Legislation & Regulation

If you do not have the time to read the entire document, I would suggest starting with the Executive Summary that begins on page 80.

• Bernhardt confirmed
• State of Montana to appeal Rock Creek decision

• Bishop and Curtis seek to rein in Antiquities Act abuses
• Lands bill signed by President Trump

• Massive 660-page lands bill passed in the Senate

• Oregon miners petition US Supreme Court in Bohmker v. Oregon
• Wheeler receives hearing as EPA administrator

We now have supporters who are well known and connected in Washington, DC, and who state they will assist us in bypassing lower level staffers and getting us face-to-face meetings with Senators.

• Zinke leaving office
• Property rights triumph over critical habitat says Supreme Court
• Water of the United States

• November elections
• Anti-mining ballot initiative rejected in Montana

• Some mining claim fees increase
• Oregon miners file appeal
• US Fish & Wildlife law enforcement policing powers restrained

During discussions with other property rights advocates and members of the current administration, Karen Budd-Falen’s name was mentioned many times as a possible director for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

• Interior Department reigns in “sue and settle”
• Comments needed on Forest Service Part 228 regulations

There are currently three controlling agencies or entities over suction dredging in California—and you can make that four if the state legislature decides to further muddy the waters with additional legislation to block suction gold dredging in the state.

• Forest Service to revisit 228 regulations
• WOTUS Executive Order suspended

We are in the planning stages for our next trip to DC. Clark and I are looking at returning after the mid-term elections, probably around the end of November or early December, to continue discussions with members of Congress…

• Pruitt out at EPA
• NDAA still under negotiation
• AMRA’s California mining bill fails to reach floor vote

The ESA has become an unwieldy beast that was hijacked by government agencies run amok, and by extreme environmental groups who saw it as a way to lock up public lands and to generate income through exaggerated claims and continuous lawsuits.

• Critical minerals obtain national security status
• Idaho to take over EPA permitting

We spent the morning in a meeting with one of the higher-ups at the US Forest Service. I presented him with 412 complaints received from our readers, along with a summary of the complaints to make his job easier.

• Judge orders reconsideration of “bi-state” sage grouse population in California and Nevada
• Environmental groups attempt to reinstate hard rock rule