Welcome New Members!
The months of February and March brought over 4500 new members. We would like to say thank you and welcome to the GPAA family. Hopefully you have already torn open your Buzzard Special and found some yellow in the bottom of your pan. If you are looking for some tips, advice or have questions about prospecting the
GPAA forum is a great place to start and provides a wealth of information. We also have over 100 chapters spread across 35 different states. When you have a moment check the
Chapters section of our website and see if there is one close to you.
Watch this short Video here....
Here we go again People, Please click on the above link to visit the web site.
Our public Law makers are just out of touch with the American past time of being out doors. Our Public Land is for "US" the people to enjoy not to be held out of reach to be view from an airplane, so please "Do" what you can to HELP!! Visit this site NOW!!
Action Alert; California Suction Dredging is
Under Attack Again!
Our adversaries in California are at it again. This time, they are trying to prevent the Department of Fish & Game from issuing suction dredge permits (until a new environmental review is completed) by adding rider language to the 2008-2009 State Budget.
Language creating a moratorium on further issuance of suction dredge permits in California has already been approved through the Senate Budget Subcommittee, and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee.
This means, unless we are able to kill the rider, similar language will be attached to the full California budget bill which will be voted upon by the California legislature sometime this summer or fall.
By the way, thanks to you guys and gals, it is a very good thing that we have full-time lobbyists on retainer. Otherwise, it is pretty likely that we would not have known about this until it was too late to do anything about it!
Here is a short summary from Pete Conaty. Here is a letter to the California governor which our attorney has already written on our behalf.
The anti-dredging rider will be attached to the annual budget bill, which must be voted upon by the full legislature and then signed by the governor. It is hard to tell how long the California budget process will draw out this year. I gather that there is at least a $12 billion shortfall within the existing budget that must be fought over and resolved. By resolved, I mean that the budget bill requires a 2/3's majority vote to be passed (leaving us some opportunity to do something about this harmful rider).
I have spent quite a lot of time reviewing the situation with our main lobbyist (Pete Conaty) and our attorney, James Buchal. We have created a 2-part Action Plan:
Action Plan, Part 1: The first part is an aggressive lobbying offensive (which is going to require money). This part will mainly be a political exercise that will be carried out by our lobbyists, our attorney, myself and several other highly-respected industry leaders. Similar to legal matters, it would be unwise to outline the details of our political strategy in public, so I ask you to please have some faith in our lobbyists and legal team. They have not let us down, yet! We are lucky to have them on our side.
Most of this part of the Action Plan is going to cost money which we do not yet have. While all our past legal and lobbying bills have been paid, our legal fund is presently running on empty. I know; same old story!
With this in mind, in harmony with the wishes of our lobbyists, we have started a new entity called "The New 49'er Political Action Committee." All future legal/political fundraising will be performed under this new banner.
As our need to raise funds is immediate, once again, we have our ever-vigilant member, Jim Yerby, to thank for organizing yet another set of very valuable prizes for our new prize drawing - which is starting immediately. In addition to 23 very nice prizes which have been donated by others, we also are expressing a big thank you to Jeff Kuykendal at Proline for donating a brand new 4-inch Proline dredge (worth $3,475.00) as our main prize!
Here is a link to the list of prizes in this latest fundraiser.
Our girls in the office will print your tickets as we receive contributions ($100 contribution will generate10 tickets, etc.). This prize drawing will take place on 1 September, 2008. There is no limit to the number of tickets you can buy, or the number of prizes any person can win in this drawing.
Important note: While these prize drawings certainly do make it more interesting, I cannot overstate the importance of supporting our need to pay for important political action (very aggressive lobbying) right now. This is more important than winning prizes. It is about defending our right to continue prospecting for gold in California. It is about preventing our adversaries from underhandedly cheating us out of our mining rights!
Having no choice in the matter (timing is everything), we have already committed the necessary funds to our lobbyists. You guys have always backed us up before. I am hoping you will do it again!
Please send financial contributions to: The New 49'ers PAC Fund, P.O. Box 47, Happy Camp, CA 96039. Or, you can call in a donation at (530) 493-2012. There is also a Paypal option on our web site.
Thanks for whatever you can do right away!!
Action Plan, Part 2: We will be following with a very organized political action program to target the governor and specific lawmakers in Sacramento with your emails and letters in opposition to the anti-dredging rider language. These letters and emails will be sent in care of our lobbyists. This way, they can be hand-delivered (hopefully in thick stacks) as part of their ongoing offensive.
Please stay tuned in, because we are going to need all of your help on this! You guys may recall that it was the combination of your written communications, coupled with the aggressive action of our lobbyists in Sacramento, that allowed us to overcome Assembly Bill 1032 (AB 1032; anti-suction dredging law) last year.
By the way, you will be interested to know that this new rider language was sponsored by the very same author of AB 1032: Assembly Woman Wolk.
Since the budget process will likely draw out, if we are not able to get this rider language removed from the budget bill, the problem is more likely to affect next season. That would place us in federal court over the winter months (challenging California's authority to overturn federal mining law). Since legal action would be more costly, we want to avoid that, if possible!!
Still, to play it safe, for those of you who are planning to dredge this year in California, I strongly suggest that you do not delay in sending in your permit application. Blank forms can be obtained through our office by calling (530) 493-2012. Here is a sample of how I personally fill out the permit application.
Former Forest Service Chief to advocate for
Mining Law reform before Senate
As the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee gears up for another hearing regarding reform of the U.S. mining law, a prominent conservationist is expected to renew his call for tougher legislation.
Author: Dorothy Kosich
Posted: Tuesday , 22 Jan 2008
RENO, NV -
Longtime mining law reform proponent Mike Dombeck, the former chief of both the U.S Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Senate, is scheduled to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Thursday. (1/24/2008)
Dombeck is testifying on behalf of Trout Unlimited, the National Wildlife Federation and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, organizations that claim to represent million of outdoor enthusiasts, sportsmen and wildlife and fishery professionals.
Now a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Dombeck called the 1872 Mining Law, the "most outdated natural resource law in the nation. ...Our mining laws still reflect a time long past with a lack of balance toward the nation's valued water and public lands resources."
"Professional resource managers at the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management need to have the ability to make science-based decisions about where and when mining on public lands should occur. Without this discretion, professional land managers cannot maintain their commitments as stewards of the public trust."
Dombeck led the U.S. Forest Service from 1997 to April 2001 and the BLM from 1994 to 1997.
The House of Representatives passed a tough mining law reform bill, HR 2262, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act, last year. The bill, whose chief sponsor is Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, D-West Virginia, would require existing hardrock mining operations on public lands pay a 4% gross royalty while future hardrock mine would pay an 8% royalty.
The National Mining Association announced earlier this month that William E. Cobb of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold is also expected to testify at the Senate hearing on behalf of the NMA.
The Senate committee is not anticipated to support HR2262, but will instead draft its own Mining Law reform legislation.
Angeles National Forest Emergency Fire Closure
Current Fire Conditions
Go to: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles/
