Prospecting county/state land

benny said:
Hi,
I live in Oregon and wondered if anyone could fill me in on what's required to prospect county or state land? Any restrictions? Who would I contact for permission?
Thanks
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Is the "Land open for mineral entry"?
 

County owned land...I can only think of flood control projects, roads, landfills, airports, ect. all of which would have access restrictions. Many times people think the county "owns" land along the roads, when in reality many times they have only a claimed prescriptive easement, or a deeded easement for specific purposes (none which include mining).

Many times, when the state acquires land, the seller includes a clause retaining oil/mineral rights regardless if they even owned those rights.
So the state may not even possess the mineral rights. It takes a title search to determine who owns the mineral rights. Then you have access issues again.

In California, many people were dredging on state owned land and didn't even know it. The state owns most all of the river bed inside the ordinary high water mark of navigable waterways. Exception being patents obtained prior to statehood. Many land owners along the rivers do not even know this.
 

Nope. Not federally controlled land. Just state and county.
 

IMAUDIGGER said:
County owned land...I can only think of flood control projects, roads, landfills, airports, ect. all of which would have access restrictions. Many times people think the county "owns" land along the roads, when in reality many times they have only a claimed prescriptive easement, or a deeded easement for specific purposes (none which include mining).

Many times, when the state acquires land, the seller includes a clause retaining oil/mineral rights regardless if they even owned those rights.
So the state may not even possess the mineral rights. It takes a title search to determine who owns the mineral rights. Then you have access issues again.

In California, many people were dredging on state owned land and didn't even know it. The state owns most all of the river bed inside the ordinary high water mark of navigable waterways. Exception being patents obtained prior to statehood. Many land owners along the rivers do not even know this.
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This isn't easement or right of way ownership. Appears that the land is properly owned by county/state. New 49er's have a map of South Umpqua showing access, and those spots are county/state owned. I'm just wondering about ownership away from river access. New 49er's map: http://www.goldgold.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/South_Umpqua_River-3-11-2011-flat.pdf
 

If the area is not surveyed as a agricultural / timber lands to begin with and is open to "Mineral entry" one may be able to do something. This of course pertains to the goal of "Perfecting ones Location / Discovery" down the road rather then just prospecting for "Economic values" even if there is not enough values to justify a "Claim".
 

some are city and state (ODOT) some county if it is open to the public for recreation
some have changed, day use no camping, some only to the center of the river.
read the descriptions that go with that map, an example is Lawson bar (su13)
one end is owned by the farmer the other end is a mining claim. su10 is now owned by cow creek Indians

descriptions of each spot on that map;
» South Umpqua Gold Properties Available to New 49?er Members

Map of state owned property's as of 2013 may have changed, (zoom in click "legend")
Oregon State Land Inventory Viewer (doesn't mean they are open to the public)
 

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I think the "open to mineral entry" part is irrelevant. Open to Mineral Entry is a federal designation that allows for the filing of a mining claim. Being closed to mineral entry does not mean you cannot "prospect" there, only that you cant claim there.
However since this is State/County land this federal designation is irrelevant because a claim cannot be filed there in the first place and it is also not managed by the BLM or FS.
Here in Washington we can "Prospect" on state land and there is plenty of it (state forests) to work on. Technically, we are supposed to get a letter or authority... but for all those who have requested, the state DNR cant seem to figure out how to write one. We have to follow all mining rules because this still involves the waters of the State.

If your prospect is in a park or other public and visible place, I would suggest getting someones blessing. It you are out in the state forest somewhere...shovel on
Its easier to ask forgiveness than it is permission
 

Bonaro said:
I think the "open to mineral entry" part is irrelevant. Open to Mineral Entry is a federal designation that allows for the filing of a mining claim. Being closed to mineral entry does not mean you cannot "prospect" there, only that you cant claim there.
However since this is State/County land this federal designation is irrelevant because a claim cannot be filed there in the first place and it is also not managed by the BLM or FS.
Here in Washington we can "Prospect" on state land and there is plenty of it (state forests) to work on. Technically, we are supposed to get a letter or authority... but for all those who have requested, the state DNR cant seem to figure out how to write one. We have to follow all mining rules because this still involves the waters of the State.

If your prospect is in a park or other public and visible place, I would suggest getting someones blessing. It you are out in the state forest somewhere...shovel on
Its easier to ask forgiveness than it is permission
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Good point about the "Open to mineral entry" and prospecting. Just asked because the two tend to go together if one is interested in a "Claim". One can pan in many areas if they are looking for colors compared to running equipment that may effect the "Surface management administration" of a "Rectangular Public Land Survey"
 

Prospecting and Recreational are two different activities.
 

For state, county and city (and private) lands, the concepts of mineral entry and such do not apply. At all. Each land owner can set their own rules for what you can do on their land. It isn’t “public lands” in any of these cases. So what can you do? Ask! Rules vary...for example, on most state lands in CO you need a lease agreement to remove any minerals at all ( the leases provide school infrastructure funding). Some state wildlife lands allow casual prospecting but most don’t. Meanwhile, some local city parks departments allow non-motorized gold prospecting right in city parks! Almost all the waterways in metro Denver (including right downtown!!) allow electric and manual methods...except a couple that don’t...check for rules, ask if confused. Remember that everything which is not forbidden, is allowed under US common law. Also remember you are a GUEST on these lands...play nice with other users, clean up your area when done daily and avoid giving any reason for someone to complain. Don’t push the limits and don’t disturb anything someone else spent money on! We lose access to these lands easily (one city council vote and BAM you are a criminal subject to fines and equipment forfeiture) so be a good ambassador for small scale prospecting and never tell anyone you are mining since it would be illegal to establish a mine on those lands without a prior agreement with the landowner! Rant over ;)

I have a federal mining claim but I’ve specialized in learning about and digging on local govt lands for a number of years. They aren’t claimable and are often overlooked as a result. Often I’ve found quite good gold in a park wedged between an oil change shop and a neighborhood!
 

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I think we are probably digging deeper into this issue than the original question required.

However, it is entirely possible to have situations where the mineral estate does not carry with the title of the land (be it city, county, state, or even federal land).
What usually happens is the mineral rights are retained at one point in the chain of title, and that owner never does anything with it. They pass away and unless their legal affairs are handled very carefully, the current owner of the mineral estate could become quite uncertain. I'm sure this issue comes up regularly when dealing with oil/natural gas rights.

I actually know a certain piece of land owned by the city that is quite rich with nuggets. They kick people off the land when they catch them panning. I would be interested to research the chain of title for that piece of land and see if they own the mineral estate.
 

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Public lands / Public Domain / Surveys.

Administration, or disposal of the Title:
It is expressly provided, as one of the conditions set forth in the various enabling acts, that the title to unapproprated lands within the State shall remain in the United States.
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state and county lands are not "unappropriated"
 

Is'nt land managed by the state / county /city public land and if the land was donated to said entity ,dictated to have restrictions / rules / regulations that prevent certain activity's and totally unclaimable , then why are we still calling them "state / county / city owned land ? Does'nt this further confuse everyone includeing our own gubermint people ? this has been a problem with the federal guys on public land forever!
 

russau said:
Is'nt land managed by the state / county /city public land
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No it is not public land.

Cities and Towns are Municipalities (a form of limited corporation). They acquire land by putting a lien on the private property found within their corporate boundary and leveraging that lien to acquire a loan. Those liens are made through the process of bonding.

Every school, fire district, improvement district, sewer district, water district and municipal bond is a guarantee against the money borrowed by the town/district etc. The residents, with private property, within those municipal corporations are obligated to pay off those loans. Their property is the collateral for the loan. The intention is to pay off the loan with tax and fee revenue but if that is not enough the resident's private property is at risk. The residents do not own the land/property purchased with those bonds. The public has no ownership in any part of this process although the voting residents do create the bond by approving a bond or financing ballot proposal.

Counties and States follow the same process with slightly different rules depending on the State. With States and most Counties there is no process for them to go bankrupt so if the bond isn't paid they must raise taxes and fees.

The federally managed Public Lands of the Western States are actually the property of the people. They have already been paid for in full. The Congress holds those lands in trust for the public. That's a whole different thing than debt based bonding by local governments.

Not all the lands managed by the federal government are Public Lands. The eastern "National Forests" are a good example of federally owned non public lands. Another example is Washington D.C. In neither of those lands do the public have a right to enjoy the lands as their own.

"Public" parks and other areas designated by local governments as open to the general public are not owned by the public. The public has been granted limited permission to public use those areas in a defined manner. Although open to public use in some respects those areas are neither owned nor controlled by the public. There is a big difference between permitting some public uses and the public having ownership.

I hope that helps?

Heavy Pans
 

^^^this!

And understanding this you can get to some good gold!

And yes, JohnnyB, I know it’s not a FEDERAL mining claim, I was just speaking casually I guess.
 

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