Ruch, OR – On the heels of the Galice Mining District suing him in federal court, Senator Alan Bates (D-Ashland) is again under fire. Rick Barclay, a long time timber worker and gold miner from Ruch, Oregon has received the go ahead from the Secretary of the State of Oregon to launch proceedings to recall Bates from his public office. “Bates is treading on the law of the land,” Barclay remarked. “We live in a Constitutional Republic where the rule of law is to reign. Myself and others want to see this restored and Alan Bates seems to have very little regard for the law, property rights, local prosperity and the constitutions of this state and nation. It's my opinion that he is out of touch with the common man and is totally unfit to lead.”

Click on the image to download the May 2013 Western Mining Alliance newsletter.

Mining and land rights groups are outraged at the federal government’s latest attempt to sidestep the Mining Law of 1872 on all public lands in the western United States and instead give priority to solar and wind energy projects.

Joe Martori, who owns Sleep Bear Mining Co., near Randsburg, Calif. is worried the new federal policy will sound the death knell for small-scale mining everywhere.

“It’s on the Federal Registry; It’s law,” Martori said. “It’s totally illegal and against our rights.”

The entry in the Federal Registry is called “Segregation of Lands-Renewable Energy” and was made April, 30. It is listed as a final rule.
Martori is urging mining and land rights groups to attend a Bureau of Land Mangement meeting this Thursday, May 23 to voice opposition to the federal “land segregation” policies.

“People have got to get involved or I’m afraid we’re not going to be able ot mine at all,” he said.

The BLM Steering Committee meeting will be held Thursday, May 23, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., 300 South Richmond Road, Ridgecrest, Calif. 93555.

Read the information in the Federal Registry

The Galice Mining District has petitioned the federal district court for an emergency preliminary
injunction to halt a recent raft of proposed anti-mining legislation in Oregon.

The petition names Governor John Kitzhaber and three state senators:  Sen. Peter Courtney, Sen. Jackie Dingfelder and Sen. Alan Bates:

• Sen. Peter Courtney (D-Salem — District 11) is the Senate President and is responsible for oversight of the Oregon State Senate Committee for Environment and Natural Resources.
• Sen. Alan Bates (D-Medford — District 3) is the sponsor and author of several pieces of the legislative activity in question and is vice-chairman of the Oregon State Senate Committee for Environment and Natural Resources which is responsible for the vetting of this legislation.
• Sen. Jackie Dingfelder (D-Portland — District 23) chairs the Oregon State Senate Committee for Environment and Natural Resources which is responsible for the vetting of the legislation.

Article as featured in the Pick & Shovel Gazette June/July 2013 issue. Join the GPAA today to subscribe to the Pick & Shovel Gazette and Gold Prospectors magazine.

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By Brad Jones
GPAA Editor / Content Director

The Gold Prospectors Association of America 2013 Gold & Treasure Expo spring circuit is well underway and is drawing a new breed of younger, eager gold prospectors and more families.

The GPAA Gold & Treasure Expo is being held in Las Vegas this weekend, April 27-28. It is the biggest event of the year! Don’t miss your chance on Sunday to win a trip of a lifetime to the GPAA’s Cripple River Mining Camp in Alaska.

One noticeable change in 2013 has been the shift from Gold & Treasure Shows to Gold & Treasure Expos.

“Expo tells you straight up that we’ve got vendors ready to sell you products,” said Trade Show Manager Gary Sturgill. “That’s where you’re going to find the latest and greatest new equipment and the vendors are going to demonstrate how to use it.”

Sturgill said education has played a pivotal role this year with much more focus on teaching people how to prospect and pan for gold.

“We have a few different guest speakers who we haven’t had before,” he said. One noticeable change in 2013 has been the shift from Gold & Treasure Shows to Gold & Treasure Expos.

“Expo tells you straight up that we’ve got vendors ready to sell you products,” said Trade Show Manager Gary Sturgill. “That’s where you’re going to find the latest and greatest new equipment and the vendors are going to demonstrate how to use it.”

Sturgill said education has played a pivotal role this year with much more focus on teaching people how to prospect and pan for gold.

“We have a few different guest speakers who we haven’t had before,” he said.

My name is Alan Olsen, and I am a member of the Oregon Senate, representing District 20. I am also Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. This will be the third legislative session I have served on this committee, and I am still consistently surprised by the type of policy that I see moving through the committee. Last week the committee voted on two bills to ban legally permitted small-scale mining operations on Oregon’s waterways. SB 838 will impose a five-year moratorium on small-scale mining with suction dredge equipment, and SB 401 will declare 14,000 miles of Oregon waterways as “scenic waterways.” I voted against both bills for one simple reason; not once during the many hours of public testimony was the committee presented with scientific evidence that the practice of small-scale suction dredge mining is damaging to fish populations or the environment.

We want to hear from you!

If you wish to submit a letter for publication in Miner’s Mail in Gold Prospectors Magazine or for Letters to the Editor in the Pick & Shovel Gazette, please email your letter to content@goldprospectors.org with Letter to the Editor in the subject line. Please include your first and last name, city/town state, whether or not you are a GPAA or LDMA member and your local GPAA chapter (if you belong to one). Please specify for which publication your letter is intended and include your phone number for verification. Your phone number will NOT be published. — GPAA Editor/Content Director Brad Jones

By Brad Jones
GPAA Editor / Content Director

The Gold Prospectors Association of America 2013 Gold & Treasure Expo spring circuit is well underway and is drawing a new breed of younger, eager gold prospectors and more families.

The GPAA Gold & Treasure Expo crew heads to Las Vegas April 27-28 for the biggest event of the year.

One noticeable change in 2013 has been the shift from Gold & Treasure Shows to Gold & Treasure Expos.

“Expo tells you straight up that we’ve got vendors ready to sell you products,” said Trade Show Manager Gary Sturgill. “That’s where you’re going to find the latest and greatest new equipment and the vendors are going to demonstrate how to use it.”

Sturgill said education has played a pivotal role this year with much more focus on teaching people how to prospect and pan for gold.

“We have a few different guest speakers who we haven’t had before,” he said. One noticeable change in 2013 has been the shift from Gold & Treasure Shows to Gold & Treasure Expos.

“Expo tells you straight up that we’ve got vendors ready to sell you products,” said Trade Show Manager Gary Sturgill. “That’s where you’re going to find the latest and greatest new equipment and the vendors are going to demonstrate how to use it.”

Sturgill said education has played a pivotal role this year with much more focus on teaching people how to prospect and pan for gold.

“We have a few different guest speakers who we haven’t had before,” he said.