§482a Mining rights in Prescott National Forest

Summary

Starting January 19, 1933, people who file mining claims under U.S. mining laws on certain lands inside the city of Prescott’s watershed in the Prescott National Forest (about 3,600 acres, more or less) may use the surface as much as is reasonably needed to prospect and mine. They may remove mineral deposits and the timber needed for mining without paying a permit fee. Cutting timber beyond what is needed for mining or necessary clearings must follow the same timber rules used on nearby national-forest land. Claimants must not block other surface uses allowed by national-forest rules unless those uses interfere with mining. Official land patents issued after January 19, 1933 will transfer ownership of the minerals and allow taking mature timber needed to get those minerals if the timber is cut under sound forest-management rules. The United States keeps title to the land surface and its products, and any non-mining use of the surface must follow Department of Agriculture rules. Valid claims that existed on January 19, 1933, and are kept up under the law, may be finished either under this rule or under the old mining laws, at the claimant’s choice.