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Legislative and Regulatory Update
February 2000 by Scott Harn
The 30-day extension to the public comment period ends Feb. 3, 2000. Comments may be sent to: Planning Regulations, PO Box 7669, Missoula, MT, 59807. Fax (406) 329-302l. Email: planreg/wojcaetfsfs.fed.us or visit their internet website at http://www.fs.fed.uS/forumlnepa/rule.
(2013 Note: This contact information is thirteen years old and may no longer be valid.)
In comments filed recently regarding this issue, NMA reminded the agency that while it draws its general rule-making authority from several existing laws and regulations, this does not mean that "authority is unconstrained." NMA stated that the scoping process is "flawed" and urged that it be redone.
• Endangered Species Decision Delayed.
Riverton, WY(AP)—The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has postponed a decision on whether to grant
Endangered Species Act protection to a flower found only on a few acres in Fremont County.
The agency had set a deadline for a decision on the desert yellowhead, but then said more time would be needed.
The Bureau of Land Management first needs to release a plan for managing the plant's habitat on Beaver Rim, said Mike Long, Fish and Wildlife Service field supervisor. "We want to see what protective measures they have in place," he said.
If the plan sufficiently removes or reduces threats to the plant, Endangered Species Act protection will not be necessary, he said. The Fish and Wildlife Service should have a better idea next month of when it can issue a final decision, he said.
A perennial herb in the sunflower family, the desert yellowhead was discovered in 1990. About 11,000 plants were counted in 1998 on its known range of about 10 acres.
The BLM banned hard mineral surface mining on 3,759 acres around the plant's habitat last summer to create a study area and a buffer zone.
As part of the same action, the land cannot be part of a land exchange or sale, and ranchers have been asked not to develop water holes or place salt licks near the plant population.
• 43 CFR Part 3800—Mining Claims Under the General Mining Laws: Surface Management-Supplemental proposed rule: reopening of comment period on environmental impact statement.
The Bureau of Land Management reopened the comment period on the surface management proposed rule and the associated draft environmental impact statement. The comment period will be closing on February 23, 2000. Web address: www.blm.gov/nhp/news/regulatory/index.htm
A Few Thoughts About Successful Nugget Hunting
...I got the faintest of rises in the threshold. It was hardly a signal at all, and I thought it was one of the many, deep, hot rocks in the area.
Oregon Dredgers Receive Threats From Environmentalists
Oregon dredgers have been receiving notices of intent to sue for violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) from the Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC).
The Final Gold Strike of the Alaska Gold Rush—Livengood Stampede, 1914
The Livengood (pronounced with a long “i” as in alive) gold stampede was the last of the great Alaska Gold Rush. The string of gold rushes began in 1886 with the Fortymile gold strike, and ten years later with the large Yukon Klondike goldfields discovery.
"I Got Dusted"
Out of the blue Archie mentioned, "I was dusted." My dad misunderstood and thought Archie had developed silicosis, then known and feared as "miners lung."
Melman on Gold & Silver
While there may have been events of the past month that were more important, nothing captured the imagination of the nation and much of the world like the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger as California’s new governor-elect. After weeks of on again, off again judicial rulings and a campaign of astonishing muckraking and innuendo-laden accusations, he did indeed enjoy a resounding victory.
The Gold, Silver and Base Metal Mines of Eureka, Nevada
...the area around Eureka, Nevada is well mineralized and seems to have a bright potential for future production of all sorts of metals.
Company Notes
• Great Quest Metals Ltd
• Fronteer Development Group
• Vista Gold Corp.
• NovaGold Resources
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The Bawl Mill
• Clinton Declares Three More National Monuments
• McCain Derides Clinton Forest Policy
• Foreigners Lure Mining Partners
• Pacific Island Gov'ts Focus on Undersea Mining
• Options Narrowed for Managing Chugach National Forest
• Company Notes
• Diamond Fever
• Gold in Jasperoid
• Underground Geologic Mapping
• New Quarry Regulations in West Virginia
• Ash Fork Calm After Explosives Theft
• Picks & Pans: Mining in Ghana
• Little Rocky Mountains, Montana
• Collector Reaches New Lows to Find Bottles
• Chinese Camp, California and the Tong War of 1856
• Millie's Tailings
• Visionaries, Scoundrels, and Gamblers
• Executive Defends Special Mill Site Exemption
• Chasing the Ghosts of Forty-Niners
• Washoe County Balks at Black Rock Desert Plan
• State's Only Gold Mine Processes Last Precious Ore
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
• Looking Back
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