The "Give Fish a Chance Act" Would Effectively End Gold Prospecting in Washington

Two of our self-styled 'betters' in Olympia, Democratic representatives of the environmentalist lobby Gael Tarleton (36th Legislative District) and Gerry Pollet (46th Legislative District), have undertaken a project to effectively ban small-scale mining and prospecting in Washington.  By sponsoring HB 2579, the cloyingly-named "Give Fish a Chance Act," they would impose a $150 permit fee just to wet a gold pan.

Some of the highlights (or 'lowlights,' depending on your point of view) of this bill are the following:

1.  Language added to RCW 77.55.021 Sec. 2. (7) (a) would require that:  "The department may not issue a permit under this chapter for the use of a suction dredge in any state waters that have been designated as critical habitat for threatened or endangered species by the United States fish and wildlife service or the United States national oceanic and atmospheric administration or in the
tributaries of any freshwater state waters that have received critical habitat designation."[Capitalization errors in original.]

The foregoing further limits the number of streams in which one may operate a dredge, assuming one can still afford gas for it after paying the permit fee.

2.  RCW 77.55.091 Sec. 3. (1) is amended to read:  "The department shall require the permit for mineral prospecting and mining described in section 4 of this act for activities conducted in accordance with the gold and fish pamphlet."

The above section would eliminate the Gold & Fish pamphlet's role as a permit in and of itself.

3.  RCW 77.55.091 Sec. 3. (2) is replaced with amended language from Sec. 3. (3) to read:  "The department shall distribute a gold and fish pamphlet that describes methods of mineral prospecting that are consistent with the department's rule.  The pamphlet shall be written to clearly indicate the mineral prospecting and mining methods that require a permit under this chapter or section 4 of this act and the mineral prospecting and mining methods that require compliance with the pamphlet.  To the extent possible, the department shall use the provisions of the gold and fish pamphlet to minimize the number of specific provisions of a written permit issued under this chapter."

This latest section seems to offer a grain of hope that the kindly souls at WDFW may declare that some "mineral prospecting and mining methods" do not require a permit.  Those familiar with the historic attitude of WDFW personnel towards small-scale mining will realize that this 'grain' is most unlikely to germinate, let alone bear fruit.

4.  RCW 77.55.091 Sec. 3. (3) is eliminated.

5.  The real kicker comes in "New Section" 4.  Among other requirements, Sec. 4. states:  "A mineral prospecting and mining permit is required to conduct small scale prospecting and mining and any mineral prospecting and mining not prohibited under RCW 77.55.021(7)(a).  [The 'Critical Habitat' dredge prohibition quoted in 'highlight' 1 above.]  The fee for the permit is one hundred fifty dollars.  In addition to the permit, compliance with the pamphlet referenced in RCW 77.55.091(2) is required in order to conduct mineral prospecting and mining."  [Emphasis added.]

6.  RCW 77.55.091 Sec. 5. (2) (c) and (d) are amended to tie up any loose ends by excluding the fee exemption for hydraulic projects authorized by the Gold & Fish pamphlet and for mineral  prospecting and mining activities.

If enacted, this bill will be a disaster for small-scale prospecting and mining as only the large mining corporations could afford the required fees.

Lost from the proposed amendments to RCW 77.55.091 is the 'Findings' clause in the code as it currently stands:

Findings -- 1997 c 415: "The legislature finds that small scale prospecting and mining: (1) Is an important part of the heritage of the state; (2) provides economic benefits to the state; and (3) can be conducted in a manner that is beneficial to fish habitat and fish propagation. Now, therefore, the legislature declares that small scale prospecting and mining shall be regulated in the least burdensome manner that is consistent with the state's fish management objectives and the federal endangered species act." [1997 c 415 § 1.]

Perhaps Tarleton and Pollet need to be reminded of the legislature's historic position on this issue?

HB 2579 is currently in the House Agriculture & Natural Resources committee and may be tracked at the link here.

Comments on HB 2579 may be submitted to legislators in all districts at the link here.

(Your author's comment to the legislators:  If enacted in these already trying economic times, the $150 fee would effectively preclude small-scale prospecting and mining.  It would thereby not only
fail to generate additional revenue, but also negate current economic benefits to the state from these activities.  HB 2579 appears to be little more than an indirect attempt to ban small-scale mining on the dubious premise that doing so will improve the lot of fish.  Inasmuch as fish don't vote, I would hope the legislators would be more concerned with improving the lot of their constituents, or with at least not inflicting further hardships upon them.)

Gael Tarleton's and Gerry Pollet's  contact information may be found on their web pages linked in the first paragraph of this post.

A PDF file of HB 2579 may be downloaded from the link here.

Northwest Mining Association Gets a New Name

After 119 years, the Northwest Mining Association has chosen a new name to better reflect the fact that it now boasts 2,400 members from 42 states, seven Canadian provinces, and ten other countries.

Following an 18 month review and input from its members, the association has changed its name to American Exploration and Mining Association.  The organization plans to continue its mission of educating the public and policymakers about the importance of the mineral industry.

The new web address is www.miningamerica.org and this change, together with the new name, is now reflected in the right-hand sidebar section titled Clubs and Organizations.

USGS Quadrangle Maps Get a Major Re-Do

With winter seemingly approaching an end, some of us may be thinking about the coming season's prospecting opportunities.  One of the essential tools for exploring the back-country in search of valuable mineral deposits is a good map.  For many years, the U. S. Geological Survey's 7.5' quadrangle maps have fulfilled this role.  Graphically displaying landforms, elevation contours, streams, lakes, and other bodies of water, as well as roads, trails, selected buildings, and other man-made features (including mines!), these maps have proven indispensable for staying oriented and on track in the wilds.

In 2013 the USGS began phasing in a significant design change for the venerable 7.5' quadrangle map.  The new design incorporates information from The National Map databases to produce a digital quadrangle map with increased accuracy and selectable layers showing orthoimagery, transportation features, geographic names, topographic contours, boundaries, hydrography,  woodland, structures, and the United States National Grid.  The Public Land Survey System, with its townships and sections, is in the process of being added to these maps.  In order to keep the maps as current as possible, the orthoimagery base layer will be updated at least every three years.

These digital maps are available online for free download as PDF files with a geospatial extension and are known as Geo-referenced PDFs (or GeoPDFs).  Most map files seem to run about 20MB in size and can be opened with the free Adobe Reader or any other PDF reader that shows layers.  (For the illustrations in this article, I used the free Nitro Reader 3 software.)

As an example, consider the GeoPDF for the Monte Cristo, Washington, quadrangle with all data layers turned on:

Click image for full size.

On the left-hand side of the image you can see the layers menu, which allows you to control the information displayed on the map.

To better see the detail, let's look at an area on the map showing the junction of Silver Creek with the North Fork of the Skykomish River:

Click image for full size.

The contour lines and other map features are superimposed on the orthoimagery, which gives a very good idea of terrain as well as the ground cover.  While the imagery layer may give a good idea of what the countryside looks like when viewing the map on a computer, it would probably not be suitable for a printed map to be used in the field.  We can create a map without the aerial image by unchecking the orthoimagery layer in the PDF.  The result, reproduced below, would easily show compass bearing lines, GPS way-points, and other marks the user may wish to add while using the map outdoors:

Click image for full size.

Although one can order paper versions of these maps from the USGS, the ones I've seen all show the orthoimagery layer.  While these maps would probably make handsome display items if framed, as mentioned above they would probably not be suitable for work in the field.  Add to that the fact that they cost (as of this writing) $15 each and you have another incentive to look for an alternative.

The practical alternative is to print your own maps showing only those data layers you want.  The  best way I know to do this on a printer that only accommodates paper up to letter size is to use the
"Tiling/Poster" setting in the printer driver menu.  (Check your printer manual for how to access this feature.)  With my Canon MG2200, the 'Printer Properties" menu containing this setting is accessible from the PDF viewer application.  This setting divides the image into multiple parts, each of which prints on its own page.  The setting usually also provides an option for printing "Cut/Paste" lines in the margins of the sections to aid in taping them together.  If your printer doesn't have a "Tiling/Poster" setting and you don't have the rather expensive Adobe Acrobat application (which incorporates this feature), you may be able to find a free software application that will allow you to perform this operation.  One option for Windows might be PosterPrint.  I haven't tried this software, so proceed with caution if you opt to use it.

If you are using Adobe Reader to view these maps, there is a free extension for it called the TerraGo Toolbar which you can download and install.  This toolbar allows you to perform a number of special operations with the  map, such as finding coordinates, measuring lengths and areas, tracking the current position of an attached GPS unit, adding notes, lines, shapes, stamping information onto the map, etc.  I haven't tried this feature yet so can only go by the descriptions of its operations provided by the USGS.

In addition to the US Topo series of maps, all USGS previously issued topographic maps are  available for free download from the same source as the new maps.

The US Topo mapping program is an ongoing project with more features to be added as time goes on.  Incidentally, Washington is one of the states scheduled for updating in 2014.

Below are links to resources for obtaining and using these maps:

Select and download US Topo and historical topographic maps.

Factsheet on the US Topo map series.

Quickstart Guide for using US Topo maps and historical topographic maps.

In addition to the links listed above, I have updated the link to the USGS Store in the MAPPING APPLICATIONS & ONLINE SPACIAL DATA section of Resources for Prospectors in the right-hand sidebar to provide access to both the new US Topo and all the historical topographic maps.

Proposed Mineral Prospecting Rules Changes to be Subject of WDFW Commission Briefing

The proposed changes to the mineral prospecting rules (see, here) will be the subject of a briefing at the WDFW Commission meeting January 10 and 11 at the Comfort Inn Conference Center,
1620 74th Avenue SW, Tumwater, WA.

According to the summary on the Commission website, the proposed changes to the rules are:

Multiple sections have been combined into a single section. A new section on mineral prospecting on ocean beaches has been added, including where beach prospecting may occur and what equipment may be used. The provisions for mineral prospecting on ocean beaches prospecting are included in the Gold and Fish pamphlet. Authorized work times for mineral prospecting in Nooksack and Wenatchee Rivers have been changed and are listed in a table. The timing in the Nooksack River changes from July 16 – August 15 to submit application. The timing in the Wenatchee River from the mouth to Leavenworth changes from July 1 – July 31 to July 15 – September 30 and from Leavenworth to Lake Wenatchee changes from July 31 [Sic...July 1] – July 31 to July 15 – August 15.

As pointed out in the reminder on this topic in the Resource Coalition's January newsletter, the draft rules are not open for discussion at this time but public comments may be made to the Commission regarding the process, lack of science, and manipulated studies that are being used as a basis for these proposed rules.  Persons interested in commenting at this meeting should be aware that the only times allowed on the meeting agenda for this activity are 8:45am on Friday, January 10 and 8:30am on Saturday, January 11.  The "Procedure for Public Testimony" may be found here.  "Be aware that items may be taken out of order, and that the times listed are estimates only."