Tuesday, November 27, 2012

DNR Releases New Version of Washington Interactive Map

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geology and Earth Resources, has announced the release of a new version of the interactive geologic information portal.

Visiting this link:

https://fortress.wa.gov/dnr/geology/?Theme=wigm

takes you to the DNR Viewer Application displaying the Washington Interactive Geologic Map.  Information available on the map includes Surface Geology at various scales, several Seismogenic Features, Ground Response to seismic events, Tsunami inundation areas, Base Layers, a Street Map, and Aerial Imagery.  Map controls allow one to zoom to a chosen geographic area or to latitude and longitude coordinates, find an address, bookmark points of interest, identify features, query layers, draw and measure on the map, download a georeferenced map snapshot, and create a pdf for printing.

Other map themes are available from a drop-down box in the upper left corner of the map page or from this link:

http://www.dnr.wa.gov/ResearchScience/Topics/GeosciencesData/Pages/geology_portal.aspx

DNR reports that the new application runs on ArcGIS Server 10.0 and is more efficient than the previous version.  They also promise further enhancements in the near future including the addition of new themes and utilities.

WSM intends to report on the future enhancements to this tool as they are announced.  In the meantime, take the time to have some fun playing around with this useful system.

Small-scale Miner Wins Victory in Federal Court

At long last a bit of good news for the small-scale mining community.

Thomas E. Tierney, a pick-and-shovel miner in Arizona, was cited by the Forest Service in May of 2011 for failing to obtain a special-use authorization before working his claim.  The Forest Service charged that Tierney's digging had caused significant disturbance of surface resources.

On October 3, 2012, United States Magistrate Judge Charles R. Pyle found Tierney NOT GUILTY of the charges filed against him by the Forest Service.  In his eleven page order, Judge Pyle did a thorough job of demolishing the Forest Service's arguments, and it is for this reason that I am making a pdf file of the decision available at the link below as it contains information and explanations of the law that could prove useful to miners and prospectors who operate on Forest Service lands.

Download and read Judge Pyle's decision in United States of America v. Thomas E. Tierney here:

https://www.box.com/s/yb1y2thkvyutwbzwdv0t