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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.
The Montana Tunnels Discovery
Many prospectors and exploration teams deliberately avoid small tracts of land for various understandable reasons. However, in hopes that I might encourage some of my fellow prospectors to think more kindly of small tracts, I’d like to...
Discovery of the Silver Bullets
In 1926, Carl W. Chilson wrote the authentic history of his family and the discovery of the legendary Apache Mine of the Silver Bullets. The story starts out in 1868 when Steve L. Chilson leaves Bandera, Texas, with his family en route...
Rare Silver Nuggets And Their Origins
Silver nuggets have been described as “ultra-rare,” “prized” and “unique.” Naturally occurring silver nuggets are rare enough to suggest caution when purchasing. Fakes have reportedly been produced and misrepresented for sale as genuine specimens.
Search for the Legendary Sierra Azul
One of the most unique mining stories to derive from the days of the Spanish conquest of the Southwest is the legendary story of the Sierra Azul, or “Blue Mountain” of Arizona. The first reports of what some historians maintain is nothing more than mere myth, came in the middle of the seventeenth century, and it survived as a frontier tradition into the nineteenth century.
Legislative and Regulatory Update
• Alaska Governor blasts state habitat division
• Laws proposed and reviewed in Washington State
• Comments needed on California's arsenic goals
• New explosives requirements
• Bill introduced to curb ESA abuses
Proposal Submitted for Lab at Homestake
Rapid City, S.D. (AP)—Scientists and a team of South Dakotans have submitted a $281 million, five-year plan to turn Homestake Mine in Lead into the world’s largest underground laboratory.
Prospecting Homonyms
Three homonyms come to mind when I think of gemstones, gold and vegetables: carrot, carat and karat. Let’s look at carrot first.
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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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