Criminal Miner Plans to Trash Coho Habitat - BLM Says Go For It!

Remember the miner who illegally bulldozed through endangeredCoho salmon habitat in Sucker Creek, dumped sediment into the stream, logged riparian old-growth trees and diverted feeder creeks to facilitate his gold fever in September of 2009?

Click here to read the Oregonian's coverage of the incident.

Well, he's back. After being found guilty of illegal mining on Forest Service lands and declaring bankruptcy thereby avoiding costs to remediate the site, he's moved his mining equipment a few miles downstream to BLM forests next to Sucker Creek where he hopes to continue trashing Coho habitat and public lands.

Despite the fact that Sucker Creek is the most important Coho tributary to the Rogue River, the BLM has every intention of sacrificing endangered fish and their habitat to feed Mr. Tracy's criminal greed.

Click here to read the Mail Tribune's coverage of Tracy's latest proposal.

Having already made up their minds that public lands mining is more important than salmon habitat, it is unlikely that letters to the BLM will do any good.

However, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) can help rein in the wild-west illegal mining frenzy on the public forest lands in the Sucker Creek watershed. Please take a moment to send them an email asking the DEQ to protect public lands and endangered fish from illegal mining.

Subject:

Your Letter:

Dear DEQ,

Thank you for your March 21, 2006 letter to the Forest Service regarding the need to protect Coho salmon habitat and stream temperatures from mining operations that were proposed by Mr. Clifford Tracy on Forest Service lands in the Sucker Creek Watershed. Sucker Creek is the most important Coho habitat in the Rogue River Basin.

As you know, rather than wait for Forest Service approval or required permits, Mr. Tracy elected to literally bulldoze through Sucker Creek, discharge sediment into the stream, knock down riparian trees, divert creeks, dig huge pits and begin illegal mining operations on these public lands. After being found guilty of criminal trespass, and declaring bankruptcy, he now wants to do the same thing on BLM lands in Sucker Creek.

Because the Forest Service concluded that his mining would harm Sucker Creek and endangered species, the Service determined that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was necessary. DEQ provided input on that EIS that stated, "riparian vegetation is critical to maintaining stream temperatures, and any increase in stream heating will further violate water quality standards. In general, this means that any reduction in riparian vegetation throughout the watershed would be contrary to the allocations in the TMDLs."

Despite the fact that Mr. Tracy's new mining proposal calls for exactly the same impacts to Coho habitat and stream temperature as his previous proposal on Forest Service land, it is likely that the BLM will not write an Environmental Impact Statement, and will not request input from the DEQ.

I am writing to you to request that the DEQ engage in this planning effort. Please contact the BLM to explain the Clean Water Act requirements designed to protect water quality and endangered salmon in Sucker Creek. Please do not allow the BLM, and a criminal miner, to run roughshod over endangered species and water quality.

Thank you,

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