Can a claim owner use a cabin that is on his claim

[et1955]

What is the rights of a claim owner to use a cabin on his claim, it is not a historical building, also how do you deal with old vehicles on the claim, for more info the cabin has a steel roof. Thanks for your consideration on this.

 

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[Bonaro]

You got a cabin on your claim?...freakin sweet!

Yes, you can use it but the Forest Circus may try to limit your stay to 2 weeks or some dumb thing. Tell them to go pound sand but they have to get off your claim to do that or they will be guilty of mineral trespass and you will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.

The vehicles are titled property. Contact the Sheriff and have him run the VIN numbers to see if they are stolen. If not you can have them declared abandoned and a hulk hauler will take them, often for free unless they are in the middle of nowhere. He can get about $150 in scrap for them so it has to be worth his time.

 

[Maitland]

I had an older gentleman once trying to tell me that there was a spot of Forest Service land available for claiming that had an old cabin on it, he was strongly under the impression that he could claim the land and thus have some kind of ownership of the cabin as it was a pre-existing structure part of an earlier claim. He wanted to fix it up and be able to use it. I kind of raised an eyebrow when he was telling me all of this, because when you file a claim the only thing you're filing for is the mineral rights, you don't get any kind of surface rights whether there's an old structure there or not. I'm no expert on mining claims by any means, but the only exception that I could maybe understand would be if it's a patented claim, but if I'm not mistaken no mineral claims have been allowed to be patented since the early 1990's.

 

[dave wiseman]

The Forest service has been known to bulldoze cabins.

 

[Maxlfty]

Or burn old cabins down. I worked for the forest circus in an earlier life. And spent some time lighting old cabins on fire in the Trinity Alps.


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[NHBandit]

Got pics of the "old" vehicles ? How old ? Us crusty old hot rodders need to know this stuff. Do NOT have them removed and scrapped. For one thing you don't own the land or the vehicles.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Maitland is right here guys. Claims are for mineral rights ONLY. No surface rights are given or implied. If and I do mean a BIG IF the claim was patented, it would no longer be claimable because the title would have been granted to the claim owner and it is then private property. The moratorium on patents was supposed to be temporary, but you all know how that goes. Many "Temporary" things with the government have a bad habit of becoming permanent. i believe thins one has already been extended twice.

 

[Asmbandits]

What would be the harm of camping on the claim (which is permitted) and sleeping in the cabin? I dont see anything wrong with this, you guys are sending mixed signals. If he were to try and homestead the land and fix up the cabin then yes that wouldn't be legitimate but I don't see why he couldn't camp on his claim and use the cabin that been there anyways? Sure if the FS wants to do something about it im sure they could and would but until that happens Id make use of it.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Not saying that it isn't alright to sleep in the cabin. Because as claim holders we have to share the areas we mine with others like hikers, hunters etc. That being said, use of the cabin would have to be one a first come first served basis. Because it's a surface asset, the miner would not have exclusive rights to it. If he wants to clean it up and use it, I wouldn't see any problem with that. In fact many other users of the area might like the idea and be willing to pitch in with some help. This is of course a gamble in time and money to get it cleaned up. The Forest Service can come in and remove it at any time should they decide they want to.

 

[et1955]

Hi Guy's, thanks for all the input, the cabin is actually a 60ft. by 40ft. house built by the previous owner of the claim and the vehicle there is an old RV. My intentions are and always will be to focus on mining, I have another question you might be able to answer, the entrance to my claim has an old steal cable gate crossing the entrance to my claim, it is not maintained, I could almost drive over it, who built it I suspect a previous owner of the claim, the gate and road are on my claim and this access is totally for this claim only. Now my question is, can I repair the gate and put my own lock on it, there is another lock on and I can repair it in a way that preserves the use of the old lock plus have my lock work too. Thanks Ed

 

[azblackbird]

Here in AZ, there are various cabins sprinkling the FS land up in the higher elevations. Most were built back in the day by the cattle ranchers for use by their ranch hands when they ran cattle on FS land for the summers. Each year my friends and I use one of those cabins (with permission from the rancher) as a camping spot for our annual 3 day loop we always like to do with our UTV's.

My suggestion is if you find a cabin on your claim, see who has the grazing rights, or better yet talk to the local land manager and get the skinny on whether you can use it or not. Just because you have a mining claim, that don't give you any rights to whatever is on the surface, be it buildings or vehicles.

 

[Reed Lukens]

The Forest Service can come in and remove it at any time should they decide they want to.

And if they see that it is being used and you have your gear inside, they will burn it to the ground gear and all when you are at the store. I had a friend who had a cabin he lived in on fs land and he was a cattle farmer. The fs waited until he was gone and came in and did this on purpose as they were burning peoples homes all over back in the mid 60's. Well old Barney was 6'7" and had hands twice as wide as any other man I have ever met and he just happened to actually be Joe Lewis's sparring partner when he was younger. He went into the fs office, found his agent and started beating him to death with his bare hands. All of the other agents came in and joined into the fight and Barney fought and boxed them all and beat many of them unconscious. In the end Barney was arrested and put away for a short time, but he had lost everything when they burned his home high in the Sierra's to the ground. He was a proud man and someone that I admire to this day. He was like a grandfather to me and taught me many things including how to ride a horse and run cattle when I was a kid.

 

[azblackbird]

Now my question is, can I repair the gate and put my own lock on it, there is another lock on and I can repair it in a way that preserves the use of the old lock plus have my lock work too. Thanks Ed

Gates, locks, and preventing access to "your" claim might require a POO, or at the very least a NOI. It all depends on who your local land manager is. Never hurts to ask. Otherwise you may find your locks cut and a letter in your mailbox from the FS asking why your denying use of FS land surface rights.

 

[Asmbandits]

I don't see how if it's on public land regardless of mining or grazing or hunting or whatever, if it's on public property there should be no reason that anyone could not use it as a shelter on a first come basis. There are cabins all over near our property that are used by hunters and hikers, all on public land. Surethe people using them don't own them and the FS can dismantle them at any time but until they do people use them in a regular basis. As stated before if you try to homestead or keep other people from using it or spend way to much time there then yes that can cause issues. As far as the gate I would not do anything unless your claim is patented or on private property, you would be inviting attention if you tried gating off access to land that is for all..

 

[maurice19]

Max,

That is really something to brag about to a bunch of miners.

I have seen the results of similar burnings and it disgusted me then and now.

Maurice

 

[et1955]

Here is a pic of the gate, you see at least 2 maybe 3 locks on the chain holding the cable gate, my intentions are just to cut a link out of the chain and add my own lock to it, all other locks will still work to unlock the gate, who ever owns those locks will still have access, know one is being denied access, just do not want to park my car on the side of a one lane road or carry all my stuff down the hill

 

[Asmbandits]

Here is a pic of the gate, you see at least 2 maybe 3 locks on the chain holding the cable gate, my intentions are just to cut a link out of the chain and add my own lock to it, all other locks will still work to unlock the gate, who ever owns those locks will still have access, know one is being denied access, just do not want to park my car on the side of a one lane road or carry all my stuff down the hill<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1124455"/>

If it were my claim I'd contact the governing service and ask for a key to the gate so that I could access the claim and if for some reason the deny you.. Well if it were me I'd prolly do the same and add my own lock as I don't think they can deny you assess to you mineral right claim. BUT, Your claim has a lot going on from the looks of it, I'd make sure you have all the facts on land status and history to make the best decisions on how to move forward.

 

[Peyton Manning]

I had an older gentleman once trying to tell me that there was a spot of Forest Service land available for claiming that had an old cabin on it, he was strongly under the impression that he could claim the land and thus have some kind of ownership of the cabin as it was a pre-existing structure part of an earlier claim. He wanted to fix it up and be able to use it. I kind of raised an eyebrow when he was telling me all of this, because when you file a claim the only thing you're filing for is the mineral rights, you don't get any kind of surface rights whether there's an old structure there or not. I'm no expert on mining claims by any means, but the only exception that I could maybe understand would be if it's a patented claim, but if I'm not mistaken no mineral claims have been allowed to be patented since the early 1990's.

yeah a claim isn't ownership, you just get the minerals

 

[G.I.B.]

Nice spot.

You might want to get your lat/long off the photo- you are just passing intel onto the people that have a box of matches.

 

[et1955]

Been through all the land status stuff, this claim was part of a very large claim on the North Fork of the Salmon river that lapsed and was acquired by someone else and was then parceled off and sold. History of the area I am slowly learning, met a real nice Lady this last weekend at the gold show here in Wa. state, her father lived and died there at Sawyers Bar, she gave me some great info on the area and hope to talk to her again to learn more, I do know the claims historical name "Flapjack Bar"