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WDFW newly proposed mineral prospecting rules
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NEWS RELEASE
WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
December 21, 2007
Contact: Pat Chapman, (360) 902-2571
WDFW schedules public workshops
on new mineral prospecting rules
OLYMPIA The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will conduct four public workshops around the state in January on proposed changes in mineral prospecting rules in Washington.
The workshops are designed to provide the public with information about proposed updates to rules for small-scale mineral prospecting. Those changes have been developed by WDFW in conjunction with the mineral prospecting community, other state and federal agencies, tribes and environmental organizations during the past year.
WDFW is accepting written public comments on the proposed amendments, available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hab/goldfish/mineral_prospect.htm, through Jan. 23. The Fish and Wildlife Commission, which sets policy for WDFW, is scheduled to consider adoption of the proposed changes at a public meeting in early February.
The informational workshops have been scheduled at the following times and locations:
Jan. 8 Spokane Falls Community College, Student Union Building #17, Lounges A&B, 3410 W. Fort George Wright Dr., Spokane, 7-9 p.m.
Jan. 9 Days Inn, 901 Berry Rd, Ellensburg, 7-9 p.m.
Jan. 15 WDFW Regional Office, 2108 Grand Boulevard, Vancouver, WA, 7-9 pm
Jan. 16 WDFW Regional Office, 16018 Mill Creek Boulevard, Mill Creek, 7-9 pm
These workshops are designed to give people a chance to learn more about the proposed changes in mineral prospecting rules, said Peter Birch, deputy assistant director of the WDFW Habitat Program. Our goal is to update these rules to reflect the best available science.
No verbal testimony will be taken at the informational meetings, but the Fish and Wildlife Commission will hear public comments on the proposed rule changes at a public meeting scheduled Feb. 1-2 in Olympia. An agenda for that meeting will be posted at http://wdfw.wa.gov/com/comintro.htm.
Written comments on the proposed changes may be sent to WDFW via email (SEPADesk@dfw.wa.gov) or mailed to Lisa Wood, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way N, Olympia, WA 98501-1091; or FAX them to Lisa Wood at (360) 902-2946.
In early January, WDFW will issue a determination about the environmental impact of the proposed rules under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). Public comments will be accepted through Jan. 22 on that determination, which will be posted at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hab/sepa/sepa.htm. Comments on the SEPA determination may also be mailed to Lisa Wood at the address listed above.
Dick
bowens@bowenshideout.com
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Washington Suction Dredges
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Washington
Suction
Dredgers
What is their true
impact on the State's
rivers and streams?
By Chuck Cox, with Thanks to Ron Wilson
Resources Coalition for the math and stats
When you come right down to it, exactly
What is the impact of suction dredging on
Washington State's rivers and streams?
lf you listen to rabid environmentalists
and some members of the Department of
Fish and Wildlife, suction dredgers are
salmon-rapists and trout-killers. But,
based on information provided by the
Resources Coalition, that really isn't the
case at all. Let's take a look at what's
really happing in Washington's rivers
and streams.
According to the Bureau of Land
Managements Portland recordation office.
there are 338 active placer claims in
Washington State. Let's assume for a
moment that all of them are being
worked during those periods when their
waterways are open to Class lll equipment
(e.9., suction dredges.)
We'll also assume that each of these
placer claims is 1,500 feet in length. That
gives a total of 507,000 linear feet, or 96
linear miles of claims in the state.
Here's another assumption: each
claim has 100 linear feet of usable working
area. Of course, that is probably too
high a number, but let's be intentionally
generous Thus, going back to the 338
claims, that breaks down to 33,800 linear
feet. or 6.4 miles of workable stream
area.
Lastly, according to the US Environ
mental Protection Agency, the State of
Washington has about 70,000 miles of
Rivers and streams within its boundaries
Now, let's take all these numbers and
do some figuring."
6.4 miles of usable rivers and
streams divided by 70,000 miles of
Washington State rivers and streams
Equals
...
0.00009 miles
0.00009 is a decimal representation
of the total miles of streams in the state
that could be affected by dredging on
those 338 claims during that magic 60-
day period. To put it another way,
that's .009% of the total miles of Washington
State streams!
Truth be known, remember the "100
feet of workable claim area"? When one
considers the fact that a lot of claims are
held and never worked at all, that percentage
is probably a whole lot smaller.
The bottom line? The nature of small
Scale prospecting (and in this case, suction
dredging) is insignificant when compared
to reality. Sorta makes one wonder
why there's so much hullabaloo about
our endeavors, doesn't it?
Remember, .009%! That's a pretty
small number (even if it's purposely inflated.)
| don't think the salmon and bull
trout have much to worry about
Chuck Cox
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