OCR Text |
Show tional economic and strategic well-being, however, and such activities cannot be barred completely. Accordingly, our emphasis must be on minimizing impacts. These impacts range from tracks left by exploration vehicles to large production pits. Because of the national requirement for the development of domestic mineral sources, development will frequently have to proceed, subject to reasonable controls designed to lessen the adverse impacts, even though those impacts exist. Stated another way, we believe that the environment must be given consideration, but regulations must not be arbitrarily applied if the national importance of the minerals is properly weighed. Exclusion from Development Recommendation 46: Congress should continue to exclude some classes of public lands from future mineral development. With few exceptions, mineral leasing and mining laws do not apply in national parks and monuments. Certain other specific exclusions are contained in various laws. We do not favor opening these areas to mineral development, and we recognize that other similar areas should be and no doubt will be established which have such unique public values that it would not be in the national interest to permit such operations. In connection with consideration of statutory exclusion of mineral activity from designated public land areas, Federal agencies should make mineral examinations which will provide reliable information Fuel and nonfuel mineral industries are responsible for one-third of the total raw material value produced in the United States each year. concerning their mineralization. Too often in the past exclusions have been accomplished with little or no knowledge of mineral values. Since it is often essential to act promptly in deciding whether mineral activity should be excluded, we urge dispatch in making these mineral surveys before an urgent situation arises. This will permit not only more efficient and more economical action, but reviews that can be accomplished carefully without jeopardizing the environment. We also urge the establishment of a program to determine the extent of mineralization of public land areas where mineral activities are presently excluded but mineralization appears to be likely. In most cases, this type of mineral survey can be executed with modern geochemical and geophysical techniques so as not to interfere with other uses of these areas. Even though we oppose opening these areas to development, the resulting information would be of substantial value for the identification of standby reserves that might be needed in national emergencies. It would also advance the knowledge of geology in regions where these areas are located. Any such program would be of a long-range nature, and areas created by administrative action should be examined first consistently with our recommendations for review of withdrawals and reservations. We recognize that the Federal Government in most cases would have to assume financial responsibility for these mineral surveys, since private enterprise 123 |