S.47 - Natural Resources Management Act - Another Land Grab?

OwenT

Hero Member
Feb 11, 2015
572
858
Moses Lake WA & Provo UT
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I just found out about this today. The Natural Resources Management Act. Different media sources portray it from several positive aspects, even advertising that it will actually help some groups with access, but actually looking into it, it just looks like another land grab. They're making more monuments, more national parks, expanding existing ones. Closing all sorts of land to any sort of mineral or otherwise resource exploration. I noticed this because it includes a huge mineral withdrawal (340,000 acres) right on the very borders of the Slate mining district in Washington. Looks like in Utah alone more than 1,000,000 acres will be become "protected". Already passed the US Senate 92-8, now on to the House.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/47/text
 

Upvote 0
OP
OP
OwenT

OwenT

Hero Member
Feb 11, 2015
572
858
Moses Lake WA & Provo UT
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I wrote Rep Newhouse about it. Clearly, it will still pass but I wanted to let him know that I'm not impressed that he "championed the act" (according to ifiber one news Major public lands act offers protection for Washington resources | Columbia Basin | ifiberone.com) Especially when he states on his website that he believes "Land-use decisions should be made locally, not by far away federal bureaucrats. It is Congress’ duty to ensure that public land management promotes economic development, not burdensome regulations and red tape."

P.S. I believe this posting, even though "political," is allowed per the rules as it is "directly related to treasure hunting".
 

OreCart

Sr. Member
Jan 23, 2019
473
558
Maine
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
OwenT...good for you for contacting your congressman.

They say here in Maine anyway, a topic is "of interest" when (1) constituent calls a congressman and lets them know how they feel. It takes just (2) phone calls on one topic for it to be considered, "hot". And when there are (3) phone calls, they consider the phone "ringing off the hook," So I always encourage people to present their opinions because people might not realize, they have far more influence than they think.

Again, good for you.
 

winners58

Bronze Member
Apr 4, 2013
1,729
4,058
Oregon
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
this is the biggest Omnibus Public lands bill in a long time, this will harm miners in Oregon
Very bad for Galice mining district in Josephine county, this will withdraw lands with 60+ mining claims.
the Frank Moore steelhead area will withdraw lands on city creek the place gold was first found in the Bohemia mining district.
the Methow headwaters in Washington just to stop a mine that was only in speculation stage.
for Oregon you can use the Healthy Forests action alert to send a message to the President & US Representative's
just write in your own note (the bottom "wilderness" alert) https://healthyforests.org/action-center/
 

Last edited:

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,302
54,458
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Post deleted, please remember we are a family friendly forum.
 

Hoser John

Gold Member
Mar 22, 2003
5,854
6,721
Redding,Calif.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Just one of toooo darn many ways to steal your rights. Segregation was a new one pulled on me-no rights for 10 years whilst they figure out if they want to do reclamation or not--sic sic sic-John
 

tahomatom

Full Member
Sep 3, 2013
189
283
Sutter Creek, Ca.
Detector(s) used
Whites 6000di pro plus
Whites id beach hunter
Got rid of the Minelab pointer,
Then got a Garrett. Much better pointer.
Minelab Xterra 705
Ibuprofen
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Little by little our rights as tax paying members of our society are being taken away under the slogan of "protected lands". This does and will have an effect on our hobby as metal detectorist. When seeing this I always have to think who's going to benefit financially?
 

Bejay

Bronze Member
Mar 10, 2014
1,026
2,530
Central Oregon Coast
Detector(s) used
Whites GMT
Garret fully underwater
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
At over 70 years of age I was thinking last night, as I tried to get to sleep; about all the outdoor things I used to love to do.....the list is extensive, and they all involved the use of public lands and their resources. All the things I loved to do have been curtailed due to Gov restrictions. So now I get to go have morning coffee and share experiences....and submit testimonials (letters/emails) to the very same politicians that took away my use of public lands and their resources...(fishing/game hunting/fauna/camping/camp fires/roasting marshmallows/cooking over a fire/access/extraction of minerals and rocks/gems/beachcombing/and I am sure there are many others. It never ends.


Bejay
 

OreCart

Sr. Member
Jan 23, 2019
473
558
Maine
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
At over 70 years of age I was thinking last night, as I tried to get to sleep; about all the outdoor things I used to love to do.....the list is extensive, and they all involved the use of public lands and their resources. All the things I loved to do have been curtailed due to Gov restrictions. So now I get to go have morning coffee and share experiences....and submit testimonials (letters/emails) to the very same politicians that took away my use of public lands and their resources...(fishing/game hunting/fauna/camping/camp fires/roasting marshmallows/cooking over a fire/access/extraction of minerals and rocks/gems/beachcombing/and I am sure there are many others. It never ends.


Bejay

I understand exactly what you are saying...

I am only 44 years old, and I have seen many liberties that have been eliminated. Sadly, owning your own land does not make anyone immune. I fully believe that paying property taxes is indeed an honor as all of society is based upon people paying their fair share, however to double my taxes in only a few years time, has been tough when I am very limited what I can do on it.

I even consider myself fortunate, because I am grandfathered under many regulations, and have a farm.
 

arizau

Bronze Member
May 2, 2014
2,479
3,854
AZ
Detector(s) used
Beach High Banker, Sweep Jig, Whippet Dry Washer, Lobo ST, 1/2 width 2 tray Gold Cube, numerous pans, rocker box, and home made fluid bed and stream sluices.
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
As an old man, I miss many of the liberties that I used to enjoy but at least I did have the experiences. Can't say how sad I am that my kids and grandson and future generations will not be able to experience what I have due to a growing urban culture. The saddest thing is that some have no concept that they are screwing themselves and others by what they are perpetrating IMO. I guess, as the old saying goes, "Ignorance is bliss!"
 

Last edited:

63bkpkr

Silver Member
Aug 9, 2007
4,069
4,617
Southern California
Detector(s) used
XLT, GMT, 6000D Coinmaster
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Oops, where did our Mining (and other) rights go?

Ooppss, our rights are missing!

It used to be that I could purchase a dredging permit and at one time I did.
It used to be that Forest Rangers were nice people, now that is not true everywhere in the U.S.A.
It used to be that a fishing license would cost ten or fifteen dollars, now its up to $50 or more.
It used to be that hunting and therefore owning some type of firearm was an honored way of providing food for yourself & family.
It used to be that legally owning a firearm was legal.
It used to be that Our Country Followed the Emigration Laws. Because it makes sense to not overload or overburden the country with folks that can not speak the language and that do not have the knowledge to support themselves in the U.S.A. due to the technology they do not understand.
It used to be that following the Laws of the U.S.A. by EVERYONE was the Right Thing To Do. Now the government of the U.S.A. does not even want to do that.
It used to be that Immorality was a bad thing.
It used to be that mining for Gold in California was a good thing. But now that the Government of California has illegally blocked all sorts of mining rights, which still exist, we prospectors are out of luck.
It used to be that people were at least reasonably honest and We Citizens counted on our Federal & State Governments to be Honest.
It used to be that we Were a free Country however, that is decreasing more and more every year.
It used to be that we could be reasonably sure that the news in Newspapers, radio & television was true.
It used to be that it was reasonably safe to walk the streets at night in most places.
It used to be that most people treated other people with respect.
It used to be that a woman did not have to fear for herself when she went shopping
It used to be that most people were honest and you could trust what they were saying, sometimes even politicians met this standard.

At some point all mineral wealth, being still in the ground, will be claimed by whatever the Government is of this Land. At that point some large entity, like possibly the people that Our Government have put us in debt to, will come along and clear cut the forests and then Bulldoze the Sierra Nevada Mountains to remove all the mineral wealth they can get at. Check out the Youtube video about Magadan if you don't believe it could happen anywhere!

It used to be The Home of the Brave and the Land of the Free.
It used to be The United States of America, a country we were proud of and could believe in and that we had a chance to Work for a living where we could purchase some land, build a home and take care of our family (that would be a Husband & Wife and children).

IF We The People do not pull together all mining, fishing, prospecting and general freedoms will be lost. Are we all happy and cheery now?

Sorry but if you want to be able to prospect and mine then We must get off of our dead rear ends and join forces before it is to late and it is getting close that point. IMHO.................63bkpkr

Addendum: In 20 years (give or take a few) I will be DEAD, hopefully from natural causes (falling off of a cliff, drowning while crossing a river with my 85 lb backpack, being crushed by overhanging boulders while pulling out a 355.739 lb nugget or maybe eaten by some sweet cuddly little bear to name but a few) and then again I might just still be alive. But at some point for me, sooner rather than later, I will pass on to the Next Big Adventure and I hope it is not very hot there! The rest of you will still be here so what kind of a country do YOU want to be living in? I would still want to have clean air, clean water, nice forests and unlimited access to our Natural Heritage, our National Forests. Other people look at what this country has as great wealth and they want to Harvest All the Wealth from this Land of Ours. I hope to enjoy it for as long as I can, even do some prospecting.

Note: It is my belief that before All of this can be taken from us, "the Colonists Must Be Disarmed". Your Vote Counts!
 

Last edited:

Bejay

Bronze Member
Mar 10, 2014
1,026
2,530
Central Oregon Coast
Detector(s) used
Whites GMT
Garret fully underwater
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
As an old man, I miss many of the liberties that I used to enjoy but at least I did have the experiences. Can't say how sad I am that my kids and grandson and future generations will not be able to experience what I have due to a growing urban culture. The saddest thing is that some have no concept that they are screwing themselves and others by what they are perpetrating IMO. I guess, as the old saying goes, "Ignorance is bliss!"

I always tell people lately..."It has been a great ride"!

Bejay
 

Seden

Sr. Member
Jan 28, 2008
281
321
63bkpkr, I share your sentiments to a tee. And in regards to your ending line: Note: It is my belief that before All of this can be taken from us, "the Colonists Must Be Disarmed". Your Vote Counts! It appears it will be sooner rather than later with this big pushback wave of Socialism and Communism. For many years now there is a large amount of us placer miners in So. Calif. that have had to practice what I call "Duck and Cover" aka covert mining because our rights have been taken away. Not because of the USFS Biologist (if it were we'd ALL obey that order) but because of PRIVATE citizens suing the USFS which makes it "Tyranny by Proxy" and therefore null and void any law that results for such action. What needs to happen (he says whilst we now have a new Democratic Congress) is to do away with the 1980's provision for private citizens to sue the Government. Meanwhile I am still an active member of Redpaw Daves "Midnight Miners Association" in good standing. An unjust law is no law at all-St. Augustine.
 

OreCart

Sr. Member
Jan 23, 2019
473
558
Maine
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
What I have found today is; for every one thing you want to do, 17 people say it cannot be done, for this reason or that.

Really?

I like to put things a little differently; what is anyone going to do if I do?

I have gone toe to toe against the Department of Environmental Protection twice...and won. And won a Federal case against the US Government.

People say all the time that a person cannot do this or that, but the reality is, it all comes down to the District Attorney's Office who has the state police, sheriffs office, the marine patrol, the game wardens, the forest rangers, the town police officers, the Department of Environmental Protection, etc, etc, etc and all their cases being funneled down to them, and they have VERY limited staff. Who, and what they prosecute is based on threat to the public and priority.

"So who died?" "You are actually going to prosecute THIS?" "No jury in the world is going to convict me". Those are the words that put things in perspective.

As a Christian who reads and cherishes the big black book with very thin pages, I am commanded to respect authority, and I do; but there is also "Paralysis by Analysis's", and I am a do'er. I am not going to dump 50 gallons of diesel fuel in a pristine lake, but I am not about to stop digging in the dirt like my ancestor's before me either.

The key I have found, is to pay your due taxes. Dig gold out of the ground? Then pay the taxes on it. Since all of society is based upon paying taxes, when you do, it cements ownership and rights many wrongs.
 

OreCart

Sr. Member
Jan 23, 2019
473
558
Maine
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Here is an example:

In terms of wetlands, if I want to clear the forest of trees and stumps to grow food, it is against the law to bulldoze stumps. However, if I am logging, I have every right to bulldoze stumps so that I can make access roads to extract the wood. There is no set law on how far abpart those roads have to be.

So this is silly, I can legally bulldoze stumps to harvest wood, but I cannot bulldoze stumps to feed a hungry nation.

That is just plain bovine pasture droppings!

So it is not that I thumb my nose at all of authority; the law is contradictory. So when the USDA tells me I cannot clear the land, I ignore them. My family cleared the land back in 1838 and it grew back, so there is enough possibility of being grandfathered that no prosecutor is going to waste their time taking this questionable issue to a jury of my peers.

Governmental employees are really good at saying no, but get completely baffled when you challenge their authority.
 

OreCart

Sr. Member
Jan 23, 2019
473
558
Maine
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Another piece of advice: never say anything!

Last year I had a Forest Ranger show up on my land with some subpoena to take documents and testify before a grand jury. My reply was the same to any of these people, "I am protected by council, I am not saying a word until I talk to my attorney."

The guy kept running his skimmer and got all puffed up like a blowfish. Three times I told him I was protected by council and was not going to say anything.

So I filed a complaint against the Forest Ranger for violating my right to council; every time these clowns approach you, they are recording the conversation, so I knew I had proof of what I said, and how he ignored me. A Grand Jury was never convened.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top