Support sought among Illinois Valley groups for mining withdrawal
From our weekly issue dated December 16, 2009
The political battle regarding mining activities in Illinois Valley continues, with some area environmental groups petitioning the Josephine County Board of Commissioners to support a proposed withdrawal.
During the commission’s Wednesday, Dec. 9 weekly business session at Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass, Kerby resident Guenter Ambron submitted a resolution on the matter and a draft of a petition he plans to circulate among withdrawal supporters.
A withdrawal of mining from the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area originally was proposed during the waning days of the Clinton administration, but never enacted by President Bush. But in recent months, Gov. Kulongoski, U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Springfield), U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) all have written letters in support of the withdrawal to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.
However, the county commissioners voted 2-1 to send a letter to Vilsack and Salazar opposing the withdrawal during their Tuesday, Nov. 24 administrative meeting at the courthouse in Grants Pass. Commissioner Dave Toler, an Illinois Valley resident, dissented, stating that the letter was “confusing” and unlikely to “have any influence.”
Ambron’s petition already has been signed by Friends of the Kalmiopsis coordinator Barbara Ullian and Siskiyou Project Executive Director Shane Jimerfield.
“In short, hard rock mining provides no direct economic benefits to Josephine County according to government reports and there’s been essentially no production of hard rock minerals for many years,” the petition states, adding that the withdrawal would require mining claims to be evaluated to determine their validity. “A stop on mining would not affect commercial aggregate operations since they are not covered under the 1872 law.”
The petition also states that the public supports protecting the area, and that individuals and organizations from California are organizing to mine in Oregon since a suction dredge ban was passed in that state.
Advertisement:
Also presented to the commissioners by Ambron was a proposed resolution “to limit mining to valid existing claims that meet all requirements of federal law and to protect the nationally outstanding values of the Illinois River Basin, Rough and Ready Creek and the South Kalmiopsis.”
The resolution states that mining “has been on a steady decline for decades.”
“From 1997 to 2006 the only non-fuel mineral production in Oregon has been for non-locatable industrial minerals such as gravel, sand and crushed rock,” the resolution states. “Mineral production in Josephine and Curry Counties for the last decade has been primarily for non-locatable industrial minerals.”
There are nearly 4,000 abandoned hardrock mineral sites throughout Oregon, the resolution states, “including the Formosa Mine, a Superfund site in Douglas County with an estimated cleanup cost to the taxpayer of $50 million.”
A withdrawal of mining from the region “would not affect claimants who have valid existing rights under the General Mining Law,” the resolution states. It also mentions that Rough and Ready Creek is a tributary of the west fork of Illinois River, which is ranked number one in the state for botanical diversity and rare plants.
“The Illinois River Basin anadromous fisheries are the stronghold for wild anadromous fish repopulation in the Rogue Basin,” the resolution states. It adds that mining “could result in adverse effects to residents of the area” and potentially harm the tourism economy.
Advertisement:
