California miner needs help after USFS employee steals his property from claim

[Hefty1]

California miner needs help after USFS employee steals his property from claim without any notice. Please spread the word.

http://www.jeffersonminingdistrict.com/legal-news/USFS-Terror-USFS-steals-miners-property-from-california%20-miner.html


Kerby Jackson
Chairman - Jefferson Mining District

When will we finally, as a group, stand together against this criminal assault on a fellow miner?

Oh, so you're too busy huh?

I'll venture to guess that if it was your property stolen in an illegal act, you'd make the time to be involved...

There is power in numbers.. why can't most of you understand that?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[Bejay]

Pie N Politics » Southern Oregon Miner Defeats United States Forest Service in Court

Click on the above......Sometimes we win




Bejay

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

How to Research for Treasure Hunting and Metal Detecting From Lead Generation to Vetting - Grab it through Amazon!

[Bejay]

A southern Oregon miner took the USFS to task and offered the following:

In August of 2010, a Mr. Everist was convicted by U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman for “unlawful occupancy” under a statute that Everist says he was exempt from, but that had also been repealed. At the time, he faced the possibility of serving six months in prison and $5000 in fines. Ultimately, Mosmon sentenced Everist to probation and ordered him to stay off his mining claim for one year. Everist states that during his trial, Mosmon refused to acknowledge The General Mining Act of 1872 or current federal statutes that derive from the same act of Congress. He may be currently awaiting the results on his appeal on Mosmon's decision.

Mr. Everist says that he performed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to find out how much of the public's tax money had been spent to prosecute him for exercising his right to live on his mining claim because according to him they would not tell him. “Instead, they give me these long files and tell me to do all these calculations for it. So I did. On the seven miners that were charged and tried, they spent $11 million dollars.” Everist notes that this figure does not include the fees of his court appointed attorney, Steven Sherlag of Portland, nor the financial damages that he believes will eventually be awarded to him for the violation of his rights.

----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------


Having personally been involved with the USFS: ( I use to do presentations on their behalf at their hearings on timber harvest).......The head regional USFS agent told me that the USFS would have to stop harvesting timber on public lands because the "environmental anti crowd" kept taking them to court, and the USFS could not afford the time and court costs. It was costing them to much money and their budget did not allow for such legal/court expenditures.

Taking Gov to court costs them money and they have to live by their budgets. The "greenies"have been doing it for a long time. Maybe we ought to employ the same positive tactics.

While there are challenges occurring by PLP and others I thought miners ought to be aware of others as well. Both "Western Slope No Fee Coalition" and "Mountain States Legal Foundation" have long histories of fighting the good fight.

Don't forget to click on the above link!


Bejay

 

[Fullpan]

The perception is "its a rich man's game to take it to court". Can you provide info to the contrary ? I have often wondered what would happen if all claimowners
defied the various restrictions, and demanded a trial by jury of their peers, using court-appointed attorneys ?

 

[calisdad]

I'd like to see the definition of non-profit changed to ONLY those who spend 100% of their donations on their cause. Zero admin costs allowed.

I would think the CBD wouldn't be suing in California and the HSUS wouldn't be walking the governors dog.

 

[Lanny in AB]

A southern Oregon miner took the USFS to task and offered the following:

In August of 2010, a Mr. Everist was convicted by U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman for “unlawful occupancy” under a statute that Everist says he was exempt from, but that had also been repealed. At the time, he faced the possibility of serving six months in prison and $5000 in fines. Ultimately, Mosmon sentenced Everist to probation and ordered him to stay off his mining claim for one year. Everist states that during his trial, Mosmon refused to acknowledge The General Mining Act of 1872 or current federal statutes that derive from the same act of Congress. He may be currently awaiting the results on his appeal on Mosmon's decision.

Mr. Everist says that he performed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to find out how much of the public's tax money had been spent to prosecute him for exercising his right to live on his mining claim because according to him they would not tell him. “Instead, they give me these long files and tell me to do all these calculations for it. So I did. On the seven miners that were charged and tried, they spent $11 million dollars.” Everist notes that this figure does not include the fees of his court appointed attorney, Steven Sherlag of Portland, nor the financial damages that he believes will eventually be awarded to him for the violation of his rights.

----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------------


Having personally been involved with the USFS: ( I use to do presentations on their behalf at their hearings on timber harvest).......The head regional USFS agent told me that the USFS would have to stop harvesting timber on public lands because the "environmental anti crowd" kept taking them to court, and the USFS could not afford the time and court costs. It was costing them to much money and their budget did not allow for such legal/court expenditures.

Taking Gov to court costs them money and they have to live by their budgets. The "greenies"have been doing it for a long time. Maybe we ought to employ the same positive tactics.

While there are challenges occurring by PLP and others I thought miners ought to be aware of others as well. Both "Western Slope No Fee Coalition" and "Mountain States Legal Foundation" have long histories of fighting the good fight.

Don't forget to click on the above link!


Bejay

That's an insane amount of money to throw at something like this. It only tells you that they're not using their own money from their own pockets or interests, but that they're very obviously using other people's money garnered through grants or donations to fight these issues. What needs to happen is to find a way to stop making them eligible for government grants, that way it would be interesting to see how truly motivated they really are if the money had to start coming out of their own pockets.

As it is, they've started an industry out of the whole thing, employing all of their friends as well.

All the best,

Lanny

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/metal-detecting-gold/69-bedrock-gold-mysteries.html

 

[Hefty1]

That would be great Lanny....But you also have to stop all the rogue gov, employees with power.

 

[russau]

When these rouge gubermint employees wonder from and step OUTSIDE of their job description (according to their handbook) they themselves then become liable for their own actions! SUE the crap out of them in court! once they go outside of their job descriptions and become liable, they have to pay for their own lawyer out of their own pocket!go after them individually!lets see how they like it!

 

[calisdad]

When these rouge gubermint employees wonder from and step OUTSIDE of their job description (according to their handbook) they themselves then become liable for their own actions! SUE the crap out of them in court! once they go outside of their job descriptions and become liable, they have to pay for their own lawyer out of their own pocket!go after them individually!lets see how they like it!

I think you hit the nail on the head! How else can we curb the nonsense that is so rampant. Once they realize their pension is at stake they think differently.

 

[aarthrj3811]

I got evicted from my California claim...It seems I was interfering with the mating of Spotted Owls...It is funning that in 40 years of mining I have never saw any of them..I did see a picture of one nesting in K-Mart sign...Art

 

[TreasureKev]

That would be great Lanny....But you also have to stop all the rogue gov, employees with power.

So Hefty......have you got any updates on what happened with your case of the stolen equipment and the subsequent bully tactics that they tried to use on you to file a plan of operations?

I have read through the entire thread and found no updates as such.

 

[63bkpkr]

Hefty fought hard and wisely to protect his rights, our rights. He caught them lying, proved it to a senator (I believe it was a senator) who then gently backed Hefty up. He has reams of documents associated with his monumental effort and then went on to very clearly (more than before) mark his claim/property all over the claim. He had time on his side, the desire to beat them honestly, the wisdom to pull off that feat and all because he was fighting to keep a claim that has been in his family for many years, it was his fathers claim. A son has done an honor for his father and that means so very much to Hefty though he would not talk about it.

Regards, 63bkpkr

 

[Oakview2]

Very well said Herb

 

[rickydoo]

just look what they are doing in nevada to the Bundy's. I think they should just leave people alone. Its the environmental wackos pushing there agendas and taking away our freedoms and rights. Power in numbers folks.

 

[walhooey]

Ihad a run in with mr madrigal several years ago. My son and a friend went winter camping in the north fork. Wild country , they got struck by a blizzard and in order to get out they had to leave most of their gear including a 22 pistol. They put the gun in our bear canister and put it in the back of a hollow tree. the canister was an old military equipment can 24 latches to hold it shut. I get a call from the forest service office that madrigal had found it and I was was told politely to come up and get it. I get there and jimmy boy (madrigal) shows up. He procceeds to chew me out for leaving a loose weapon. He then tells me that I have to stay there while he talks to the Placer sherrif about what charges they are going to file against me. I told him to proceed with his phony charges and that I would be more than happy to see him in court. I also at that time informed him that when I got through he would not have a job. He turned around walked out of the room and never came back. all the rest of the rangers and workers clapped for me. I got my gun and went home. The man is a coward.

 

[Hefty1]

I also heard that Chris Fischer has been moved on.....
Don't know if madrigal is still around?

 

[Hefty1]

Originally Posted by chlsbrns
Post me a link to him getting his stuff back. I wasn't about to read 20 pages of tnet posts. I read the first page and the last page two years later where someone was asking what the outcome was.


How about straight from the unbeaten horses mouth....What the USFS did was against the law, they did not follow their own rules and regulations and took all of my equipment off my claim without any notice...short story... if it wasn't for all the help I rec, from miners, prospectors from here on tnet and across all the west coast and even some from the east coast, with them writing letters, making phone calls, to all the people responsible for this illegal takings. These letters and phone calls to Washington D.C. helped also. Then I rec, a call from Congressman McClintock. After about a week or two of negotiations between McClintock, USFS, and I. They set a date for me to pick up my equipment. NO Charges.

Thanks Again to all those prospectors, miners, Tnet members with their help in this.

And yes I went back to workin my claim...have not seen them since.

Last edited by Hefty1; Oct 18, 2014 at 04:36 AM.​

Oregon Viking, Goldwasher, Hoser John and 2 others like this.



Well guess what? I spoke to soon...the new guy needs some schoolin of the mining laws.

 

[gold nuggets]

You are just the right person to school him on the do's and don't of Mining Laws Hefty1.
Be nice to him when you do the schoolin' the first time, then lower the boom on him and
come down hard!

 

[NorCalPilot]

McClintock seems to be a good guy-- I've contacted his office several times on an unrelated issue. Glad you were able to get your gear back, Hefty!

 

[Hefty1]

This is just part of the letter from the new guy at American River Ranger District, my response letter is alreadt gone.
But I would like to see how you guys would have responded to this part of this letter.

"This letter serves as a Notice of Violation that your unauthorized occupancy and use on National Forest System Lands is in non-compliance."
Forest Service Locatable Mineral Regulation 36 CFR 228.4 requires you to have an approved Plan of Operations for mining activities causing significant disturbance on National Forest Systems lands."

 

[57chevy]

I am not entirely sure about this, many things have changed recently (I guess due to all the hope and change) it used to be that if a so called government employee was acting outside of his scope of office and the law, then they could be sued in their individual capacity. They can be sued directly. I would check with someone competient in the law about this though.