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Nickel miner must take to air No new roads in sensitive area, agency says By PAUL FATTIG O'BRIEN -- A proposed nickel mining operation in the botanically rich Rough and Ready Creek watershed can proceed only if bulk mineral samples are hauled out by helicopter. That's the bottom line of the final environmental impact statement being released today by Siskiyou National Forest officials for the Nicore Mine project proposed by Illinois Valley miner Walt Freeman, according to an anonymous source within the agency. Bulk sampling using helicopters was the preferred alternative in the supplemental draft environmental impact statement the agency released last fall. The preferred alternative would pose a serious financial obstacle, said Freeman, whose plans had called for trucking out 40,000 tons of ore samples from four test sites. His plan included building some 14 miles of roads. The Siskiyou Regional Education Project, an Illinois Valley-based environmental group, said it would file an administrative appeal to stop the mining project entirely. The proposed mining operation has drawn national attention in recent years. Environmental groups portrayed Nicore as representing abuses inherent in the 1872 mining law, while mining advocates defended Nicore and the law. Forest officials received more than 5,000 comments on the final EIS. Tumbling out of the Siskiyou Mountains, Rough and Ready Creek flows east into the west fork of the Illinois Valley about eight miles south of Cave Junction. Although it appears to be little more than a rocky desert to passersby on Highway 199 during the summer, the creek's upper watershed includes a chain of crystal-clear pools and vegetation-rich bogs. It first drew miners in the 1850s, followed by botanists beginning in the 1930s. Some two dozen rare plants have been found in the drainage. For Siskiyou forest supervisor Mike Lunn, it was a difficult decision that required a balance between the rights of the miner and protecting the unique environment. Lunn is also the supervisor of the Rogue River National Forest. "With mining operations, we try to figure out how to meet the needs of the miner," Lunn said. "In this case, we know there are minerals there. But the economic value of those minerals has been really difficult for us to determine, to verify. "As a decision maker, I found myself dealing with a situation in which we have speculative or unknown mineral value against high environmental values," he added. Those environmental values included rare plants, a sensitive fishery and a roadless area, he said. "We had to balance all those things against an almost lack of solid (economic) information on the mining operation," he said. The decision, while not ideal for everyone, will allow Freeman to continue to exercise his mining rights while learning more about the mineral deposit, Lunn said. "We don't expect it (sampling) to be completed in a single year," he said. "We would continue to work with him under that scenario." But Freeman, in an interview before the decision was announced, said the preferred alternative was not acceptable. "That would be a huge, million-dollar roadblock," said the Illinois Valley native, who has a degree in mining engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. Although it has been dubbed a nickel project, the plan is to create stainless steel from the nickel, chrome and iron in the red dirt material on the claims, he said. The botanical richness of the area can be protected while the minerals are extracted, according to Freeman, whose family has lived at the site since the mid-1950s. "I've always wanted to just build a small mining project and put some local people to work, maybe make some money," he said. "I want to make use of a natural resource that is fairly abundant here. "One of the things the Forest Service has been claiming is that the economics are questionable," he added. "My response is, if it's not economical, then it won't happen." He preferred not to speculate on his options should the agency deny his request. But Darren Borgias, an ecologist with the Oregon chapter of The Nature Conservancy, said the preferred alternative would help protect a large portion of the state's rare flora. "Rough and Ready is perhaps the most significant watershed in the state in terms of having the greatest concentration of rare plants in Oregon," Borgias said. The conservancy has purchased three tracts of land totalling 60 acres in the creek's drainage to help preserve rare plants. "The preferred alternative is certainly more reasonable in the conservancy's estimation than that which would allow full-scale mining," he concluded. Steve Marsden, a member of the Siskiyou Regional Education Project, which has been leading the fight against the project, felt the agency should have taken no action, thereby stopping the project completely. "The Forest Service thinks it's the magic bullet alternative," he said. "But it's really not. It really doesn't answer the problem. There is still no proof this thing is valid. And the area is still threatened." Barbara Ullian, conservation director for the group, said, "Although the Forest Service decision is less destructive than what Nicore wanted, it still harms a very pristine watershed for speculative mining. "The only legal decision the Forest Service can make is to deny Nicore completely," she said. History of Rough and Ready Creek drainage The following is a chronology of the history of the Rough and Ready Creek drainage in the Illinois Valley: 1850s -- The stream was named by gold miners for President Zachary Taylor, nicknamed "Rough and Ready" when he was a general in the Mexican War, according to the book Oregon Geographic Names. 1938 -- The state, under the pressure of Effie Smith and the Illinois Valley Garden Club, creates the 99-acre Rough and Ready State Botanical Wayside. The wayside was later reduced to 11 acres. 1939 -- Walt Freeman, the late father of the younger Walt Freeman, files on 4,360 acres of nickel claims on property now under the jurisdiction of the Siskiyou National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management in the Rough and Ready drainage. 1989 -- Siskiyou National Forest Management Plan designates 1,500 acres of the Rough and Ready Creek watershed as a botanical area. 1992 -- The younger Freeman files a patent for 4,360 acres of nickel claims in the Rough and Ready Creek drainage. If granted, he would pay $2.50 an acre for the claims under the 1872 mining law. March 1992 -- Freeman files his first plan of operation for the proposed Nicore Mine. The proposal calls for mining a 5,000-ton sample from one site in the drainage. August 1993 -- Rough and Ready Creek named eligible to become part of the National Wild and Scenic River system by the Forest Service, following an earlier appeal by the American Rivers group. November 1993 -- Freeman files another plan of operation, this time to mine 40,000 tons at four sites in the drainage. Forest Service responds that an environmental impact statement would have to be prepared for the operation. May 1994 -- Freeman appeals Forest Service decision to prepare an EIS. His appeal is denied. August 1994 -- Freeman files second appeal opposing EIS decision. November 1994 -- Regional forester denies the appeal. 1997 -- Oregon Natural Heritage Program determines that the stream and the west fork of the Illinois River ranks No. 1 in the state in the number of rare plant species. January 1998 -- Forest Service issues draft EIS for the proposed mine. The statement says there are at least 22 sensitive plant species that will be affected, including McDonald's rock cress, which is listed under the Endangered Species Act. May 1998 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Or., and U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Springfield, and other Oregon representatives send letter to Forest Service Chief Mike Dombek, asking that the drainage be withdrawn from mining activity. October 1998 -- Forest Service issues a supplemental draft EIS. Economic analysis concludes that proposed mining operation and all alternatives will lose money. August 1999 -- Wyden sends letter to President Clinton, asking him to help provide additional protection for five sites in Oregon, including the Rough and Ready Creek drainage. August 1999 -- Forest Service issues its decision to allow bulk sampling by helicopter of the proposed mining operation. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA