During the period from the 1850s through the 1870s, Tehama County was caught up in the Euro-American settlement and commercial development of the West. As California towns and cities grew, there was an increased need for construction lumber and wool for blankets, clothing and other items. Elaborate flume systems, including Tehama County’s 42-mile-long Blue Ridge Flume, were created to carry cut lumber to valley centers for distribution. Roads and trails were built for servicing these flumes, to reach the highland mills and communities, and to provide access to large ranch holdings and other developments, such as the early hydroelectric systems. Traces of these roads and trails can still be found, so, once again, PIT volunteers, BLM, and USFS personnel will take on interpretive mapping across the BLM’s Bend Area of Critical Environmental Concern, and in the Lassen National Forest Mineral Area. Metal detectors will be used for artifact discovery and feature definition, and we’ll employ careful note-taking and mapping. Please join us for another year studying the historic Tehama emigrant and commercial transportation network!