We all may lose access to much of the forest soon if we can't work together to stop this.

Dear Editor:

I want to thank you for your excellent article about the epidemic of trash dumping in Jackson Forest. As a long time user and member of the Rec. Task Force, the amount of trash be in dumped in the forest has grown worse over the years. I am worried that more closures are coming unless we can get a grip on this. Again, many thanks as this was needed.
Best regards,

Chris Ruddick
Ruddick Ranch Inc.

Linda watches the Noyo River flow over the Egg Take dam. One can watch fish try to jump up this after big rains. Most fish follow the fish ladder, go inside the egg take underground bunker and are released back into the river, most never being touched. But some others wont go into the tunnel and try their luck going up the dam.
The cool old camping spots, picnic tables, barbecues are such a great adventure for kids and adults alike. There are hidden away campspots that only Cal Fire can find, way back in and around and they are often gigantic and right on the river. its the kind of place we don’t usually talk about its so cool, but we have to stop these jerks who are trashing the place

Editor’s Note — Plenty of people cheered the idea of a dirt‑bike track, but not one of them responded when we asked for help dealing with the appalling amount of trash being dumped along Highway 20. It’s hard to imagine the city or county taking a project like that seriously when so few residents are willing to step up and report vandalism, burglaries, theft, and illegal dumping. Community projects only work when the community shows up.

We have learned that Cal Fire will be considering closing Egg Take, at least during nighttime hours. A string of vandalism incidents has pushed the agency to that point. This week alone, someone broke into the historic shed and caused significant damage. It’s the latest in a series of destructive acts that threaten one of the forest’s most storied sites.

Our second story on the trash dumping…

What is Egg Take? It’s the local name for a spot deep in Jackson Demonstration State Forest where, historically, returning salmon were diverted into an underground concrete bunker. Biologists would collect eggs and milt from a portion of the fish, send them to a hatchery, and eventually return young salmon to local rivers and creeks.

The area around the old station is a gem—an old campground, weathered picnic tables, and mile after mile of hiking, biking, and riding trails. If this were anywhere near a major city, or in any other state we’ve lived in (except Alaska), it would be a marquee destination. Here, you have to actually go there to understand its quiet wonders. We’ve included some photos.

Egg Take is now 63 years old, dedicated in 1962, with renovations completed in 1985. At its peak, the station counted roughly 2,000 silver salmon a year. But in the early 21st century, those numbers collapsed, dropping below twenty fish at one point. Since the end of the drought, returns have climbed again and are now approaching their historic levels.

The screw trap shown working in the stream last year. Officials are worried it may be vandalized this year with all the rampant vandalism and trash dumping lately. The screw trap gently guides swimming Coho salmon and steelhead trout into a trap where they can be marked, studied and returned to the river unharmed. Assembly member Chris Rogers and his staff were shown the fish last year.
Here is the vandalism caused by criminals breaking into the historic shed on the station.
The Noyo River has had big logs added into it to create pools where small salmon and steelhead can grow up.
Jerks riding pickups in circles damaged the parking lot to the extent its hard to use for regular cars now.
This is the gate that may be closed if we cant do anything to stop the rampant dumping and vandalism. Road 500, the main recreation route through Jackson Forest was closed in January, but that can be reached by bicyclists or horseback riders. Egg Take is a long drive to get to
Assemblyman Chris Rogers (center) gets an indepth tour of Jackson Forest with his staff. It lasted most of the day. Rogers has just introduced a bill that would broaden the mission of Jackson Forest beyond relying on timber harvesting for income. AB 2494 would shift that emphasis by stating that research, recreation and forest restoration are the primary purposes of the forests. Timber sales could still occur, but only as part of restoration or research work. 
The bill would also allow certain state forestry funds to be used to support maintenance and restoration projects in the forests and encourage greater tribal involvement in management. 

Some more photos of Egg Take…

Start your day with Company Juice in Fort Bragg, California
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Photo of Frank Hartzell Frank Hartzell Send an email February 20, 2026
1 240 3 minutes read
Photo of Frank Hartzell

Frank Hartzell

Frank Hartzell has spent his lifetime as a curious anthropologist in a reporter's fedora. His first news job was chasing news on the streets of Houston with high school buddy and photographer James Mason, back in 1986. Then Frank graduated from Humboldt State and went to Great Gridley as a reporter, where he bonded with 1000 people and told about 3000 of their stories. In Marysville at the Appeal Democrat, the sheltered Frank got to see both the chilling depths and amazing heights of humanity. From there, he worked at the Sacramento Bee covering Yuba-Sutter and then owned the Business Journal in Yuba City, which sold 5000 subscriptions to a free newspaper. Frank then got a prestigious Kiplinger Investigative Reporting fellowship and was city editor of the Newark Ohio, Advocate and then came back to California for 4 years as managing editor of the Napa Valley Register before working as a Dominican University professor, then coming to Fort Bragg to be with his aging mom, Betty Lou Hartzell, and working for the Fort Bragg Advocate News. Frank paid the bills during that decade + with a successful book business. He has worked for over 50 publications as a freelance writer, including the Mendocino Voice and Anderson Valley Advertiser, along with construction and engineering publications. He has had the thrill of learning every day while writing. Frank is now living his dream running MendocinoCoast.News with wife, Linda Hartzell, and web developer, Marty McGee, reporting from Fort Bragg, California.

One Comment

  1. My husband and I live near the JSF near road 500. We have been horrified by trash for years and often joined crews of locals to pick up trash in the forest and along our back roads. We wonder if the county might consider having a program for low income folks to get a break at the dump, which we all know is very expensive these days. This is not to assume that this would fix the problem of those who just don’t care and will dump anyway, but it might help some to be more responsible.
    In certain counties in California there are vouchers provided with a monthly limit placed on amounts of trash that can be dumped for free. Recycle is provided at no charge just like our local dump used to do.
    The other issue is the amount of trash that is constantly visible along Highway 1. Our dear Mr. Mike Beck used to take care of most of it but he has retired and now it is being occasionally tended to by Cal Trans and assorted caring citizens.
    Where does it all come from? We have noticed that a lot of trash is being tossed into the beds of the numerous pickup trucks that we now have on the road in abundance. Also folks going to the dump and NOT securing their load. Either way, it all flies out and onto the roadsides. I think a message to all truck drivers to not use their truck beds a a personal dump could be helpful.

    Kindly Yours, Star

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