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Ruling favors mining restrictions Silver Creek case may impact entire forest By PAUL FATTIG An environmental group has won a federal lawsuit aimed at curbing mining on critical salmon and steelhead spawning habitat in the remote Silver Creek drainage of the Siskiyou National Forest. U.S. District Court Magistrate John P. Cooney in Medford has ruled that forest officials violated the forest land management plan and federal law by allowing multiple mining operations on the stream without environmental analyses and approved operations plans. The lawsuit was filed in September 1998 by the Siskiyou Regional Education Project in Cave Junction. The group had charged that Siskiyou forest officials violated the terms of the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan by allowing mining in Silver Creek. Cooney ruled that the forest staff must consider the environmental impacts of mining on the area, and that they must obtain plans of operations from miners in "supplemental resource areas." Those are areas that contain highly productive and critical habitats for fish. The plaintiffs had also asked that an environmental impact study be done on mining in the area, but the judge declined that request. Although Cooney's decision was signed Dec. 13, attorneys for the environmental group weren't notified until Saturday. The agency is reserving comment until its attorneys have an opportunity to study the judge's 66-page ruling, said Rob Shull, recreational lands and minerals staff officer for the Siskiyou forest. The Forest Service could appeal the decision with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The decision, which has been reviewed and fully adopted by U.S. District Court Judge Michael Hogan in Eugene, could set a precedent, said Lori Cooper, staff attorney for the environmental group. "This isn't just about Silver Creek -- we focused on it as a poster child for streams where mining is killing our salmon and steelhead," she said. "Silver Creek is a very important spawning ground for salmon and steelhead. "But we feel the judge's opinion is broader than Silver Creek," she added. "We feel this affects the entire forest." Moreover, the group intends to send letters to other forests in the state with similar habitat, asking they also abide by the judge's ruling, Cooper said. The lawsuit was triggered when the agency allowed miners to dredge along a 14-mile stretch of Silver Creek, an Illinois River tributary that skirts the northern border of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area. The group charged that the miners were allowed to work the stream without permits, reclamation plans or environmental analysis. Although mining is restricted to the summer, when no steelhead eggs are present, summer mining does kill young steelhead, according to an agency biologist interviewed when the lawsuit was filed. The plaintiffs also charged that the agency has allowed recreational miners to bulldoze roads, build structures and discharge pollutants into streams within the forest. The decision means the agency can no longer cite the 1872 mining law as a reason to prevent them from enforcing modern environmental laws, Cooper said. "There are more than 5,000 mining claims on the forest -- we know that is a lot to deal with," she said. "But we also feel the future of salmon and steelhead is pretty important. "We're not out to get the little recreational miner but the activity is just too damaging," she added. "We can't afford to sacrifice the salmon." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA