and please keep copys of all paperwork/corespondances. it seems some gubermint agencies are a little sloppy with the paperwork and tend to lose stuff. cyb!

No.
If you are a club member you will receive some additional help through the process of finding and staking your own researched location if needed. Dan didn't research club areas to drop them in your lap and stake claim on. Good Lord, what would you learn from that... how to steal someone else's homework?
The CP club researched areas are not provided for you to walk up and stake claim upon.
As a Lifetime member I can testify that Dan helped be tremendously through the learning process while I was staking and filing my own claim... which I researched on my own. As a benefit of being a Lifetime Member he consulted me one-on-one outside of the forums, tirelessly. This was EXTREMELY educational and valuable to me when I needed it the most. He did not do any filing or ground work FOR me... instead verbally guided me through the process when needed and saw to it that I physically did everything on my own. He is a very knowledgeable consultant who possesses a wealth of knowledge in this arena. It was an incredible learning experience for me and I'm eternally grateful.
The CP researched areas are there to help you learn how to verify land status and get some goodies while you're at it. These areas provide users the first true steps to truly realize their rights and begin learning the actual Small Scale Mining process. Using the CP club researched areas forces you to learn how to verify land status. These areas need to be verified prior to each club member's use. I can't reiterate how important this is. EACH time a member uses a CP Club researched area they must first verify that it is still legal to prospect there.... EACH and every time... land status is subject to change every day, that is why. Once the land status verification research skill is mastered... many new doors are opened and the sky is the limit. This skill is very basic and NOT hard to utilize. It is possibly the most basic skill and certainly a prerequisite to Small Scale Mining.

We're here to help you learn how to legitimize your own discovered locations and stake claim, as a real Small Scale Miner does.
Lot's of people like to say "all of the good areas are already taken". Nothing could be more bullshit than that.... it's the lazy man's swan song. Colorado is rich in unclaimed and undiscovered areas that are claim-worthy. Ambition, education, and research will reveal rich areas worthy of claim throughout the state if one is willing to get off their ass and dig in. Is this hard work? You bet, great things don't come easy. Worthwhile? Yes.... tenfold!
I'm not pegging you as a person with a lazy man's attitude/approach because you seem sincere in motivation.... and there's also nothing wrong with a person who just wants to keep it simple and play at designated recreational prospecting areas (although they are not true Small Scale Miners and do not enjoy the same rights). Most real Small Scale Miners would prefer that recreational hobby users stay in those recreational areas, do their thing, enjoy their "hobby", and live happily ever after. I personally prefer to mine for-real (much more than a casual hobby) and don't fault others for their choices unless it is damaging to Mining rights and Federal rights of Small Scale Mining... and in some cases uneducated recreational users can cause damage to the public perception of actual Small Scale Mining... that's when it pisses off the Commercial and Small Scale Miner.
Just telling it like it is and hope I'm not coming off as being too brash. I'm a bit passionate about this.

so true!

Not to mention Chris it's actually a stipulation you have to agree to in order to be a member. Yes, I read the ToS when I joined. At the very least the act of filing a claim is in effect giving club information to a non member, BAM, instant terms of service violation and room for legal intervention.

That'd be a pretty ballsy move to make, especially considering the level of research ability around here would make it pretty obvious who did it.

Well said, Swizz!

Right now, I'm sticking to recreational areas to learn my equipment, what can go wrong with it (and how to fix it), what I need (and don't need), and what I can and can't do without when I go. Plus, I identify what I tend to forget. (it was a shovel one time, hoses the next, etc). Even in the "recreational" areas, you need to check what is and is not allowed, exactly where you can go, who to ask permission to get access when you have to cross private property, and if you can park in a particular lot.

You have to be sociable and talk to people, you can't just let someone else do your legwork, or you will be doing a lot of wishing (something I was very accustomed to doing - I had an aversion to "breaking ice", so to speak). Get online and search for areas to go, and if they are private and/or already claimed, find out who to ask and ask. At worst, they can only say "no", granted in a multitude of ways (and heat!), but you will be surprised at how many will say yes. I learned this asking permission to hunt and fish back east and out here. In all cases, be courtious, and expect to here a "no". You'd be surprised how many times they called me back to the door when I said "Ok, thanks for your time" and was given permission to access. Smiles and a pleasent attitude will get you far - even when you look (and smell ) like a caveman!

Later!

Of course not I understand completely if you dont have passion for what you do why do it!

What would one need to get started verifying land status and would you recommend a GPS unit to find the spots your looking for?

Thanks for the help!! everyone here is amazing

I just paid my yearly and was wondering a little more about the member researched areas are these open to go prospect or do I need a prospecting permit??

Troy, you are a good man. Thanks for understanding! You are most welcome for any help you receive here.... a great group of people to be sure.
I'm like Caveman (except I don't smell like a caveman, well maybe sometimes)... I was a little intimidated by the process at first and am not really a social butterfly... I dreaded contacting County and Federal agencies. Once I got my feet wet, the process was incredibly easy and empowering to realize my rights. Now I feel like they all work for ME (they do after all!).
I don't mean to sound like I'm repeatedly pimping the CP club, but.....
The easiest way to learn land status research would be to pick a CP club area, check it's status, and work there. I suggest this as being the easiest indoctrination because the status-check information is listed for the description of each club researched area. All of the contact information and coordinates for any given club area is listed with each location. You definitely don't need a GPS but it's helpful for sure. The 49ers had no such GPS devices and got through everything just fine... the laws haven't changed.
Learning MTRS data is bottom line (meridian, township, range, section). This is how you communicate location information to Federal and County agencies.... they speak that language and expect you to when communicating with them. MTRS mapping data for Colorado can easily be found online, lots of free maps for that. I believe that some Counties and Federal agencies are starting to warm-up to GPS coordinate data but it's always been the MTRS data that remains critical for land status research, staking, and filing.
But ya... going through the motions with the researched CP club areas shortens the learning curve considerably since much of the information needed to do a quick verification is made available in print by Dan and Denise. After an area or two you would be good at it for sure.

No permit necessary for any club areas that I'm aware of. Permits are typically a function of designated recreational areas that hobbyists use. Club properties are on your land. You just need to verify (County) if there has been a "location notice" filed for that area within the last 90 days. If there has been no location notice filed for that area you are good as Gold to prospect there. County will need MTRS data to check if an area has had notice filed. Your next trip is only a phone call away!
Welcome to CP!
You have just joined the elite ranks of prospecting and well on your way to becoming a legitimate Small Scale Miner.

Yeah maybe thats what she was asking me for I didnt have that info for #11 area so I will have to look into that? Thanks Again and again and.....

No permit necessary at that area.
For future Club area discussions... start topic in the Members Protected Forum.
I'm the culprit who derailed this thread and I apologize.

Ok I will go to there been trying but it keeps saying wrong password!? then I try and register for a new account for members only and it says email in use already!

Ok I feel stupid the password is case sensitive, sorry Denise for bugging you lol

Looks like you're in there now!

Great Q & A's folks and thank you very much for the kind compliments and care shown for club information!
I'm actually very happy to see that you have all taken such an approach and I'm also happy to demonstrate a "can do" from the "can can"....pun intended.
We try to keep very little in the "can't can" around here so this is gonna' be fun.....hang on everyone, this one might throw your mind for a loop this morn.

Concerning cliam filing upon any of the clubs researched areas........YOU CAN! That's the beauty of it! IF you were to make a DISCOVERY on an open area I've researched and the deposit is of a viable quantity you have the RIGHT to stake a claim. Myself nor anyone else (including and especially gov officials) CAN NOT tell you that you can't!
As Swizz said and you all found posted on the website, I will be more than happy to assist any club members with quesions about these procedures but.....you will be doing your own field work as well as paper work and going through all those steps for yourselves as claim stakers and then owners once completed.
That means all research, field mapping and descriptions etc.....more than likely you will not find mine or someone elses old claim paper work to just refile.....that isn't how you learn to do this.
The clubs researched areas are found to be open or void of claims when I completed my research and I do not look for closed claims to do my research for club areas. CP club areas are much more expansive than a single claim with some being thousands of acres literally and you may find many many other minerals besides gold at any sites in Colorado!

Now as for the can't part that is in the TOA....my research can not be used to file claims for "any club's use or members use" and that includes the Colorado Prospector club.
That is not within the intent of the mining law and we will never hold a location claim as a club for the club members to use.....Nope not gonna happen at this club!
And that's what that clause is for......not only will it not be allowed for this club, I will not tolerate another club listing one of my researched areas as a "new club claim" for any club.
Does that make sense?

At the personal level and within the intent of the mining law (for mining purposes) we do encourage staking and filing......and yepper even on the researched areas......IF (see above)
I've helped or consulted with many many many claims owners and even helped one LT member in the past file a claim on one of the researched areas in the past!

Keep on pimpin' it Swizz!