EditorialProspecting equipment like sluice boxes and plastic pans, for sale at Placerville Hardware, in Placerville, Calif., on April 11, 2023. (Jim Wilson/The New York Times)
EditorialProspecting equipment like sluice boxes and plastic pans, for sale at Placerville Hardware, in Placerville, Calif., on April 11, 2023. (Jim Wilson/The New York Times)
EditorialProspecting equipment like sluice boxes and plastic pans, for sale at Placerville Hardware, in Placerville, Calif., on April 11, 2023. (Jim Wilson/The New York Times)
EditorialProspecting equipment like sluice boxes and plastic pans, for sale at Placerville Hardware, in Placerville, Calif., on April 11, 2023. (Jim Wilson/The New York Times)
EditorialAn aerial view of the New Orleans Drainage System's Gulf Intracoastal West Closure Complex, which includes a navigable floodgate, sluice gates and an earthern levee, in Belle Chasse, La., June 10, 2015. (William Widmer/The New York Times)