http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/194492_mining09.html

Mine threat just a stunt to criticize land laws

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SPOKANE -- An environmental group has staked a claim to mine 20 acres of land next to a posh subdivision near Hayden Lake, Idaho, to illustrate how antiquated the nation's mining laws have become.

Members of The Lands Council drove a stake into some public land near the Canfield Mountain subdivision on Thursday, and said they could mine the surrounding land under the Mining Law of 1872.

"Hard-rock mining trumps all other uses and values associated with America's public lands," said Mike Petersen of The Lands Council.

The group now has 90 days to pay a $165 fee to file the claim, Petersen said.

They don't actually intend to mine for gold, silver, copper or other minerals, he said.

"We are trying to show that people can go into a rich neighborhood that happens to be on a national forest boundary and tear things up," Petersen said.

Other environmental groups around the West will be staking similar claims next to neighborhoods, ski areas and hiking trails to demonstrate that the old law must be amended, Petersen said.

The Lands Council is part of Westerners for Responsible Mining, which also includes groups in California, Montana, Seattle, Idaho, Colorado and New Mexico.

Staking such claims is perfectly legal, said Celia Boddington, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management in Washington, D.C. There is no major effort under way in Congress to amend the mining law, she said.

The National Mining Association contends a reliable supply of minerals is essential to the nation's economic health. The group supports reform that provides a fair economic return to the federal government for mining on federal lands, while protecting the economics of U.S. mining.

Environmentalists have long criticized the act, saying it gives public resources to private companies for a small fraction of their real value.

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Environmentalists have long criticized the act, saying it gives public resources to private companies for a small fraction of their real value.

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In other words, the existing mining laws no longer benefit the rich in their endeavors to exploit land for the sake of lining their pockets. All under the disguise of environmentalism.

Or more simply, it's OK to blade out thousands of acres a day for the sake of bulding the latest in quaint country living subdivisions, but Lord forbid we should have motorized access to the wild via existing mining and logging roads!
In the movie "Apocolypse Now" there was a line, "The poor are always getting screwed over by the rich. Always have, always will."

what these people do not realize is that they do not understand the law and they are committing a felony fraud. in order to have a legit claim they need to prove discovery and then it has to pass the prudent man test. these folks have no idea and there is nothing wrong with the corrent law