OCR Text |
Show water and 100 percent of the sediment. But the generalization is more nearly true in the Southwest than elsewhere. The problem which these public lands raise is that they are becoming seriously eroded and are a continuing source of silt pollution in streams. No one Federal agency is responsible for their care, yet the Federal Government is the only source of management funds and programs. In some areas, no remedy is now considered possible beyond the building of sediment reservoirs to protect the major structures. In other areas, substantial investments in afforestation and grass production should be made, as well as improved controls over grazing. Here, as in many other areas of conservation, the problem is not one of physical techniques. Either adequate techniques are available or no remedy is known. What is needed, where a remedy is possible, is public recognition of the existence of a problem and determination to find a solution. Seeding of the range would be bene- ficial in many cases. In others, as where the cause of deterioration is overgrazing, seeding is nearly useless. A partial solution is the provi- sion of feed crops on irrigated land, to ease the pressure on the range. Stock numbers should be adjusted to the carrying capacity of the range, and not allowed to increase as a result of the increase in irrigated field crops. Mining Operations Mining and associated dredging operations often contribute large quantities of sediment to streams and water-control structures. Mining also contributes to stream pollution and may interfere with effective watershed management. Mining within many national forests is an important, well-established industry. By its very nature it sometimes results in serious erosion and sedimentation of streams. Placer or strip mining operations are most dangerous because of the amount of topsoil which they remove and the sediment they release into streams. Lode min- ing and milling operations also contribute to sedi- mentation from tailing piles and poorly con- structed settling basins. The damaging effects of placer mining are evi- dent on the headwaters of the Arkansas, Colo- rado, and Platte Rivers in Colorado; the head- waters of the Missouri; the Boise above the Lucky Peak Reservoir; the Yuba tributary to the Central Valley project in California; and on other drainages. To an even greater extent mining claims inter- fere with good land use and the most effective management of the national forests. There are many instances where mining claims have been filed to secure the use of public lands for wholly nonmining activities, inconsistent with the use of surrounding public land. In some areas, timber operators have filed mining claims on forest lands, with the intent of clear-cutting the timber. The resulting erosion is extremely serious. Such practices have obstructed sustained yield sales of national forest timber and public road rights-of- way. In some instances recreation values have been seriously impaired. Under the law, mining takes precedence over all public uses of the land. A claim may be located and patented if enough mineral is found to justify a prudent man in the further expendi- ture of time and money. If a mineral is found, the right to locate a claim is absolute; no con- sideration can be given to the public interest in other resources which may be impaired or de- stroyed by mineral development. The extent of mining activity, past and pres- ent, on the national forests is indicated by the following figures: Number of active claims__________________ 73, 857 Acreage_______________________________ 1, 845, 794 Percentage of claims estimated to be producing---------------------------------------- 2. 6 Percentage of claims estimated to be valid__ 36. 7 There are 7 billion board feet of timber on these claims, valued at approximately $57,- 000,000 in 1949. In order to put mining into its proper perspec- tive in relation to other land and water uses, it may be necessary to revise the mining laws, so as to grant the claimant patent to only the min- erals. Use of the surface would be limited to 133 |