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Legislative and Regulatory Update
November 2006 by Scott Harn
• Bill to address RS 2477
Representative Steven Pearce (R-New Mexico) has introduced a bill in an attempt to clear up the issue of who controls RS 2477 rights-of-way across public lands.
Revised Statute 2477 was passed by Congress in 1866, and it simply states, “The right-of-way for the construction of highways across public lands not reserved for public purposes is hereby granted.”
For a more detailed explanation of RS 2477 rights-of-way, see “RS 2477 Fact vs. Fiction” on page 14.
Pearce’s bill, HR 6298, has two parts. The first part of the bill would declare valid all RS 2477 routes that appear on government maps between 1866 and 1976 that did not have a prior reservation, such as a prior national forest or national park designation.
The second part of the bill would create a new procedure for state and local governments to validate unmapped rights-of-way.
It is doubtful the current Congress will address the bill before their session ends this year. If the Republicans lose control of the House of Representatives we may never see action on HR 6298.
• Roadless Rule update
The Clinton-era Roadless Rule is back in the headlines again.
In late September 2006, US District Judge Elizabeth Laporte (9th Circuit—San Francisco) reinstated the Roadless Rule, which former president Clinton signed during his last days in office. The rule placed over 58 million acres of national forest off-limits to development, including mining.
A total of six federal judges have weighed in on the Roadless Rule, three for it and three against it. US District Judge Clarence Brimmer (10th Circuit—Wyoming) declared the Roadless Rule invalid back in 2003. Wyoming Attorney General Pat Crank has already filed a motion to reinstate Judge Brimmer’s invalidation of the Clinton Roadless Rule.
US Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey said the Bush administration was considering whether to file its own appeal, but noted the government disagreed with a number of the findings, particularly the need to do an environmental impact statement.
"Gold Rush: Alaska" in the Porcupine Mining District
Honestly, I don’t believe it is likely there would be a glory hole where they described one at the bottom of the waterfall because plunging water with enough energy to scour out a large hole in bedrock would have the scouring ability to grind up and...
The Bawl Mill
• Reporting on Reports
• Answer the questions or we'll be forced to really bother you for a little while
• Some especially well-preserved mobile homes...
The World of the Simple Gold Pan
There are so many, many different types of gold pans on the market that I thought it would be worthwhile to take a look at the world of the simple gold pan.
Former Sunshine Miners Find Work in Montana
Like almost 200 other Silver Valley miners, Butch Dempsey used to work at the Sunshine Mine in Kellogg. But, along with dozens of the others, he now works for the Columbus, Montana-based Stillwater Mining Co., about 400 miles to the east...
Can't We Just Do Something?
We know we lack critical minerals. We know the causes. We know the need. We have the knowledge we need right now. Why can’t we just take action and fix the problem?
Canadian Arrow Tries Different Approach
Timmins, Ontario, is a fascinating city for miners to observe. During periods of strong mining activity, Timmins prospers, home values rise, retail activity increases, vacant office spaces fill up and so forth. However, during periods of...
Melman on Gold & Silver
When we look ahead into 2011, we see continuing troubles such as those listed earlier, which will force the public to question the effectiveness of the entire concept of economic strength and vitality through government interventions. In fact, many of those interventions have been abject failures, and we wonder if or when the public will lose confidence in the entire system.
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The Bawl Mill
• International Wayside Resurrects Gold Rush in British Columbia
• Prospecting in Northern Sierra County, California
• Government Says New Mine Will Benefit Bears
• RS 2477 Fact vs. Fiction
• The Nome Goldfields
• Basic Sniping: Prospecting With a Pan & Simple Hand Tools
• Over the Divide
• Trio Accused of Stealing $1.7 Million in Gold
• Ivanhoe Partners With Rio Tinto
• The Business of Mining: Swap, Trade, or Exchange
• Wyoming Expects Profits from Uranium
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
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