Ecological/Environmental Impact: What do you do to limit your impact?

[Rocksy34]

When out searching for gold, how many of you are conscious of your impact on the Environment? What are some techniques you use to reduce this impact?

 

[Rocksy34]

The thread is yours.
There's no need to try to explain myself or the intent of the post further.

 

[ClaimStake]

Sierra fund spy...

HAH!!...even if so, who cares? let 'em have all the info we got.

because you won't get much in environment damage from a small miner.

 

[Hefty1]

1. Ecological/Environmental Impact: What do you do to limit your impact?
   When out searching for gold, how many of you are conscious of your impact on the Environment? What are some techniques you use to reduce this impact?

The moment I seen the title of this thread, it made me furious.Us miners hear in Cali, and the rest of the west coast have been hearing these three words, for the last 9-10 years or so. Ecological/Environmental Impact, what little we do, those three words have "Impacted" many lives, and not in a good way. To many different bad ways to list here. I to care about the environment, but come on this crap has gotten way outta hand. There are many different things out there that cause Ecological/Environmental Impacts and you come on here and choose "When out searching for gold," And I ask WHY? Why gold, why not politicians use a lot of paper, what can they do to limit their impact on the Environment?

1. Clay Diggins - Nice post, thank you for your input. I am curious about these matters, just starting out. Besides what has been mentioned here, a concern of mine is erosion. I've seen the impact of fossil hunters before and know erosion can be an issue. Now as for the grammar, well, let's just say I used the it appropriately. The words of concern were in the title, for one thing, and therefore capitalization is appropriate. Second, there is no difference between the environment that includes animals and the environment that includes humans. Humans are animals after all, we are all a part of nature. So the capitalization is there to indicate the Environment, as in the larger Natural World. Surprisingly I am educated! Ha. My point being if grammar is not an issue to you, then there is no need to make it one. Reading your comment was pleasant until I came to this part. I hope that this site can remain enjoyable for all of us. On a different note, you seem very experienced and I am grateful that you are here to share information. Keep up the good work and thank you for caring.

"Just starting out, I am curious about these matters." Just starting out at what? How to become a pain in the BUTT evo-wacko.

"there is no difference between the environment that includes animals and the environment that includes humans. Humans are animals after all, we are all a part of nature."

I am really glad you said this,so I ask what is the problem with what we do as small scale miners and the footprint we leave?
We move dirt and rocks and make holes in the ground.
There are a lot of animals that do the same thing, beavers cut down a lot of trees, fish poop in the water, all animals "Stomp" in the woods, creating trails causing erosion. I could go on with this, but im done wasting my time. I am going out for a"Stomp" and hope I don’t step on a 23 legged yellow ant.

 

[Hefty1]

The thread is yours.
There's no need to try to explain myself or the intent of the post further.

No need to....to easily perceived or understood; clear, self-evident, or apparent:

 

[KevinInColorado]

Sierra fund spy...

GW, you know me to well....guess I don't have to respond, although you were much nicer. This looks like the making of an DIZZY Martin Law coming up. Wonder if she is her mentor?

No need to be paranoid folks. Let's give her a chance and be welcoming to newbies.

 

[russau]

Well this thread seems tobe getting heated up at points. A little jab here and there! Sure seems that the wacoenviros and the heat is getting to some of us! Come on cool weather!!!

 

[DizzyDigger]

Easy there gent's.....

It could very well be that Rocksy has only seen/heard one side of the coin
on these issues. She is educated, meaning she has undergone the whole
gamut of teaching from extreme environmentalist teachers and professors.
It's not unreasonable to consider that she's never dealt with the realities
of the environment rather than the "fairy tale environment" they teach in
schools these days.

Rocksy, hope you understand that you've touched on a very sore spot
(as in rubbed raw). The preservationist (vs. conservationist) mindset
of so many environmental organizations today has caused a ton of pain
(as in pain in the arse) for today's small scale miners. People here are frustrated
to no end with the ridiculous lawsuits and legislation that has been forced
upon us by people who really haven't a clue about reality, but instead seem
to be trying to force their "fairy tale" world into existence.

People are angry, and in a way, you gave them (most likely unintentionally)
a target..so, the whole can of whoop-ass rolls out.

Prospectors/miners are true, salt-of-the-Earth kinda people. We deal daily
in reality, while the extreme environmental groups try to force their version
of an environmental fairy-tale on the rest of us. As I said..it's a touchy subject.

I will say this though, you won't find any pigs here. We take out what we brought
in, and don't leave messes for others to clean up. We make every effort to clean-up
or restore the area we've been working in. We do not pollute the rivers/streams, nor
do we harm fish populations in any way. Yes, there are some large mines from decades
past that require cleaning up, but blaming today's small-scale miner for those issues
would be about the same as blaming today's citizens of Germany and Japan for starting WW II.

More seriously...

You said you were looking to start prospecting...any ideas of what you'd
like to prospect for? Gold, gemstones, nugget detecting..??

 

[mytimetoshine]

No need to be paranoid folks. Let's give her a chance and be welcoming to newbies.

There is no paranoia. It doesn't take a genius to see this post for what it is.

When I first entertained the idea of prospecting for gold. I never once worried about "environmental/egological" impact, why?

Because I'm not an idiot, that's why.

I guess it only took my brain 2 nanoseconds to understand no human being with a shovel could ever have a substantial impact on the "environment" one way or the other.

If I'm wrong..my apologies but let me suggest something for the "newbie"... find another hobby because you don't know enough about the outdoor or nature to become a gold miner.

 

[gold tramp]

This kinda reminds me of when I was watchin the chickens in the coop,
funny thing they picked out one bird went to work peckin its feathers off, till they had its backside picked clean.

A couple birds just watched the process, had to wonder what they were thinkin.

weird thing to watch, this thread just kinda reminded me of that.

What makes them dadgum birds do that ?
Gt............

 

[Hefty1]

Concerned,concerned, concerned. Tell us your concerns of what us small scale miners do.
Is it erosion? Youcannot stop it. You can postpone it. But you cannot stop it. ie. Landslides.
Gravity is a *****!
Is it the rocks thatwe move? Is it the holes we dig? Is it the "Tromping" that we do?
I am all ears…

Techniques,techniques, techniques. Tell us what "Techniques" you think we shouldbe using.
To lower the impacton nature. Ie. Move rocks 2 feet instead of 5 feet? Dig smaller holes?
My technique onlowering the impact is…..I stop "Tromping" slightly bend at theknees, bend
forward at thewaist, reach my left arm down towards the ground, and with my left hand, scoop
up that beer cansomeone tossed on the side of the trail. And place it in my pack.

Don’t bothercommending me for it, appreciating it, or any of that 1st grader talk. I don’tdo it
for you or savingthe world. I do it for me!

Ok…the floor is allyours. Have at it.

 

[Goldwasher]

Sometimes one of the chickens has to go...just the nature of nature. Put chickens in a coop and it will happen every time. Some times that ol' leather back hen is the one that has the rooster on top of her the most for totally different reasons lovin' her to death eh'. Whats real fun is throwing in one big hornworm for for them to chase each other for...they get that look of disbelief once that tomato bug is gone good times........Just sayin'

I admit i picked up on a pattern i've seen here before... here's a quote from a response if ya'll didn't catch it.."Personally I do have problems with large scale mining.."
so on and so on.

maybe a few of us are paranoid and kinda circle camp,just on the edge of the firelight keepin our eye out while everyone chats around the fire.......


I honestly hope Rocky is an actual "sassy...mud lovin' deer huntin' ,jeep driven', treasure huntin' girl"...something something . Then We'll have two of them!!!!

 

[Hefty1]

GW...there was a lot more than what you quoted.

 

[Goldwasher]

I know....that one is just a big one that got kinda buried

 

[arizau]

I know....that one is just a big one that got kinda buried

Except for my earlier post and, Yep, I picked up on others too that I did not get into.

Here is what I originally posted: "There is so much wrong with some of your thoughts here. The one that is most puzzling is that you seem to be against open pit mining, or for that matter any large scale operation be it surface or underground. Have you ever thought about where almost all of the metal and minerals that are so essential to the world society today comes from? Mining AND IN MASSIVE QUANTITIES ALL AROUND THE WORLD! Yes it may be unsightly and, from past ignorance (emphasis on PAST), has caused some erosion or pollution here in the U.S. but it is an absolute necessity if we as humans are going to, not only survive but keep progressing to meet the growing world populations needs not to mention our own for our security.

 

[Reed Lukens]

The thread is yours.
There's no need to try to explain myself or the intent of the post further.

Sorry for your loss...

 

[goldenIrishman]

I honestly hope Rocky is an actual "sassy...mud lovin' deer huntin' ,jeep driven', treasure huntin' girl"...something something . Then We'll have two of them!!!!

One is bad enough GW. Many of us have gotten to the point of blocking the one you mentioned because we grew sick and tired of her Bovine Scientology. The last thing we need on here is a matched pair of them because then it would be in stereo!

ROCKSY: If you are serious about learning how to prospect/mine and how to do it the right way, ask questions of those that have been doing so for years. The first suggestion I would make would be to get yourself out of Texas since there isn't enough gold there to make it worth the effort of digging. If you'd be happy with "Fly poop" sized gold out of the Lano River then drive on. With no public lands in Texas to speak of, just finding a spot to dig can be a major problem if you want to really learn what mining is all about. If you want real gold...move west or east to Georgia or the Carolinas. West is a much better choice in my mind because of all the public lands we have out here.

The majority of SERIOUS miners are very far from being stupid individuals. To be good at what we do we have to be well versed in a wide range of scientific arenas. Geology, Hydrology, Mineralogy and even seismology to name but a few. We're also historians, cartographers and researchers. Thanks to the current situation with the courts we've also had to learn mining laws in an effort to protect our rights to mine. So someone that is good at finding gold on a consistent basis has to be smart, organized and willing to really work at it over a very long period of time. I started prospecting in the late 70s and have done so in 5 states so far. Even so, for me to say I know it all would be a major lie. Thirty-five or so years in this game and I am still learning new things on almost a daily basis. So if you're still interested in getting into "The largest game of hide and seek in the world", be ready to learn a lot and listen to what others here tell you so you don't have to reinvent the wheel over and over. Mining is the toughest job that you will ever love.

 

[Hefty1]

One is bad enough GW. Many of us have gotten to the point of blocking the one you mentioned because we grew sick and tired of her Bovine Scientology. The last thing we need on here is a matched pair of them because then it would be in stereo!

ROCKSY: If you are serious about learning how to prospect/mine and how to do it the right way, ask questions of those that have been doing so for years. The first suggestion I would make would be to get yourself out of Texas since there isn't enough gold there to make it worth the effort of digging. If you'd be happy with "Fly poop" sized gold out of the Lano River then drive on. With no public lands in Texas to speak of, just finding a spot to dig can be a major problem if you want to really learn what mining is all about. If you want real gold...move west or east to Georgia or the Carolinas. West is a much better choice in my mind because of all the public lands we have out here.

The majority of SERIOUS miners are very far from being stupid individuals. To be good at what we do we have to be well versed in a wide range of scientific arenas. Geology, Hydrology, Mineralogy and even seismology to name but a few. We're also historians, cartographers and researchers. Thanks to the current situation with the courts we've also had to learn mining laws in an effort to protect our rights to mine. So someone that is good at finding gold on a consistent basis has to be smart, organized and willing to really work at it over a very long period of time. I started prospecting in the late 70s and have done so in 5 states so far. Even so, for me to say I know it all would be a major lie. Thirty-five or so years in this game and I am still learning new things on almost a daily basis. So if you're still interested in getting into "The largest game of hide and seek in the world", be ready to learn a lot and listen to what others here tell you so you don't have to reinvent the wheel over and over. Mining is the toughest job that you will ever love.

BRAVO!!!

 

[ClaimStake]

@Rocksy- someone's gotta say, welcome to the forums... don't let the crusty old miners get to ya.

we're all a bit irked.

 

[nh.nugget]

Rocksy, don't mind us we're a bunch of beat up FOG'S. Welcome to the T-NET!

 

[Goldwasher]

HEY I'm a long ways off from old...

ROCKY if your for real then, WELCOME.
Do you post in the fossil forums? I havnt looked.