A big part of the problem is organizations like Sierra Club = they literally have thousands upon thousands of people who are members, and will vote and support anything they come up with.
These folks have been brainwashed by the organizations, and these people truly believe all the hype they are given. The whole enchilada - not just about treasure hunters, or dredgers - but about guns, hunting, "saving the forests" and truly think that the only way to save America from all the villans is to take away all the public land, put it in a bubble, and only let people "see" it (of course, they get to map it, picnic on it, hike on it, cross-country ski on it - ad nauseum. And the common member thinks they are "saving the whales", so to speak.
We, as dredgers, prospertors, miners and treasure hunters are neither funded as well, nor have the organizational abilities, that these big organizations have. (we do have PLP and the GPAA who DO fight some of our battles).
But, by gosh - that is no reason to throw our hands up and say "oh well".
I, as well, have done the writing, and telephoning, and the 'letters to the editor', and talked to politicians - to the point that they wanted me to register as a lobbyist. It sucks for a small entity fighting a big corporation or two or three, along with the organizations that go with it.
But, we cannot sit back - never just sit back - I still find myself writing letters to big and small newspapers on a regular basis, and send hundreds of email and snail mails to our representatives.
Many of our representatives straight out lie. We have several letters, from presidents to congress people, who say things like "I will not vote for anything that takes away use of our public lands" and other crap like that, but then when the bills come up - I see how they REALLY voted.
Personally, that's one of my next steps - to make some of these 'promises' public and let people see just who is honest and who isn't.
Some of these things are the reason I don't - and never will - vote for some politicians.
One of my biggest disapointments was Bruce Babbit - you would have thought, considering his background, that he would be a person who
would side with people like us - but he was one of the worst - not just for people like us, either ---
Either way - don't ever stop fighting, for the things we want - The Sierra Club won't, nor the Nature's Conservancy - and other big name organizations - who happen to have a combined membership of over half of our adult population.
Because these are the same people who use the minerals, just like everyone else - who hold events in places you and I cannot go, and, frankly, have deforested thousands of acres for 'parks, golf courses and ski vacations.
B
fOR THE 1ST TIME IN MY WHOLE GOLD GRUBBN' LIFE I MUST SAY NO--NOT ONLY NO BUT LL NO 
the radical environutz have been judisiously filling their coffers and now the industry has been brought to it's knees by the cancer on the klamath--When 1 state falls--so we all go with a legal precedent for all to hang their kill dredging hats on--sorry-John 
I have a room full of industry awards and hundreds of letters of thanks from 1,000's a charities/schools/miners associations over the years-DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW SQUAT!!!
I've got in another 3 days now--catch me ifn'ya can MoFo-John 
but my lawyer has instructed me to NOT POST PIX OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES as all info on the net can and WILL be used against you in a court of law--John
