Gov calls for mining ban in Siskiyou Wild Rivers area
From our weekly issue dated October 21, 2009
“If it can’t be grown, it must be mined.”
That’s the Southwest Oregon Mining Association motto, which Vice President Ron Gibson has printed on his business card.
But Gibson and his fellow miners soon may be with fewer places to engage in their livelihood, as Gov. Kulongoski last week called for greater protections of the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area.
In a Thursday, Oct. 15 press release, Kulongoski announced that he sent letters to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar urging the reinstatement of mining withdrawal for the million-acre space, which spans Bureau of Land Management and national forest land in Josephine and Curry counties.
President Clinton first proposed the withdrawal in January 2001, shortly before leaving office, but it never was finalized by George W. Bush during his two terms.
“The Siskiyou Wild Rivers area is the most unique and biologically diverse region of our state, and without greater protections, we could lose what makes this area so special,” Kulongoski said in the press release. “The first step should be to withdraw mining, and the second should be a wilderness designation – the greatest protection federal law provides.”
Gibson said that there is “no lawful authority” for the governor to make such a request. He added that he thinks Kulongoski is essentially asking the federal agencies to trample on miners’ rights.
“That’s exactly what he’s trying to do,” Gibson said. “But there’s no provision in law for it.”
According to Gibson and other mining advocates, their rights are codified by an 1866 mineral grant, which cannot be trumped by any subsequent legislation or administrative rule changes.
“It never ceases to amaze me that regulatory agencies or the state as a whole or the federal government thinks it can just come and walk all over anybody they want to promote their agenda. That’s incredibly naïve on their part,” Gibson said.
“There are some instances where they can get by with it and people don’t raise enough resistance to it. The mining community is not one of those.”
Kulongoski has been among the politicians calling for changes to existing mining laws, some of which were enacted in 1872. In the Oct. 15 press release, Kulongoski raised the issue yet again.
“Without the withdrawal, the area is subject to the 1872 federal mining law, which does not reflect modern environmental protections or assure adequate royalties to public coffers,” the release states.
Advertisement:
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently banned the use of suction dredge mining in that state, which has caused Kulongoski to be concerned that those miners may try to move their operations to Oregon.
Gibson acknowledges that may be the case, but adds that lawsuits already have been filed challenging California’s suction dredge ban.
Kulongoski also has raised concerns about reports of increased mining in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers region. However, Gibson said that miners are coming under increased harassment from agency representatives.
“We are under attack from all sides,” Gibson said.
A mining withdrawal for the area would not affect valid mining claims, Kulongoski wrote in his letter to Salazar and Vilsack.
“It would give the managing federal agencies time to sort out the invalid claims as well as provide Oregons’ congressional delegation time to address the need for wilderness protection for the Siskiyou Wild Rivers,” Kulongoski wrote.
Gibson challenges the ability of any governing body to take those kinds of actions. He said that doing so is in direct violation of the granted mineral rights.
“The only jurisdiction the government themselves kept was the administrative part and the procedures for filing claims and maintaining those claims,” he said. “Other than that, it’s free and open.”
A town hall meeting regarding mining is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass. Gibson is among those scheduled to speak.
Advertisement:
