Panning Dry stream bed in White Mountain Nat Forest

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

The wife wants to go up to Moat moutain to look for smokey quartz and Topaz, I was doing some research on it and was looking at pictures people took of the hike into the collecting site. There is a dry creek, or more a run off from the mountain you have to cross on the way to the collecting site.

I was wondering what the rules are about prospecting in a dry stream bed in the WMNF? Are you allowed to dig around the rocks so you could dry pan or are you only allowed to pick up things from the surface? It looks like a nice place

 

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[Bell]

The NF here in NC allows prospecting with a pan and #2 shovel only. Although technically you still cant remove anything so go figure. Call the ranger station.

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

I wonder if I may have answered my question, it sounds like you can only pan in active stream channels so seasonal streams may not be allowed.


Gold panning for recreational purposes is allowed within active stream channels,
provided due care is taken to protect water quality and aquatic habitat. Small trowels or
similar digging tools for scooping sediment into the pan are allowed.

 

[67miata]

Do you know where to find the rules concernign the WMNF?

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

Here is the link

White Mountain National Forest - Passes & Permits

 

[PYRATE]

Would it be considered "active" if you danced a little jig or did some jumping jacks in that streambed?

On a little more serious note, as long as you weren't doing any serious digging I doubt there'd be any trouble if you collected a few pans or a bucket "from the surface" of a intermittently active channel.

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

I am practicing dry panning and if no one is around once I fill the hole back in they won't be able to tell I was there