Mine Marker Removal

By Jim Boone

Thousands for cavity nesting birds are needlessly killed every year by illegal hollow PVC mine markers. Jim Boone and other volunteers have made it their mission to go out into places like Gold Butte and remove these killers. Red Rock Audubon fully supports this effort.

By about 1990, the federal agencies had moved to protect native wildlife and banned the use of hollow pipes for mining claims on public lands. In 1993, Nevada passed a law banning the use of uncapped, hollow pipes within the state. In 2009, Nevada amended the law requiring prospectors to remove hollow pipes and replace them with wildlife-safe markers. The most common claim marker seen these days is a 2×2-inch, 4-ft tall wooden post. The 1993 law also permitted the public to knock down any hollow pipes remaining on public lands starting in 2011 because they are presumed to be abandoned. We are, however, required to leave the pipes lying in place to make it easier for another prospector to re-stake the claim without resurveying it.   Read more...