Taternut everything depends on where you are, you take chances doing ANYTHING on government managed lands , I mean Forestry service managed land and BLM managed land. These are public lands but are regulated by government agency's and there employees are basically making up rules or following over regulated rules LOL
Under certain circumstances you need a permit to high bank but the way i read those rules, if you have a claim you dont need there stinkin permit, and how is running an instream high banker diverting a creek anyhow? but i could be wrong. There is no dredge permit available, i'm not even sure the old regs or the new regs even mean anything, some rivers and creeks are seasonal for dredging some open year round. Whatever you do that has a motor, gas or electric, becareful, find out whats going on in your area with the miners and mining.