Monday, June 11, 2012

New 49'ers To Appeal Dredge Ruling To Supreme Court

WSM has learned that The New 49'ers, a prospecting association dedicated to small-scale gold mining and headquartered in California, plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court the recent ruling of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding suction dredge mining in Northern California's Klamath River. (See related post here.)

Successfully prosecuting the appeal will depend in large part on having sufficient funds to pay the attorneys, according to Dave McCracken, Founder and General Manager of The New 49'ers.

Those wishing to help fund the appeal may send checks to:

The New 49'ers
P.O. Box 47
Happy Camp, CA 96039

Donors should write a note on the check that it is for the legal fund.  They will then receive acknowledgement of the donation from The New 49'ers.

This issue is of importance to miners in Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, as the Ninth Circuit ruling opens the door for similar rulings in all of the above states.

WSM will continue to update this story as it unfolds. 

California Sheriff Issues Statement Supporting Miners

John D'Agostini, the Sheriff and Coroner of El Dorado County, California, sent the following letter in support of miners to Jerry Hobbs, President of Public Lands for the People.  Mr. Hobbs has requested that this message be forwarded to as many in the mining community as possible.  The complete text follows:

Dear Mr. Hobbs,

The purpose of this letter is to support your efforts to preserve the constitutional, historical and property rights of miners and to provide you with my perspective on the impact that mining and suction dredging restrictions have on the public health and safety in El Dorado County. As you are aware, miners have contributed to the rich and enduring legacy of El Dorado County. It was, after all, the gold rush of 1849, spurred by the discovery of gold in Coloma, El Dorado County that began the rich and prosperous path to California’s statehood. Obviously, miners contributed to the development and economic vitality of our state and many of our local communities.

I am alarmed at recent attacks against the mining industry in El Dorado County and other parts of the state. The studies and science relied upon to support the suction dredging ban in California is flawed at best. All are smattered with statements that suction dredging “may”, “might”, “could”, “is possible”, regarding harm to the environment.

This is not reliable science when other studies in support of suction dredge mining give specific facts that document proof that suction dredge mining cleans rivers and streams of mercury, lead, trash and other harmful substances and actually improves wildlife habitat.

I am also concerned about the constitutionality and legality of the tactics and strategies used to enact and enforce the laws that deny miners their rights to earn a living for themselves and their families. I have observed a consistent imbalance between laws implemented to protect the natural environment and those that impact people. This includes the unreasonable regulations imposed upon the miners of El Dorado County.

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office derives most of its revenue for field operations (deputies, management, detectives, professional staff, public safety dispatchers, specialized units, etc.) and jail staff (correctional officers, management, court bailiffs, etc,) from general fund tax dollars. The majority of these tax dollars come from property and sales taxes paid by citizens of El Dorado County.

Regulatory provisions have increased unemployment, reduced the miner’s ability to survive, have eliminated precious tax revenues, threaten businesses, and jeopardize the constitutional rights of our miners. My responsibility to provide law enforcement services to the people of the county is jeopardized by any regulatory enforcement program that reduces our tax base.

I see no evidence that proper coordination and “consistency” has been initiated or achieved pursuant to federal and state law. The implementation of unreasonable environmental policies at the expense of people and jobs adversely impacts wages and tax revenues. Due to the economic decline of traditionally vibrant activities such as mining, El Dorado County has been impacted.

I support our miners and their Constitutional rights. The decline of the mining industry, along with other vital vocations such as timber, farming and ranching is having a negative impact on our economy, traditions, heritages and public health and safety.

Should you have any questions, please contact me at (530) 621-6576

Sincerely,
John D’Agostini
Sheriff ~ Coroner
Public Administrator
cc: Assemblywoman Beth Gaines
Senator Ted Gaines
El Dorado County Board of Supervisors 

Re:
March 14, 2012
Public Lands for the
People
President Jerry Hobbs
3700 Santa Carlotta
St
La Crescenta, CA 91214-1048
http://plp2.org/forums/showthread.php?521-El-Dorado-County-Sheriff-Coroner-support-property-rights-of-miners

Friday, June 8, 2012

Small-Scale Miners Are Not Represented On The Forest Service Advisory Committee

In February I published a post here about the Forest Service seeking applicants for an advisory committee to assist in the implementation of the new Land Management Planning Rule regarding use of the national forests.

It seems the Forest Service has now chosen the members of this committee and, unsurprisingly, the small-scale mining community has been passed over.

According to an email received recently, here is the breakdown of membership on the committee by interest group (emphasis added):

Representing the Public at Large - 2 members
Representing American Indian Tribes - 1 member
Representing Commercial or Recreational Hunting and Fishing - 1 member
Representing Conservation Organizations or Watershed Associations - 3 members*
Representing County or Local Elected Officials - 2 members
Representing Developed Outdoor or Commercial Recreation - 1 member
Representing Dispersed Recreation - 1 member
Representing Energy and Mineral Development - 1 member
Representing National, Regional or Local Environmental Organizations - 2 members**
Representing Private Landowners/Grazing - 2 members
Representing the Scientific Community - 1 menber
Representing State Elected Officials - 1 member
Representing the Timber Industry - 2 members
Representing Youth - 1 member

As the reader can see, conservation and environmental organizations (for all intents and purposes one and the same), the most vociferous foes of small-scale mining, enjoy a combined total of 5 seats on the committee compared to 1 for mining interests.  But it gets worse.  The mining representative is Greg Schaefer, Arch Coal vice president, external affairs, western region, of Gillette, Wyoming.  While I have no reason to think that Mr. Schaefer is anyone other than a fine and upstanding individual, as a coal company executive he is hardly representative of the small-scale precious metals mining community.  While it may be that no one from our community applied for a position on the committee (which would be unfortunate, if true), the author knows of one such individual who contacted him who was interested in doing so.

For those readers interested in seeing which individuals, and the organizations they represent, were selected by the Forest Service, I have uploaded a copy of the email to the link here.

*The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, Blue Mountains Forest Partners
**The Wilderness Society, Defenders of Wildlife

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Federal Court Ruling Threatens Small-Scale Mining

Just as the summer prospecting season approaches, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that suction dredge mining may not be undertaken in endangered species habitat without prior approval of federal wildlife officials.

Judge William A. Fletcher, writing for the majority, said federal law required the Forest Service to consult wildlife agencies before approving activity that might harm an imperiled species. The required review will delay approval for mining operations in endangered species habitat in the circuit's nine states.*

Do note that Washington is one of those unfortunate nine states.

For more information on this lamentable development, please see the *Los Angeles Times article here and the MyNorthwest.com article here.