My talks with BLM in Colorado!

[Dallasb84]

Below is my dealings with BLM in Colorado.

I sent.


Dear Field Office Manager,

I'm looking to plan a few trips with my daughter this summer to CO to do some gold prospecting. We plan on panning and using a small sluice box. I'm just a bit confused with Colorado BLM regulations as each field office seems different.

In Little Snake Field Office jurisdiction.

What are your regulations with gold panning and using a small sluice box?

I have small sluice box that is 12" wide by 36" long with an area that captures material at 12"x24" it is not motorized or otherwise mechanical.

I also have a small machine like a "gold cube" which helps with panning. It is much smaller than a gold cube but is in fact mechanical. I do not use it in the river water at all and it doesn't dump tailings into river waters. It is a small self contained unit that runs using an electric pump and I plug it into my truck trailer plug or a 12v battery pack for power. My machine also recirculates its own water. It also makes no noise and wouldn't disturb animals like gas engines do. My equipment is not like the big loud machines people use. Using it all together we really only look for fine gold, garnets and other neat gems my daughter and I collect.

My plan is to collect and look for placers in dirt gravels around the little snake river on BLM public land. We do not intend to disturb or otherwise disrupt or damage any natural environment we explore together. If we dig small holes we will surely fill them up as if we weren't there. We really don't have an idea where we want to go just yet and we're hoping your office could help us find a place in your district that is both very pretty, where we can roam around and just spend time together and enjoy nature. I know to also stay off people's claims.

Do I need a permit for this type of activity? I compared Little Snake to Grand Junction field office which seems to require a permit because I have a sluice box.

We are not interested in doing mining claims or other activities like that. We just like rocks and geology and finding neat stuff together.

Would this be considered recreational prospecting in your jurisdiction and not require a permit?

Also is a permit even needed should I keep my other equipment like the sluice or electric classifier out of the water? They are self contained and can stay in the back of my truck or at a camp site.

Here in Utah BLM and NFS don't mind if you use mechanical means so long as it's not disturbing nature or people and stay out of the water.

Just wondering what the rules are as I teach them to my daughter too!

Thanks!

Dallas Brown

 

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[Dallasb84]

My response back was....

Gold panning is considered recreational, casual use and you don't need a permit from the Little Snake Field Office. The small sluice box is also considered recreational, casual use. We do ask that you create a settlement basin for the discharge from the sluice box as the Little Snake River does contain endangered fish.

Areas to go - as you stated, you know to stay off of other's mining claims - Colorado Geological Survey publishes a book: Information Series 33 Gold Panning and Placering in Colorado How and Where by Ben H. Parker, Jr. They suggest Iron Springs Divide: it extends from Black Mountain in T10N, R89W in a westerly direction to the northern part of T9N, R93W, between Great Divide and Iron Springs. Also Gulches in which placer gold has been found on the north slope of the divide are lower Fourmil, Timberlake and Housel Creeks and Pole, Dry, Scandinavian and Bighole Gulches. On the south slope of the Dived, gold has been found in Lay Creek and Dressler Gulch and in Blue Gravel Creek. I will separately send the map from the publication.

Thank-you

--
Jennifer Maiolo

 

[Dallasb84]

And she sent a map!!!!

 

[Dallasb84]

Totally surprised with the service I got from BLM LSR district!!! Rest assured your tax dollars in Colorado are well spent with the Mining Engineer that is Jennifer Maiolo. She totally rocks!

 

[Hoser John]

AND STAY OUT OF THE WATER? That sucks as how else are you supposed to run a sluice, pan or do any of the other things she said you could do? sic sic sic-John

 

[nuggetshooter323]

The other good book to get is Resource Series 28, "Gold Occurrences of Colorado" by Mark W. Davis and Randall K. Streufert, Colorado Geological Survey, Department of Natrual Resources, Denver, Colorado/1990.

It's more technical and it has a pocket in the back with full size, separate maps of all the gold bearing areas of the state. It lists all the counties, and then under each county it list's each mining district, location, ore and mineral types, host material, geologic structure or process dominant in that area.

 

[KevinInColorado]

AND STAY OUT OF THE WATER? That sucks as how else are you supposed to run a sluice, pan or do any of the other things she said you could do? sic sic sic-John

She doesn't mean stay out of the water for the sluice or panning and never says that John.

Ben Parker's book was written in the 60's and is pretty good btw. The state republished it just a few years ago with better maps in fact due to increased demand. The flaw in his book is that it's a collection of info from historical sources without any actual field work being done. This leads to a variety of inaccuracies such as omitting gold bearing placer areas just upstream or downstream of identified areas and talking about ease of access to areas in very outdated ways. He bases his comments on access on what the historical record said in 1960...just not true today. In many cases access is easier today! This is due to private ranch land that was inaccessible being bought by (or donated to) public authorities who then chose to welcome prospectors...Cache Creek, South Platte in Fairplay and creeks in S. Metro Denver for example. All of those are great places to dig today and since none are claimable, they make great spots for visitors to come on vacation!

All that said, his book is the only published resource for Colorado that's worth buying. That's why I started my website and why I aspire to write a book on the subject myself.

 

[johnedoe]

Nice website Kevin......

 

[Goldwasher]

Nothing says to stay out of the water...sounds like another misinterpretation....that gets spread the more you say it..or put it online.

 

[Dallasb84]

Even better I called and asked about my small electric sluice and she said in her district it's ok!!!!

 

[goldenIrishman]

Sounds to me like you're getting good service from the BLM office there. I really wish that ours was as good. They're not bad but from my discussions they seem to be swamped and lacking time to give good service. I guess that could come form the large area they're trying to cover combined with the lack of adequate staffing. Be thankful that you received such good service! It is good to know that our tax dollars are actually paying for services.....somewhere.

 

[kcm]

Nothing says to stay out of the water...sounds like another misinterpretation....that gets spread the more you say it..or put it online.

"Stay out of the water" was in the OP.

 

[Goldwasher]

I know that..I don't know of any l blm " law" that says you can't pan or sluice in the water..as a blanket policy within any state....I know a fee people in Utah that most definitely " go in the water"

My point was the fact that we " read " it here on a forum typed by a person who had "heard" such a thing....yet no link or source just what was heard.......
No offense intended to the op.
In fact I think he should himself look deeper. And I'd he heard it from a blm source should share the code.

 

[Aufisher]

It clearly states " stay out of the water" in the original Jaws movie!

 

[Dallasb84]

Well I got it in writing as far as little snake River that panning, sluicing and using my recirculating electric sluice is casual use from the mining authority of the district. Each district seems to have its own set of rules so I asked BLM.

 

[Dallasb84]

Her reply,

Yes - that's fine - just please don't discharge directly into the river - have a small settling pond.

Thanks very much and good luck.


I sent:


Jennifer,

Thank you for all that information! So one last question. Are small electric recirculating sluice boxes ok without a permit? The one I made uses about 3 gallons of water and recirculates it with a small electric pump into a bucket. I just don't wanna do anything that's against the rules.

Dallas

 

[Dallasb84]

I can't seem to find anywhere she said stay out of the water? Either way I'm thrilled!!!!

 

[kcm]

Sounds like happy times ahead.

 

[jog]

Is this what we're down to now, writing letters and asking permission from the Fed's for what is already Granted to you?
I have to agree with John on this one, SIC, SIC,SIC!

 

[kcm]

Is this what we're down to now, writing letters and asking permission from the Fed's for what is already Granted to you?
I have to agree with John on this one, SIC, SIC,SIC!

Is no different than planning a vacation somewhere and calling to find out if MDing is allowed and where. The world is so full of rules and regulations it's ridiculous. But don't worry...it'll get worse. The population will continue to expand, and more and harsher rules and regs will be the result.