The White House
The 1872 Mining Law—Set in Stone?

The Grand Canyon
A Grand Place to Mine?

Phoenix Golf Resort
Par for the Course

Joshua Tree National Park
Claims for the Price of a Campsite

Lake Mead
Gaming the System

Death Valley
Watch your Step!

Clear Lake
Clear Waters and Hidden Pollution

Rogue River
From Scenic to Superfund

Oregon Dunes
Mining the Beach—and the Bank

Berners Bay
Ode to Orwell

Lake Roosevelt
Radioactive Remains

Salmon River
Salmon and Cyanide

German Gulch
A River Ruined?

Yellowstone
The Price to Protect Old Faithful

South Pass Historic Landmark
History Hijacked

Crested Butte
Red Lady in Distress

Moab
Arches and Acres of Radioactive Waste

Red Mountain Pass
Checkerboard Landscape

Taos County
Private Reward at Public Risk

Sugartree Mountain
Mining in the Natural State

Lake Dorr
Mickey and Mining

U.S. Capitol

Sugartree Mountain — Arkansas

Mining in the Natural State

The Native American word for "good hunting grounds" is “Ouachita,” and the name holds true for those in pursuit of wild turkeys in Arkansas’ Ouachita National Forest.  But the measures taken to protect the species during critical nesting and brooding seasons may be for naught in some areas.  New mining claims have been staked near the Ouachita’s Sugartree Mountain.  If developed, this could spell trouble for hunters and habitat.

The 1872 Mining Law applies primarily to western public lands, but there are pockets of land in the East that come under its purview. According to the Bureau of Land Management, mining claims may still be staked in 14 western states as well as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi and Nebraska.

Side Trips:

Bureau of Land Management National Science and Technology Center, Mining Claims and Sites on Federal Lands, March 2008. (PDF)

John C. Nichols, “Minerals Hardrock Permitting: Acquired and Public Domain Lands”, Ouachita National Forest, Minerals and Geology, U.S.D.A Forest Service, undated.