:: :: Important Memo from attorney

Most of you know that the U.S. Supreme Court chose to not accept our Petition to overturn a recent Ninth Circuit Decision which directs the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to pursue an endangered species (ESA) consultation with multiple other agencies before allowing mining under a Notice of Intent (NOI). In case you didn't know, USFS opposed our Petition based upon the argument that the Ninth Circuit's Decision did not really change anything important in the way they do business.

Now that the Ninth's Decision is final, the focus will turn to the way USFS does business concerning small-scale mining and prospecting on the public lands. Early on, a suggestion was originated by anti-mining activists that any use of a motor on the public lands would now require an ESA consultation. We do not believe there is any merit to that idea. That suggestion seems to have quieted down for the moment. But I will not be surprised if our enemies file another lawsuit to challenge the way USFS does business concerning small-scale mining. This is the way our enemies do business. Step by step, they attempt to chip away at our freedoms and opportunities.

Being that there is some ongoing confusion over what existing USFS regulations are concerning small-scale mining activity on the public lands, I asked our attorney to provide us with a summary of the important points, particularly on the subject of operating small motors.

Here is the Memo. My request is that you read it carefully. The memo speaks clearly to the relevant issues.

So many times, I notice that some people want to launch into a public discussion and debate on these legal issues, I'm sure to the delight of our enemies. I believe this comes from the notion that we must get official permission for everything we do. This clearly is not the case in mineral development. Still, some people want emotional confirmation. Nobody wants to be in trouble. I can understand that.

The purpose of the Memo is to provide you with an accurate explanation that you can rely upon. If there is anything you are uncertain about, I suggest it would be better to make contact with our Director of Internal Affairs. He can be found on our Contact page.

Let's please not discuss legal too much in public. Thanks for trying to cooperate on this.