Prospectors Unite in Washington State

by the Editor

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West coast prospectors and dredgers gathered for an informal meeting following the Washington Prospectors Mining Association tradeshow in late February to discuss common problems and solutions inherent to the group.

The meeting was well attended by interested miners. The presidents of many Washington State prospecting groups were joined by Jerry Hobbs (Public Lands for the People), Pat Keene (Keene Engineering), Dave McCracken (New 49’ers), Dave Kelsey (Oregon Miners), Dave Varabioff (Goldbay.com) and Scott Harn (ICMJ’s Prospecting and Mining Journal). Mark Erickson and Greg Christensen (Resources Coalition) organized the gathering.

There were numerous problems addressed. Washington State miners are being regulated by several different agencies, including some that do not have the statutory authority to do so. There was agreement that negotiations with these agencies have generally failed.

Education was the overwhelming theme. A miner or prospector cannot effectively fight for his or her rights without knowing the laws and regulations that pertain to mining. A miner needs to have a good working knowledge of state and federal mining laws, including the 1872 Mining Law, and statutory and constitutional rights. Additionally, miners need to know what, if any, Memorandum’s of Understanding are in place between state and federal agencies.

There are many other laws and regulations that can and should be used to “educate” government officials. For example, the Administrative Procedures Act governs the rulemaking process. Many of these procedures have not been followed for years. Negotiations turned into compromise situations, when no compromise was necessary by law, and, in the past, compromises were made with agencies that didn’t even have jurisdiction to regulate mining in a particular area.

Just as education is a tool, litigation should be viewed as an equally important tool. Environmental groups have successfully utilized litigation as a tool for many years. It was agreed that a research and litigation fund would be established to correct the wayward regulations that are plaguing Washington State miners. Monetary contributions were made by many of the attendees, and Keene Engineering donated a 4” dredge to be used as raffle prize in the near future. (We will notify our readers when the raffle tickets become available.)

Jerry Hobbs, president of Public Lands for the People, stated, “It is imperative that the public hold the agencies accountable, and in some cases even the individual agents themselves.”

Interested prospectors, and those who have a good working knowledge of laws and regulations, are encouraged to contact Jerry Hobbs via phone at (909) 889-3039; or email jerhobbs2@aol.com 

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