Federal Regulations

Prospectors and miners should be reminded that the Congress of the United State has charged the Secretary of Agriculture (and Secretary of the Interior) with the responsibility for administering certain laws it has passed with regard to the use of the surface the National Forest System lands. To comply, the Secretary of Agriculture authorized the Forest Service to formulate and enforce new rules and regulations relating to the preservation and use of the surface Forest Service lands. These rules were published in the Federal Register, Volume 39, Number 168, August 28,1970, together with a resume of the hearings held prior to their final writing, and became effective on September 1st, 1974. Copies of this issue of the Federal Register may be obtained from any Forest Service District Office.

These rules are of special interest to prospectors and miners as they set up requirements in certain situations relating to their activity. As long as the prospector does his prospecting on foot or with a horse or pack animal as the old timers did, or confines his motorized vehicle to established roads and doesn´t tear through the forest with a bulldozer, he will have no problem. However, if the prospector believes it necessary to strike off in a four wheel rig where there has previously been no road, or wishes to use a bulldozer to make a trench for discovery or assessment work, he will find it necessary to file a notice of intent with District Ranger. If the Ranger decides that the operation may significant disturbances to the surface, the operator will be required to submit an operational plan.

By knowing the regulations and planning ahead, the smart prospector will probably find that he can carry on the work necessary for his discovery and subsequent assessment work without being in conflict with any existing regulations. When, and if, his development work requires significant disturbance of the surface, he will find the Forest Service ready to cooperate with him in developing a plan that will permit development of the mine and protect the environment as well. The prospector should contact the Forest Service a reasonable time ahead of his proposed activity to permit them to arrange time to discuss and work out the problem with him.

In addition to the considerations above, the prospector who has made a discovery and filed his claims must be prepared to defend his discovery at any time; that is, he should be able to show that he has discovered a valuable mineral in a sufficient enough quantity to warrant its further development. This is a basic requirement of the mining law of 1872 and even though the Forest Service does not have the authority to enforce the requirement, they can and do check new claims for the validity of the discovery. If a claim shows no evidence of value they will notify the Bureau of Land Management, which does have the authority to contest and cancel the claim.

In recent years, some individuals have abused the privileges granted under the mining law of 1872 by staking claims where there were no discoveries of valuable minerals in order to secure a free summer home or camp. This practice has made it necessary for the Federal government to supervise discovery and claim activity more closely.