If you do the math, it equates to about $1,500 of heavy metal value per three-hour dive. This is good wages, and you are doing a service to the environment by removing this toxic metal.

A two-pronged approach is necessary to restore suction dredging; federal preemption needs to be established as addressed above via petition; and clarification from the EPA is needed to establish that no Section 402 permit is necessary when there is no “addition” of a pollutant.

Today, the greatest gold rushes occur due to technological advances capable of discovering gold where it once was extremely unlikely or difficult.

Day three was a copy of day two. I started real low in the long wash to see if I could prove how far down the gold had made it.

While none of the historical mining camps are active, the area is still a hub of activity for the modern prospector, and claims still blanket the hills and gulches.