Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining: The Problem

Boating and fishing are favorite pastimes in the Ocala National Forest, the southernmost forest in the continental United States. Here you can spend the early hours angling for large mouthed bass, bluegill or speckled perch in Lake Dorr and still drive to Orlando for an evening with the kids. But just north of the Lake’s shores, hardrock mining claims have been staked in recent times under the 1872 Mining Law.

Althoughthe claimant has never submitted a mining proposal, as long as the mining law stands, the holder can maintain exclusive access to this public property indefinitely—even in this popular and populated area of Florida. And, if Congress ever fails to renew the temporary ban on patenting under the mining law, this mining claim could transform to private ownership permanently.

Side Trips:

“A timeline of mining reform efforts,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 14, 2001.

“Pombo Would Sell Federally Protected Lands to Mining Companies,” Environment News Service, October 26, 2005.

Bob Berwyn, “Mining law change seen as potential land grab,” Summit Daily News, November 27, 2005.

Lake Dorr — Florida

Mickey and Mining

Next, visit the U.S. Capitol