Tracy Loew

Statesman Journal

The Oregon Senate passed a bill Monday that would put permanent restrictions on motorized suction dredge mining to protect sensitive salmon and lamprey habitat.

The bill’s backers called it a win for clean water, healthy fish and recreation, and noted it came out of a long, collaborative process championed by the late Sen. Alan Bates, who represented Southern Oregon for 15 years.

“This bill’s passage proves that given time and hard work, Oregonians are able to come together to develop solutions to our complicated conservation issues,” said Nick Cady, legal director for Cascadia Wildlands.

Opponents, however, said it is nothing less than a direct attack on rural Oregon and a century-old way of life, and argued that suction dredge mining can actually be beneficial to fish habitat.

“The state has not provided a single piece of evidence (of mining’s harm) except that outdoor groups wanted the water for themselves,” Sen. Alan Olsen, R-Canby, said during a debate on the Senate floor.

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California placed a moratorium on suction dredge mining in 2009. As a result, large numbers of suction dredge miners moved to the rivers of Southern Oregon.

That prompted the Oregon Legislature to pass Senate Bill 838 in 2013. It imposed a moratorium, from Jan. 2 this year through Jan. 2, 2021, on motorized mining for precious metals in streams and upland of rivers and tributaries with essential indigenous salmon habitat.

Hobbyists using suction dredge mining vacuum up riverbeds through a hose, using a motorized floating dredge, looking for gold. Last year, 156 hobby miners received permits, according to the state Department of Environmental Quality.

Opponents say dredge mining can increase turbidity, stir up mercury deposits, trap and kill aquatic insects, fish eggs and juvenile fish, and create noise that bothers other river users.

Senate Bill 3, passed Monday, would repeal the moratorium, except in areas up to the ordinary high water line in any river containing essential indigenous salmonid habitat.

In other areas, suction dredge operators would need a permit from DEQ. Permit rules would include limited hours of operation.

Suction dredge miners from throughout Oregon testified during public hearings that the proposal would destroy livelihoods, ruin a cultural heritage and cost businesses that support mining — such as restaurants, gas stations and hotels — millions of dollars.

The average hobby miner spends about $10,000 per year on equipment, living and operating expenses, and recovers between $8,400 and $21,000 in gold per year, according to Tom Kitchar, president of the Waldo Mining District.

“Over the years, I have purchased a couple thousand dollars of small pieces of mining equipment and placer mining claims," Monmouth resident John Esch told lawmakers. “Now that I am retired U.S. Army, I thought of mining to help supplement my military retirement pay, but with the current DEQ and state permit restrictions, virtually no areas to mine, and the fear of losing everything, I cannot pursue my interests if Senate Bill 3 shall pass.”

But Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, who carried the bill, said it is a good compromise.

“It is vitally important to protect endangered and threatened fish species in our rivers and streams, but we also recognize that there is strong mining heritage in our state as well,” Dembrow said in a statement.

The bill now goes to the House for consideration.

tloew@statesmanjournal.com, 503-399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/Tracy_Loew

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