Legislative and Regulatory Update

July 2005 by Scott Harn

• Pombo to introduce ESA reform bill
House Resources Committee chairman Richard Pombo will publish a draft bill that will address many of the problems inherent with the Endangered Species Act.

An aide to Pombo disclosed that the bill will move critical habitat designations to later in the process, require peer reviewed science, provide incentives to landowners to protect species and provide states with a greater role.

Even some environmentalists are agreeing that the current process is flawed.

John Kostyack of the National Wildlife Federation stated, “Congress should push back the deadlines to three years after listing, thereby giving the wildlife agencies the time they need to get the science right.”
Pombo’s target date for the draft bill is August.

The Fish and Wildlife Service currently is under orders from 42 lawsuits to designate habitat for 87 species. Another 35 lawsuits involving 57 species are pending.

• Utah addresses roadless areas
Utah Governor Jon Huntsman will not petition the federal government for protection of roadless areas in his state said a spokesman for the governor’s office.

Under the recently announced changes to the Clinton-era Roadless Rule, individual governors can petition the federal government to manage roadless areas in their respective states.

Lynn Stevens, Utah’s state public lands policy coordinator, said the state will allow the US Forest Service to complete forest management plans already in progress in four of the state’s six national forests.

Utah environmentalist Kevin Mueller believes this amounts to bad news for the state. “It sounds to us like they’re going to come up with something that amounts to minimal protection. The fewer areas that are petitioned and included for protection, the quicker and easier the process will be. The less roadless areas, the less hassle,” said Mueller.


• Appeal by active duty soldier
In a recent Interior Board of Lands Appeals decision, Judge H. Barry Holt ruled that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) should consider the request of an active duty soldier for an exemption from paying annual mining claim assessment fees.

The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act (SSCRA) provides for a six-month exemption from the fee if all parties to the claim are on active duty.

by Scott Harn

The French Mines of El Boleo

October 2004
Volumes have been written on the subject of mining in Mexico ever since the first Spanish conquistadors undertook to strip bare the newfound land in the 6th century. Gold and silver, which attracted Cortez and the Spanish Inquisition, was there for the taking, and the fabulously rich mines of Guanajuanto, San Miguel de Allende, Zacatecas, Real del Monte, San Luis Potosi, Durango and Taxco, among others, became famous throughout the New World and Europe.

Feds Order Closure of Idaho Mine

February 2012
Federal safety inspectors have ordered one of the nation’s deepest underground mines closed in northern Idaho following an investigation prompted by a series of accidents that killed two miners over the last year.

Clarence King, Geologist

May 2004
Clarence King was born in Rhode Island in 1842, the son of a businessman. His father died when he was 6, so he was raised by his mother. She wanted to have Clarence attend the very best schools, and even moved in order to have him in the best district. She gave him a magnifying glass on his 7th birthday, and this led to his discovery of fossil ferns in neighborhood rocks.

Using Geologic Maps

December 2015
In order to see what geologic maps can do, we need to think about what we are looking for.

Gold in New Zealand

July 2007
In 1965, I visited New Zealand and saw a South Island goldfield. I knew very little about gold at that time and stopped only long enough to peruse a few relics and old photos on the pub wall.

The Tombstone Silver-Lead District, Arizona

April 2016
In 1877, a prospector named Ed Schieffelin discovered silver in “the middle of nowhere” and staked two claims: “Tumbstone” and “Graveyard.” Soon a town and mining district were organized and acquired the name “Tombstone” after making a spelling correction.

Bedrock

March 2014
I am going to break bedrock down a bit and explain my view of the varying scenarios I come across in the field.

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