Lawyers plundering Colfax with Clean Water Act

[Chadillac]

Hello everyone,

I am Chad Stanford and my father, Bill Stanford, is the man who got me interested into mining. I will give some history and TRY to be brief. But, I have a lot of ISSUES with the government controlling access to our mining claim, and using intimidation to TRY to kick me off our mining claims. They have been unsuccessful thus far. THANK GOD FOR JERRY HOBBS AND PLP!!!!!!

We have had a claim for 20 years now, I was young, dumb, and full of ..... and in my teenage years I REALLY screwed up and didn't realize the opportunity available to all AMERICAN CITIZENS. I am now pulling my head out of my ***. (It is too bad I didn't get to know more of my elders while I was younger)

I have been back involved and interested in our mining rights since 2004 while trying to help my dad who was a submariner and now a disabled vet.

OCCUPATION ISSUE:
After graduating with my Associates in Computer Networking I took a break and lived and worked on my mining claim for a full year. Especially since my dad told me I "couldn't learn how to be a miner until I learn how to pick sh*t with the chickens."

While working our claim I didn't submit a NOI, so the Forest Service sent me a letter threating to impound all my equipment, belongings, and water line. FORTUNATELY I met Mr. Lex & Mr. Wagner who introduced me to Jerry Hobbs and Mr. Hobbs informed me of the law and my rights. Knowing my rights, I continued to stay on my claim until I enrolled at CSU Stanislaus for my B.S. in Geology. Now I'm in my second year.

ACCESS ISSUE:
We have a log stringer bridge on the original Salmon River road that runs through our claim. We were required by previous rangers to put a gate to prevent public access due to public safety issues regarding the bridge. Early 2007 the new regime issued an emergency closure (during the fire season closures), and brought a lowboy & backhoe out to block the bridge with rocks. Upon our arrival in the 2008 dredge season the rocks had been moved. ***You never know what Salmon River locals might do, they are admittingly Cantankerouss *** So, we used the bridge only by foot. No vehicles.

Now, I recently discovered after my 2008 mining season the new regime came in and TORE out all the logs and left them looking like a mess. The logs were SCATTERED in the road, are completely in the way of access and occupying the space I would use to setup my camp. They sent me no notice of doing so.

I am posting this to give you a rundown on my situation as I plan on being A LOT more active in standing up for one of our last TRUE AMERICAN RIGHTS; making a living off the land via mining. "Get our worth from the Earth and not our fellow man."

As the title says, I am finishing my finals in school and now prepping to head to Salmon River country to work my claim for the summer until school starts back up. We will see what our regulating agencies will try to do. I will do my best to keep things updated and keep you posted.

May God Bless America,
Chad

[Chadillac]

Hello Everyone,

I haven't done much good, spent a month trying to get water up a mountain side for a highbank operation with no luck yet. But, problem after problem and I hope to have water tomorrow. We haven't done much on it since dredge season openened and things are starting to look up as far as color.

But, it is hard to get time to mine with all this legal Bullshit. Here is the letter I just sent to the governor....




Dear Governor, Arnold Schwarznegger

re: SB 670

I am a full time student at CSU Stanislaus and dredge my mining claim in the summer months in order to supplement and relieve my need for student aid. With all the legislative hassle I have been burdened with as well as fending off claim jumpers, I am unable to make a decent effort toward working my mining claim.

I represent thousands of miners throughout the Klamath Mountains, many of which do not have electricity, phone, or internet and some are even illiterate. But, they are voters and avid tax payers like the plaintiffs claim to be. Signing SB670 will only HURT the economy.

I urge you to VETO Senate Bill 670 for the following reasons:
• From my own experience and thousands of others, dredging is GOOD for the fish. YOU ARE WELCOME TO COME UP TO MY CLAIM AND EXPERIENCE DREDGING YOURSELF AND SEE FOR YOURSELF.
o When you start dredging there is NO fish present, after only hours there is many fish feeding and swarming the dredging area. The fish enjoy the cool water. Please read the evidence below.
• SB 670 will cause economic harm to hundreds of California businesses and will result in layoffs.
• Environmentalists continue to claim that suction gold dredging is harming threatened and endangered species, without evidence of a single fish being harmed. Strict timing windows are already in place in California so that suction gold dredging will not interfere with spawning.
• According to Dennis R. Maria, California Department of Fish and Game senior biologist (retired), “In all my years of experience, I have never seen evidence of a single fish killed by suction dredge mining, even juvenile fish, because the Department has restricted such activity in the only period when such mining is likely to cause actual injury by digging into fish redds or areas where alevins (sac-fry) would be present.”
• SB 670 will cause irreparable harm to thousands of individuals and hundreds of businesses in California. Negatively impacted businesses include mining publications, mining equipment manufacturers and retailers, assayers, prospecting clubs, resorts, hotels, motels, private campgrounds and many more.
• The Mining Law of 1872 makes it clear that mining is a right subject to reasonable regulation – not prohibition.
• Suction dredge mining has been subjected to many studies that indicate this activity not only is de minimis to fish and their habitat under current regulations, but this is the only activity that occurs in our state waters that provides mitigation.1
• Suction dredge mining creates dissolved oxygen and breaks up compacted gravels, creating the spawning areas, holes and cooler waters necessary for a healthy fish population. The DFG spends millions of dollars to create this same scenario for spawning fish.2
• Suction dredge mining removes harmful lead, mercury and man-made debris from our waters. Washington has set up a program, in cooperation with suction dredge miners, to collect harmful metals and debris. Over a 12-month period the Washington Department of Ecology took possession of over 150 lbs. of mercury that had been recovered by suction dredge miners.3
• If the bill is enacted, we are committed to joining other California businesses and individuals in litigation against the state to correct the situation.
• Joseph C. Greene, a US EPA research biologist (retired) with 30 years experience, has directly addressed and refuted the claims made by those who state that suction gold dredging is harmful to the environment. In fact, Greene states that the dispute has little to do with possible harm to endangered fish but rather is centered on power and control of California’s waterways.4
- Sincerely,
Chad Stanford
Rt 1, Box 379
Forks of Salmon, CA 96031


1 Effects of Small-Scale Gold Dredging Arsenic, Copper, Lead, and Zinc Concentrations in the
Similkameen River, Washington State Dept. of Ecology, March 2005, Publication No. 05-03-007.
Impact of suction dredging on water quality, benthic habitat, and biota in the Fortymile River, Resurrection
Creek, and Chatanika River, Alaska, US Environmental Protection Agency, June 1999.
2 Evaluating the Success of Spawning Habitat Enhancement on the Merced River, Robinson Reach,
California Department of Fish and Game, 2002.
3 Miners Clean Washington Rivers and Streams, ICMJ’s Prospecting and Mining Journal, May 2007.
4 Third Declaration of Joseph C. Greene in support of the reply memorandum in opposition to
proposed stipulated judgment of the New 49’ers and Raymond W. Koons; Karuk Tribe of California
v. California Department of Fish and Game et al; Case No. RG05 211597; Superior Court of California,
County of Alameda; January 2006.

[editor]

From: Ken Delfino
Date: Tue, Mar 6, 2012 at 7:56 PM
Subject: Congressman McClintock Introduces H.R. 3544 - STOP PLUNDERING CITIES
To:


Dear friends and colleagues:
Last year the City of Colfax made national news when Congressman McClintock addressed our city's battle with an environmental law firm. To paraphrase the congressman, we were 'being plundered by this environmental law firm'.
I am forwarding a request from our mayor and at the bottom is a link to the House Resolution 3544. While Congressman McClintock and our Counselor MIck Cabral authored this with Colfax in mind, this will will apply to EVERY COMMUNITY in the United States, no matter how large or small it is.
What I ask of you is to call your three elected officials -- your representative in the House and the two in the Senate -- and ask them to suppport House Resolution 3544 that was introduced by Congressman McClintock...and then please pass this on to your friends and relatives in other states.
My council colleagues, our citizens and I will greatly appreciate any support you can give us which will...ultimately end up helping your communities as well.


God Bless America!



Respectfully requested,
Ken Delfino
Councilman
City of Colfax, CA

[editor]

From: The BOSTWO
To:
Sent: Wednesday, March 7, 2012 10:57 AM
Subject: Fwd: Congressman McClintock Introduces H.R. 3544 - STOP PLUNDERING CITIES

IMPORTANT! See email from Colfax and bill H.R.3544 below. Please forward.

Thank you,

Ray Nutting
El Dorado County Board of Supervisors
530) 621-5651