leif bierer

Neal McSpadden wrote:Just order the plans from Ernie and Erica. There is a link at the bottom of Paul's rocket mass heater article.

where would i find that article

In California, you cant usually get a permit for a pond in a natural waterway, including gulleys , creeks, and dry canyons. You can always get a special permit, but it has to go through public review and you have to do an environmental impact report. You can fairly easily get a permit for a pond on a hillside or a ridge top. You also are not aloud to collect rainwater without a permit, however this is not overly enforced here yet. The pond building is highly enforced, as many counties are perusing government satellite photos annually, looking for code violations as a way to gain revenue in these difficult times. All water ways are controlled by the state, even man made ones!

As far as news articles go, they hardly ever spend the time to get their facts right, or make an effort to tell the truth, they are too busy selling headlines, and stirring up controversy. You can tell when you compare a few different articles on the same story, they will all be different, even numbers and dates are often variable, sad but true, in the area where I live, I see it time and again.

Irene Kightley wrote:"Who are the nearest neighbours and what do they do ? 

Are there rocks or trees big enough on site or nearby to take the strain of the earth ? Is there anywhere you can cut fodder easily for your animals for winter? Is the road easily accessible for hay and straw wagons ? How deep is the earth? Because if there's rock under there, the depth of your terraces will be limited and you'll lose a lot of water.

Is there enough wood for heating, making shelters and fences ?

A slope is a wonderful thing for irrigation and spreading goodness in the soil but you have to get the raw organic material up there in the first place.

On the other hand if you have enough room for zone one and two in a plateau, the earth there will be good and providing the existing trees are mature and
healthy you could free range goats, hardy sheep and pigs on the slopes.

If you're young and fit then walking up and down won't be a problem but think about the future. The way I see it, you're not just spending money here - you're spending your energy and enthusiasm, so spend it wisely!"





This last sentence is true wisdom!! But you will be spending money as well, over time developing steep land is way more expensive than flat land, two to four times as expensive. Also you could never get a permit in california to terrace this property..... you could do it illegally, but you are risking getting into serious trouble with the newly created environmental crimes task force, a five agency task force that can ruin your life. You could be facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and remediation costs if you develop a piece of property like this in Cali.

good to see some game hunters on here!!