Southwest Oregon citizens say armed Sugar Pine Mine supporters sully Josephine County's reputation

Calling for rational discourse and legal process, a group of Josephine County residents asked armed supporters of the Sugar Pine Mine owners to put away their guns. The group called a press conference before the Josephine County Courthouse on Friday, April 24th. See the Medford Mail Tribune story with video.

What we can learn from a case similar to the Sugar Pine Mine

Galice Creek and other tributaries to the Wild and Scenic Rogue River are no strangers to controversy over federal mining claims on BLM lands. The Sugar Pine Mine tussle is only the latest case demonstrating the need for both 1872 Mining Law reform and mineral withdrawals, in order to protect the public's interest in their lands. Spanning more than two decades is the case of the Leopold Mine. Like the Sugar Pine Mine, it's located in the North Fork of Galice Creek area on mining claims that were originally established in the 1800s.

Sugar Pine Mine controversy update

According to Reuters, some southwest Oregon miners are calling for peaceful protests at local Bureau of Land Management offices in Oregon on Thursday, April 23rd. The protests are over the notice of non-compliance that BLM issued to the owners of the Sugar Pine Mine. Unfortunately Reuter's didn't follow the Medford Mail Tribune's lead in pointing out that the Sugar Pine mining claim is on public land belonging to all Americans.

Sugar Pine Mine - BLM's press release

BLM's press release in advance of the Sugar Pine Miners protest has been mostly ignored by media and protestors. On April 22nd, BLM issued a statement saying that the two of their offices would be closed and that the claimants had filed an appeal. The press release noted that other miners in Southwest Oregon with similar concerns have followed legal procedures to resolve their issues:

Sugar Pine Mine - What does the law say?

In addition to the 1872 Mining Law, those at the heart the Sugar Pine Mine controversy are wrongly citing the Surface Resources Act of 1955. The miners' argument seems to be that because the Sugar Pine mining claim is old (predating the 1955 Act), the current claim holders have property rights against the United States. They further say their occupancy and mining is not subject to regulation.

Sugar Pine Mine - Medford Mail Tribune got it right

We want to thank the Medford Mail Tribune for trying to interject some reason and fact into the reporting over the Sugar Pine Mine controversy. The paper's editorial - The rule of law vs. armed confrontation - on Sunday, April 19th tries to tamp down the rhetoric. It also points out what few (if any) media sources have—that the Sugar Pine mining claim is federal public land, managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Mail Tribune writes:

Sugar Pine Mine - When is a mining claim private property?

If you've been listening to statements by a co-owner of the Sugar Pine Mine and to the coverage of most media, you'd think the federal government was taking someone's home and private property. That's not the case.

But while we wait for the legal wrangling to play out, a 2014 ruling concerning other disputed mining claims in southwest Oregon helps shed light on when a federal mining claim is constitutionally protected property against the United States.

Galice Creek is a direct tributary of the famed Wild and Scenic Rogue River

There is more to Southwest Oregon mining history than revealed in Earthfix and Jefferson Public Radio article

In an Earthfix article that ran on Jefferson Public Radio (March 5, 2015), a representative of one of the local mining districts ties the advent of early man's use of tools with mining for gold and argues we are all miners. But we don't all murder innocent people in the quest for minerals, so his theory immediately fails.

Can you believe mining companies?

Mining companies seem to tell the same story when they're in the promotional, permitting and construction phase of a new mine. They're concerned about the community, about the environment and they just want to provide jobs and local economic benefits. This is seldom—if ever—how the story ends.

Chromite mining at South Seven Devils,  October 12, 2012 (Oregon Coast Alliance photo).

Mining in southwest Oregon—nothing to be proud of

There's more than a little irony in a Jefferson Mining District letter to the Josephine County Commissioners opposing Peter DeFazio's Wild Rogue Wilderness legislation. The District brags about the vast mineral wealth extracted from the Galice Creek area.

Then like Wall Street bankers they bemoan excessive government regulation. In reality, miners extract more wealth and have more privileges, with fewer constraints and greater impacts, than any other users of land that's supposed to be held in trust for all Americans in perpetuity.

Mining in the Rogue Basin in the 1890s.

America like Greece? Yes, but not because of debt.

Updated Feb. 23, 2013 — Republican's often claim the United States is on the road to Greece because of the so-called debt crisis.  Paul Krugman speaking to Bill Moyers says "impossible."

Sign protesting gold mine in rural Greek community. Click here to watch the New York Times video.

The irony is that America may actually be on the same road as Greece, but not because of debt, but because (as in Greece) mining companies are stepping up efforts to exploit the earth's minerals, taking advantage of our antiquated mining law and rural communities—the hardest hit the victims of the financial crisis. What you never hear from mine proponents is the high cost of mining to our environment and human health. For example in 2011, metal mining was responsible for 46% of all "reported" toxic releases in the United States alone (see below).

Forest Service left with cleanup at Beal Mountain Mine

January 30, 2013 Forest Service presentation on Beal Mountain Mine

While EPA finds that metal mining leads all other industries in the release of toxics into the environment and the taxpayers (the U.S. Forest Service) is left with the cleanup of the Beal Mountain Mine, the mining industry is lobbying for less regulation, planning an attack on the Clean Water Act and wants Congress of require federal agencies to approve mines faster with less scrutiny.  See E&E News January 29, 2013 (subscription required).

E&E News reporter Manuel Quinones writes:

EPA: Metal mining industry nation's top toxic polluter

On January 16, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the findings of their annual Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). 

The result are no surprise with the metal mining industry, reporting the release of 1.9 billion pounds of toxic chemicals in 2011. 

And its at the top of the list by a wide margin—46% of all reported toxics. See EPA's "toxic releases by industry report." According to Earthworks:

The metal mining industry has been the nation’s largest toxic polluter every year since it was required to report its releases to the TRI in 1997.

Lesons from Wisconsin: Documenting a mine's effects

We want to acknowledge and celebrate local people doing great work to oppose or expose mines in their area.  They provide examples and inspiration for the rest of us.  A new website, by Laura Gauger, is one we can all learn from. It's informative and well documented.

Photo and caption from Flambeau Mine Exposed.

Stand Up That Mountain

An interview with Jay Leutze, author of Stand Up That Mountain, on the Oct. 5, 2012 Jefferson Exchange brought this inspirational story to our attention. The book's subtitle is: The Battle to Save One Small Community in the Wilderness Along the Appalachian Trail. The Charlotte Observer writes:

Author/activist Jay Leutze

“Stand Up That Mountain” persuasively details the extremely long odds that small environmental groups face against a system that routinely puts corporations over people, profits over rights. It’s enough to make you want to head for the mountains.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/06/08/3302722/mining-vs-the-mountain-nc-lawyer.html#storylink=cpy

The book chronicles an epic struggle of the "Dog Town Bunch" against a gravel mine on private property and the effort of residents to preserve property rights, their peace, quiet and environment and the viewshed of the Appalachian Trail, "the footpath of the people." It is at once a different and yet similar struggle facing more than a few communities in the West, with hardrock mines on federal lands in their backyards and the primacy of the 1872 Mining Law to contend with. Watch a 2 minute video below:

Mass Destruction: open pit mining and its impacts

This book recently came to our attention and we wanted to call it to yours: Mass Destruction: The Men and Giant Mines That Wired America and Scarred the Planet by Timoth J. LeCain, published by Rutgers University Press in 2009.

While primarily about open pit copper mines, Southwest Oregon is being proposed as the location for a nickel strip mine and a new gold mine on the Oregon/California boarder, so understanding the long term impact of mining is important for our citizenry and communities. Here's excerpts from the description of Mass Destruction:

Science and mines

On Southwest Oregon Mining Facts we cite or directly link to government reports, published articles, congressional testimony and other official sources so readers can assess the evidence for themselves. We seek to be a counter to the exaggerations and untruths used by the majority of mining proponents in our area.

From front page of Pebble Science. All photos copyright Michael Melford.

Pebble Science: Objective scientific information on proposed mineral development in Bristol Bay, Alaska is a relatively recent website we find inspirational. We urge those opposing mines to explore Pebble Science for both scientific information, updates on the Pebble Mine proposal and as an example of the need to provide credible information about the effects of mining on the environment.

Mining sand at Heceta Dunes? Citizens not waiting to organize

The incongruities and injustice of 1872 Mining Law in the 21st Century always comes as a surprise to citizens never faced with a mine in their backyard. According to Dina Pavlis in a July 15, 2012 Eugene Register Guard article:

“I was surprised at how easy it is for companies to get ahold of public lands."

Citizens are gearing up to fight the mining of sand at Heceta Dunes on the Siuslaw National Forest along the Oregon Coast before there's even a mining plan.

The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area has also been threatened by proposals to mine for silica. 

Comparison of Predicted and Actual Water Quality at Hardrock Mines

Ever wonder why so many mines are Toxic Superfund sites? Even relatively modern mines, such as Summitville in Colorado, pollute and don't live up to the claims of the mining companies or the predictions of federal land managing agencies that approve the mines.

Earthworks provides a report based on 2 years of research comparing mine operator promises vs what actually happened after operations began. It surveys 20 some hardrock mines that underwent federal government analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Frontline's documentary about people struggling to stop a mega mine in one of the world's richest salmon refuges

Preserve it or mine it. This is the question increasingly before us. On July 24, 2012 Frontline aired the documentary Alaska Gold. It's the story of small communities, native peoples and commercial fishermen coming together in an effort to protect the great wealth of Alaska's Bristol Bay and the watersheds that feed it. It can be watched in full online and Frontline's website includes other important information. To watch and read go to Frontline—Alaska Gold.

Bristol Bay's sockeye salmon run. Photo courtesy of Felt Soul's Red Gold website.

While not directly about mining in Southwest Oregon, Frontline provides an instructional look into what it takes for ordinary citizens to stand up to multinational mining corporations, with unlimited resources and there's no assurance they will win.