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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
The Guaniamo Diamond Region, Venezuela—Part I
The considerable richness of the gravels is shown by the fact that operators have successfully worked the same river sections for over 20 years.
Gold in Beatty, Nevada
In this case, signs of gold were found at the bottom of the alluvial and then traced in a triangle up the face of the mountain until they stopped—that is where the digging began.
Company Notes
• CoreMarkets.com
• Canyon Resources Corp.
• X-Cal Resources
• Homestake Mining Company
• Pan American Silver Corp.
Honda Pares Down Use of Precious Metals in Autos
Honda Motor Co. said it will begin using new catalytic converter technology it believes will slash use of pricey precious metals in auto emission-control systems by 50 to 70 percent.
Journeys in the Kingman Quadrangle
This is a story of a bit of our earth, carved by lines of longitude and latitude. There is a deep mystery in this land. The naked mountains speak of long ages of thrusting and rifting—of uplift and erosion. These riddles in the rock defy explanation.
Following Clues to a Lost Gold Deposit—The Northern Extension of the Cedarberg
Last month, in “Following Clues to a Hidden Gold Deposit,” I ended the article with the direction that we were on the hunt! We were getting prepared and ready to roll with our detectors, then snow came, and lots of it. We had already found the seam diggings mine on the mountainside in wild, rough brush and trees. It had been well hidden.
What's In A Name?
More than you’d think. For the past several years, we’ve attended countless trade shows across the country, handed out sample copies of ICMJ, and expanded our readership considerably by signing up new subscribers.
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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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