Possible land swap/grab in the wind?

[goldenIrishman]

We were reading the local newspaper this morning and found an article on a proposed land transfer from BLM to the local government. This got me thinking about how it would effect mining within the county and if such a land transfer would even be legal. The proposed transfer would shift all BLM lands within the borders of the county to the county. The article stated that the county is looking into this so they can get more tax revenue from the lands than what they currently get from the feds. The vast majority of these lands are undeveloped and not good for anything other than grazing cattle and mining. In some areas they're not even good for that!

Now it is my understanding that BLM lands belong to ALL of the people of the United States, NOT just the people of Arizona. The Arizona State Constitution states the the state is not allowed to own any lands other than those the state offices are on. So how can the lands be transferred to the state and then to the county? The article even stated the they are considering amending the State Constitution to allow the state to own land.

Another question that comes to mind would be, how is this going to effect miners within the county? If BLM is no longer in charge of these lands, they would no longer be able to collect maintenance fees for claims. So would the county then be the ones getting the maintenance fees? Could the county shut down mining if they so wished? Would all claim paperwork now reside in the county? There are a lot of questions that are going to have to be answered here and some hard questions asked before this gets rammed down our collective throats! How is this going to effect out of state claim holders?

I feel very strongly that this is going to open up a HUGE can of worms and is something that every miner in Mohave County, Arizona should be looking into and asking questions about. Mining is part of our history in this area and if there is going to be major changes made in how claims are handled in this area, miners and claim owners need to have a voice in what those changes are and how they are implemented.

 

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[arizau]

There is a movement for states to gain control of federal land within their boundries. I had not thought about what effect it may have on claims and the like. Could be something to worry about.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Like I said.... There are a LOT of questions that need answers on this. I learned the Yuma County has already done this to some extent. Maybe we should ask members from that area what effect if any it has had on them? I'm going to try to find out about the areas in Yuma County (if any) that this has happened in and contact the claim owners for information if possible.

EDIT: Thank goodness for the LandMatters site! Makes finding the information much easier! Just hope I can get some answers for all of us from the claim owners in the area.

 

[Clay Diggins]

There is no such plan. Not in Yuma or elsewhere. It's a recently popular notion that has no basis in fact.

The Public lands are sometimes open to exchange. That would be an equal value land exchange with State governments that hold some particular types of land. Most of those possible exchanges already happened back in the 1950's.

The Public lands can sometimes be granted by Congress for local public works programs. There are some pretty severe restrictions on what applies and you have to get Congress to agree so these grants are fairly rare and fairly small.

The western States can not take public lands for their own use. Each State's Enabling Act states the government and people of the state:

Agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated and ungranted public lands lying within the boundaries thereof.

Forever is a long time from now. Long enough so you can forget about worrying about what happens to the public lands should a State, County or City decide they want a chunk. Just ain't gonna happen. Not by swap, grab or vote.

Heavy Pans

 

[spillercanyon]

It's always good to hear from knowledgeable Clay. Sure glad he's on the miners side!

 

[goldenIrishman]

Hummm... Then either the reporter who wrote the piece is blowing smoke or its some kind of test to see if anyone would notice. I was just passing on what was in the paper. I'll be contacting the writer to inquire as to just where he got his facts and if need be to set him straight.

 

[Hoser John]

It is extremely hard to garner fact from fiction as even SNOPES not accurate anymore. To thine own self be true and just do the best you can do as what IS legal and protected is just run over and buried in enviro lies and piles of cash. Look at the Washington State NEW dredge ban, just like Oregon and Kalif,lies all lies but by god it sure floated......sic sic sic world where rule of law and truth are no longer the bedrock of justice..... John

 

[kayakpat]

He is right there have been a few bills out there to have states control the federal lands and to be able to sell the rights to private interest for profit. The Feds are not the most lovable but they have saved the lands out west for all of us to use unlike the east which almost all has been sold off. Lots of NO TRESPASSING signs.

 

[kayakpat]

CHECK OUT SA 838 yourself and its effect. very bad news for us