Illinois Valley News

More than 100 people packed the Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass on Wednesday, Oct. 28 for a town hall meeting on the past, present and future of mining in Southwestern Oregon.

A seven-member panel provided varying perspectives on the industry and the regulatory environment facing its practitioners.

Retired geologist Len Ramp stated that when he first began working with the state Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI), his job included helping miners find deposits.

“We encouraged them, rather than restricting them,” Ramp said. He added that those kinds of policies changed “gradually” throughout the years.

The Benton Mine, northwest of Grants Pass, once was the largest employer in Josephine County, Ramp said, but was shut down by the government in the early 1940s. An operation at Nickel Mountain, west of Riddle, ran at a profit for many years, but closed because the price of nickel did not keep up with wages, he stated.

Jack Smith spoke about how five generations of his family have mined in the region. He stated that while some regulations of the industry are “healthy,” they also can put a “chokehold” on miners.

“The industry can exist,” Smith said. “There needs to be balance.”

Smith said that he considers himself an environmentalist, and that it is possible to reclaim land after mining operations have run their course. He said that such reclamations are required by state and federal laws.

A six-year project on Coyote Creek, near Wolf Creek, employed four people and was reclaimed to DOGAMI’s standards, Smith added. “It can be done,” Smith said.

Ron Gibson, Southwest Oregon Mining Association vice president, said that he has been researching mining laws for more than 40 years. He characterized mining as a “right granted by the U.S. Congress” since the mid-1800s.

Gibson, who has worked as a mining consultant, said that he conducted an “intensive” eight-month mineral study of the western United States approximately 20 years ago. Oregon, and its southwest region in particular, is “tremendously mineral rich,” he said.

Restrictions Affect Large Areas of U.S.

While performing his study, Gibson said, he learned about restrictions placed on mineral-rich regions through the imposition of wilderness areas and monument designations. He said that as of 1997, the total acreages of withdrawn lands was larger than half the U.S. states combined.

Waldo Mining District President Tom Kitchar said that suction dredging, which he uses, is “probably the most ecologically friendly” method of placer mining. Because large-scale mining operations require a plan of operation, a bond and reclamation work, Kitchar said, suction dredging is about the only form of mining taking place in the region.

“You can’t do anything bigger than that,” he said.

Kitchar later challenged Gov. Kulongoski’s claim that a proposed mining withdrawal for the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area won’t affect existing mining operations there.

“That’s basically an out-and-out lie,” Kitchar said.

Once an area has been withdrawn, he said, people won’t be allowed to mine it, even with an existing claim.

Kitchar said that such a withdrawal would mean the end of any mining on U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land in Josephine County for the foreseeable future.

He also expressed doubt about the possibility of Californians crossing the border to conduct suction dredging in Oregon. That was one of the reasons given by Kulongoski for requesting the mining withdrawal. However, Kitchar said that lawsuits already are being filed to challenge California’s ban on suction dredging, and added that most of the good creek and stream claims in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area already are taken.

No Mining Feared By Walt Freeman

Lifelong Illinois Valley resident Walt Freeman said that he has been mining off and on for more than 50 years. He stated that proposed changes to existing mining laws would change the activity from a granted right to a revocable privilege.

“When that happens, there will be no mining,” Freeman said.

Freeman shared stories of his dealings with government agencies, which spent several years and more than $1 million denying one of his claims. The project he hoped to start would have put Illinois Valley residents to work, he said.

Under the proposed changes to mining laws, Freeman stated, miners would be forced to pay for mineral examinations requested by regulatory agencies. He added that limiting the ability of Americans to engage in mineral extraction ultimately would make the nation more dependent on foreign countries.

“I fear for our industry,” Freeman said.

Bill Peterson, of Copeland Sand & Gravel, gave a presentation on that company’s history, along with a review of the regulatory processes that it must go through with a litany of county, state and federal agencies.

Katherine Lehman, the immediate past president for the People USA Grange, discussed provisions in every major federal land-use regulation that require agencies to coordinate their plans with local governing entities.

Counties can and should demand coordination authority whenever federal laws affect their jurisdictions, Lehman said.

During a question-and-answer session, Gibson floated the theory that the minerals contained within existing and proposed wilderness areas are being used as collateral to secure the federal government’s mounting debts.

Lesley Adams, Rogue Riverkeeper for the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center environmental group, asked panelists if they condone illegal mining. Adams cited the case of Gold Hill resident Clifford Tracy, 37, who was arrested and charged with illegal mining in early September during a traffic stop outside his claim on Sucker Creek in Illinois Valley.

That arrest has caused an angry uproar among members of the mining community.

Gibson replied that Tracy and other miners’ activities are ensured under a long-established granted right.

“It’s not an issue of permission,” Gibson said.

Tracy will have his day in court, Gibson said, adding that Adams had “cast a pall upon his character without due process.”

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