From David Buehn
There is a new front, and its BIG!!. There are 5 agencies that are combining forces, and they want to cut off access to mining in 22.5 million acres of the Calif. desert (National Parks, Calif. Energy Commission, US Fish & Wild Life, BLM, Calif. Dept. of Fish & Game). Its called the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP). They've had a few public comment meetings on the proposed draft (9000 pages long)....and I attended and spoke at the meeting, last night in Palm Desert. Yes, I was the only miner there. But there is a Nov. 19th meeting in Joshua Tree....that our Pres., I and other members will attend. The public comment period ends Jan. 9, 2015. There was lots of speakers from the conservation groups (Sierra Club was in force).....and they want a longer comment period, as they don't think that the draft goes far enough in protecting endangered species....etc.
If you would like more information.....let me know if I can help.
Here are some links:
http://www.drecp.org/docu...RMA_Part1_NLCS_1.pdf
http://drecp.org/about/contact.html#comments
Here is the email I sent them and text of my speech last night.
Re: Passage of the DRECP NEPA/CEQA draft.
Chris Beale,
DRECP Acting Executive Director
Email: cbeale@resourceslawgroup.com
Phone: 916-442-4880
Scott Flint, DRECP Program Manager
California Energy Commission
Email: scott.flint@energy.ca.gov
Phone: 916-651-3774
I would like to comment on the passage of any parts of the DRECP NEPA/CEQA draft.
My name is David Buehn, a resident of Palm Desert, California. I'm 68 years old, and have been coming out to the Southern California deserts for most of my life. I lived in the Long Beach, Huntington Beach area until 12 years ago. My Grandparents homesteaded 10 acres in Rancho Mirage in 1951. And I have seen the wonderful development of this area. Now that I live in Palm Desert....I've come to learn and participate in prospecting and mining for gold in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. It has become a major part of my life....and for many others, as well. Over the last few years....I've seen more and more of our "outdoor" areas restricted from usage, and I'm not happy about that.
The Federal Mining Law of 1872 guarantees citizens the right to claim and pursue mining minerals on Federal lands. And when Congress passed RS 2477 in 1866...and replaced it with the Federal Land Policy of 1976.....it specifically and explicitly reaffirmed all RS 2477 grant's previously made. This protects all highways in use prior to 1976 (yes dirt roads too, as most were, in 1866). So, RS 2477 confirms that any road leading to a potential mine or mining area is "open" for all citizens to use at any time.
As a Federal mining claim owner....I WOULD THEREFORE, LIKE TO VOTE AGAINST ANY CHANGE TO THE CURRENT "LAND USE" OF THE DESERT & MOUNTAIN AREAS THAT ARE UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR FURTHER RESTRICTIONS.
Sincerely,
David L. Buehn
Here are my notes from the meeting.
Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan meeting 11/7/14 in Palm Desert, Ca., UC Riverside campus auditorium
The meeting was hosted/MC by Chris Beale, DRECP Executive Director. He spelled out the agenda for the 2 ½ hour meeting. There would be 1 hour of an explanation of the 9000 page document that took 5 years to complete. Forty five minutes to question the individual agencies in an open-house setting, and 45 minutes for the public to comment (3 minutes each). The DRECP draft is the culmination of 5 agencies (National Parks, Calif. Energy Commission, US Fish & Wild Life, Bureau of Land Management, Calif. Dept. of Fish & Game), and their desires to use a broad-based ecosystem plan for conservation of 10 million acres in the 22.5 million acres in 7 counties of the California desert areas. I also found out that the Department of Defense also had some input, but was not represented this evening. One of the goals is to preserve sensitive species (37) and conserve resources, and accommodate renewable energy companies. Each agency submitted three alternative plans for their area of responsibility. Of course some of them overlap. There are 23 subject resource areas……one of them being “minerals”.
During the open house time…..I spent my time with Vicki L. Campbell, BLM Program Manager for the DREC Plan, she is headquartered in Sacramento (vlcampbell@blm.gov) 916 978 4320. I identified myself as representing miner’s/prospectors of The First Class Miners of Yucca Valley, Ca. I made it clear that I was not a hobbyist, and that I owned my own claim, in hopes of making a profit. She said that no one from the mining industry had ever approached them. I briefly mentioned the Mining Law of 1872 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, that re-affirmed the law RS 2477 of 1866….that confirmed the continued use of pre-1976 roads. I used my claim as an example and was concerned about access to it. She said that BLM has a sincere respect for both laws…..and nothing will change regarding access. But, she said that there would possibly be restriction on changes in “increasing the size of a claim” or “adding to the roads on the claim”. But more alarming was the fact that if we are in one of the other agencies areas of responsibility (as well as the BLM)….that agency may have further requirements and restrictions that are in addition to BLM’s current claim requirements (that are not changing). I got the feeling that trying to get a new claim is going to be difficult….as now you are going to have to deal with 2-4 more agencies, if the draft expands their areas. If anyone has any desire to own a claim….to do it NOW, as the hoops that a claimant may have to go through are definitely going to increase. She offered to answer any questions that I would send to her, and seemed open to trying to be clear about her area of responsibility. There was another BLM agent Russell there as well, and seemed quite helpful, in answering my questions. I asked if the draft specifically spells out the right of miner’s to access their claims. She said that she would send me the specific part of the draft that covered that (Volume 2 &3, covering valid and existing rights. Minerals are in volume III-15, and IV-15). Also she mentioned “Disturbance Caps” for mining. And that right now its “.1% to 1%.
I was the 2nd speaker and read the letter that was emailed to them earlier in the day. The Sierra Club was there in-force and other conservation organizations (I would say 90% of the speakers). They all wanted a longer public review period….as they don’t think they can absorb all 9000 pages before the cut-off date of Jan. 9, 2015.
They handed out about 30+ pages of information….that tried to simply explain the draft. The 9000 pages cannot be simplified to 30 pages, and the 2 ½ hours spent with them. One thing that was stated “this is not going to create a new government agency”. Instead we’ll be dealing with 2-5 agencies. The BLM in Washington DC will be the ultimate arbitrator in any disagreement. One of the Sierra Club reps said that the maps are not very specific in the boundaries, and wants more time to evaluate the 9000 pages. Another Sierra Club speaker said that she wanted to know what the final “Draft Agency Implementing Agreement” ends up, as the current draft….can get changed after the fact.
Here is a note our Pres. Steve, sent to our members.
The Draft Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) is another assault on our mining club, claims, and way of life.
There is a public meeting scheduled for the 19th of November, Wednesday, at the Joshua Tree Community Center, 6171 Sunburst St, Joshua Tree, CA 92252, 5:30pm - 8pm
This link takes you to the calendar page that say the same thing as above but includes the agenda.
http://drecp.org/calendar...m=detail&eID=584
This link takes you to the draft document that will be discussed. It's quite large but it's all there:
http://www.drecp.org/draftdrecp/
This link is the explanation of their plan:
http://www.drecp.org/docu...RMA_Part1_NLCS_1.pdf
Attached is an extraction that Greg identified that would affect our claims directly.
We need to read and understand these documents as best we can in the short amount of time that we have. We need to put this date on our calendars and attend this meeting. Wear your club colors and represent. There will be opportunity to speak so please do so if you feel inclined. If nothing else we need to be there in great numbers and let the world know that this is unacceptable and that they will be in for a fight. We have nearly 160 members.
We ALL need to be there!!!!!!!!!
If we don't and we lose, there will be no more purpose for First Class Miners.
President, First Class Miners, Inc.
president@firstclassminers.org
760-989-1712