The environmental agenda is in every level of government from municipalities to the White House and UN. The way I see it, these two things are vital to the survival of mining:
1) Miners must coop with other groups of infringed-upon citizens - loggers, gun owners, auto enthusiasts, and all lower tax/limited government groups such as Americans for Prosperity, Tea Party, 912, and even your political party (do keep in mind that Republican politicians DO NOT necessarily reflect the views of the local parties.)
2) FILL your local government seats! You cannot sway your state, the middle of the power structure to act in your interests when governments above and below are still regulating the heck out of land use. We, you, need to fill seat on city councils, planning committees, county commissioners, school boards, fire boards, water boards, state legislatures, etc, and take those back, then we can get somewhere.
Five years ago my husband and I woke up to a Marxist being elected president. We went to the first Oregon Tea Party gathering. We went to 912 meetings and heard over and over "Become a Precinct Committee Person. So we were elected PCPs. Then we became more active and were elected as delegates to the Oregon Republican Party Platform Convention and helped shape the party's core values for our state. Then my husband was elected Marion Co. Republican Party Chairman. Concurrently the ORP Legislative Chairman, and a staunch conservative constitutionalist, he meets with our legislature's Republican Caucus to pass on the message from the ORP.
I'm still a PCP, will be a Platform delegate this year, and ran for my local school board, have been on the budget committee for my small rural town.
Lots of good folks in Oregon have done the very same thing. Now the majority of Oregon's Republican county parties are filled with flag-waving constitutionalists & Tea Party types, working to restore government to its proper place and size.
Five years ago, we woke up and said "WTH?!"
It Does Not matter if you've never been politically active or even conscious, you must take a pro-active part in keeping America, as we know it, alive.
<Climbing down off soapbox.>