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