Last year, many of you commented on the proposed mineral claims withdrawal that could protect an area around Pactola Reservoir. A mineral withdrawal can stop exploration drilling and mining in a specific area by “withdrawing” the mining claims in that area, so they’re no longer in effect.

While the US Forest Service and the US Bureau of Land Management decide whether to protect this area, they have temporarily stopped the Jenny Gulch gold drilling project. If a mineral withdrawal is okayed by the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, the Jenny Gulch project could be put on hold for up to 20 years.

But before that could happen, we’ll need to complete another round of public comments! Your comments will be needed sometime this summer, when the Forest Service issues a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposal — a document that discusses the potential impacts (or in this case, lack of impacts) if a withdrawal was granted. We’ll need to generate thousands of comments for the mineral withdrawal, so everyone’s participation will be critical!

We will keep you informed on this process, as it continues to unwind. In the meantime, you can keep talking about the proposed withdrawal to your friends, family, groups you belong to, etc. Some people think the withdrawal has been granted, but it has NOT — it’s just a proposal right now. We need to let people know that they will need to join their voices in support of the proposal if they want to get the Jenny Gulch area protected! 

Please let us know if you have any questions, or if you have any ideas on groups we can talk to or events where we can set up an information table.  Email edbhcwa@gmail.com

Thanks!