Wyoming Prospectors Association
P.O. Box 1269
Riverton, Wyoming 82501
Minutes for meeting held on 11-14-2015

Minutes from Club Meeting held @ Mitch’s in Farson, WY 14 November 2015 Meeting 1:00PM                                           

Officers	Present	Absent	Officers	Present	Absent
President: Jim Brines	X		Treasurer: Deb Palmer	X
V. President: Janiece Robinson	X		Board Mem: Richard Buss	X
Secretary: Karen Schroeder	X

Secretary read minutes from the last club meeting. Two changes were required. Original notes stated “Rock Springs River Walk” when it should actually be “Green River Festival” and “Strawberry Luck” is actually supposed to be “Strawberry Creek”. Changes were noted, motion was made, accepted and carried to accept corrected minutes.

  
Treasurer read financial report. A motion was made, accepted and carried to accept report as read. Treasurer then read correspondence received.  Several “Thank you” cards were received, a member card received mentioned that the maps were difficult to read and asked that perhaps a listing of directions to each claim, turn by turn be provided. The letter from the PLP was read. A copy of that letter will be included in the newsletter mailing. The PLP website will be included in these notes for those interested in signing up to get email updates from them. Here’s that web address:  www.plp1.org

The Hinesley offer that we tabled at our last meeting was brought up again by way of checking in to see if anyone had visited the claim and could report back regarding the reclamation question. It was determined that no one had visited the site. Several members suggested that we table this discussion until next spring. A motion was made, accepted and carried.

Deb Palmer reported back that she did contact Pam Hockett from the Atlantic City Historical Society regarding guest speaking at one our club meetings. Pam is not available during the winter months. So it was suggested that we consider having her speak at the annual outing when more members are present and can enjoy her presentation. Deb also told the Historical Society to decide how best to spend the money we donated.

            It was brought up that the clubs printer is old and on its ‘last legs’ and perhaps this would be a good time to purchase a new one. Janiece Robinson will research what's out there and report back. The club determined that a rough working budget for a printer would be somewhere in the $300-$400 range.

Les Armstrong updated the club on the Big Easy claim. Efforts are under way to correct the problem and suggested that we not use that one for now. He’ll report back as he has more information. 

Deb Palmer then gave the club a PLP update. She and Les Armstrong told us that Randy was unable to attend the meeting and presented multiple editions of the California Mining Journal with very important issues the club needed to discuss. There are two things going on right now, the first may be the most dire and demands the club's immediate attention. A proposal has been filed to remove over 250K acres of mining lands from land use to protect the Sage Grouse.  The public has until December 23rd to make any statements regarding this issue and then a public meeting will be held to discuss the Environmental Impact Study/Statement. To get more information visit their website here: blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/sagegrouse.html . If you wish to make a comment or have questions you can contact Mark Mackiewicz directly at: 435.636.3616, email: mmackiew@blm.gov or contact the BLM at 1849 C Street NW (WO-200), Washington DC, 20240 email: sagebrush_withdrawals@blm.gov
The second issue we discussed was the involvement of the PLP in miner's litigation cases. According to several articles in the California Mining Journal (CMJ) it was determined that getting all the small mining districts together would be advantageous in the fight against such litigation. A group of miners got together and formed the “MMAC” (Minerals and Mining Advisory Council) to do just that. They are writing a bill now (The Minerals and Mining Regulatory Reform Act--A clear Path Respecting Mining Rights) and there is support in Congress to protect small mining operations, so now is the time to come together. The MMAC website is: miningdistricts@mmac.org
The club discussed what we could do here in Wyoming to further and support this effort. It was determined by quite a few members that we need to form a committee. This committee could do the research and the MMAC can assist if needed. It was also suggested that we include the Historical Society. A motion was made that we donate $1000 to the MMAC. The motion was accepted and carried. It was also suggested that the club get a subscription to the CMJ so we can stay informed of such important issues in the future. A motion was made, accepted and carried.

The next club meeting, a potluck, will be Saturday, January 9th lunch at noon with meeting to follow at 1pm held at the Riverton Church of Christ. A map has been attached to these minutes. Address: 39 Gas Hills Road.

Meeting adjourned @ 2:10p

Karen Schroeder, Secretary