In all of the RMP's Mining was not addressed very well and you have to dig deep in the RMP and EIS's of each state
just to find the numbers of existing mining claims. someone pointed out in some of the documentation they changed
the wording from "valid existing rights" to "Documented valid existing rights"
what does that mean? you wont be given a chance to prove your claim through the validation process?
The Sage Grouse Switcheroo - WSJ
WSJ reprint;
The Interior Department decided last week not to classify the greater sage grouse as an endangered species, ending five years of deliberation. Some are hailing this as thought-to-be-extinct government restraint, but it’s really political cover for other plans that will do as much or more economic harm.
The Obama Administration pondered listing sage grouses, which strut around 165 million acres in 11 western states, as protected under the Endangered Species Act, a distinction that severely limits human presence anywhere the fowl might turn up. Environmental groups grouse that the population is dwindling, but this is in dispute: The number of mating males has increased 63% since 2013, according to an August report from the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell cited “unprecedented effort by dozens of partners” as reason not to list the opulent looking avians, and many green outfits chirped in support. It’s a happy time in history to be a sage grouse: All 11 states have mapped conservation plans, with some 60 local working groups pitching in. The Agriculture Department works with landowners on cutting down trees to help the birds spot hungry coyotes, among other efforts. Industry has poured in millions to keep the bird roaming free.
We’ve long supported such partnerships over a punitive species list that rehabilitates fewer than 5% of member critters, but we don’t recall the greens deferring to states and business during the 1990s spotted owl saga, or ever. The reason for the fauna federalism is that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has rolled out 15 land-use plans that would wall off about 60 million acres of federal land as a sage-grouse spa.
More than half of the bird’s turf is on federal land, which is leased for everything from grazing to mining. The plan’s rules would drag out the permitting process for oil and gas development, and block new leases on 10 million acres across five states. The Western Energy Alliance says BLM’s proposal will cost $5.6 billion in lost economic activity and 31,000 jobs, more than the group predicted an endangered species listing would burn up, as the BLM route features buffer zones around mating areas and stringent “disturbance caps.”
And since no plan is complete without raw political favoritism, BLM plans to excuse from restrictions two transmission lines that span several states and are designed to haul wind energy, deemed “priority projects” by an Administration hooked on renewable power, as the Reason Foundation’s Brian Seasholes has pointed out. Great news for ravens who hang out on power lines looking for a snack.
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop called Interior’s decision a “de facto listing,” and he’s right. Interior’s ploy allows the feds to accomplish what they always wanted while appearing judicious. But with oil and gas development so important to a weak economy, soon we’ll need a job conservation plan for humans.
