QUESTION: Dredging Laws in Colorado Options

[swizz]

I'm about to purchase a 3" (6hp) highbanker/dredge .
I could really use a printable reference that describes the dredging laws here in Colorado. I don't want to take this thing where it is illegal to dredge and I'd also like to be able to prove (to BLM of Sherriff) that I'm not in violation while on-site and dredging.
Please help if you can.

[CP]

Russ is right about the settle area needs to let the top soils drop out. Not every spot will need a settle pond dug exactly either, some places the ground elevations will allow a settling area away from the water source which is fine too. This way the water settles back into the water table below while all the top soils stay on the ground not entering the water source (creek/pond) you are pumping from.
An excellent demonstration of this was the CP dig site while it was open........The FS even wrote a letter of support/recommendation about our ability to instruct in the proper use of highbankers to prospectors and private land owners. That settling area was dug in a day by two of us and was built to drain several highbankers running at once.....so that would be overkill for one unit, but you can get the idea.

The catch berm had to be built up and 4 units could run at once.


From there the water drained into a ditch which you see two young sluicers using while the highbanker is running in the background. Water source is out of the picture to the right hand side.


Then as you turn around (water source on left now), this is where the water ended up draining off to settle back into the table down hill from the source.


When actually dredging (removing material in stream), there is no requirement for a settling pond or area. This material is already in the stream bed and one small "hand carried" piece of prospecting equipment is not creating any significant disturbance or turbitiy while operating. In fact the fish will actually get in the way while you work because there's a buffet served up from the prospecting activity. We've also done a few dredge vid demo's about just that, you can see the same type unit you are thinking of getting while we are dredging in the stream. Those can be found on the news and events page.

There are also several topics within the forum about this subject which I'll link to a couple here so you can read those q's and answers everyone helped with.

This thread is for state mining permits and has a bit about several different state's permits and also has a pdf link for Colorado's aggregate extraction guidelines from the CDMG. You can also find the Arkansas river and Cache creek permits to print off from this thread.
http://www.coloradoprospector.com/forums/i...p?showtopic=728

This one is another question for dredging on NF lands in Colorado too
http://www.coloradoprospector.com:80/forum...?showtopic=2547

Besides the Arkansas river headwater recreational area, there are another 2 rivers in Colorado that have seasonal permitting as I understand it too.......The Poudre and Uncompaghre rivers.
Other than those and the Arkansas headwater recreational area, you should not need a permit for prospecting activities on NF or BLM lands that are open.
You might run into other "stipulations" officials attempt to impose, but I don't believe these are enforceable upon us as claim owners/miners.
I should also point out, this is my opinion and each prospector in the field must make the call on what they do, and how they exercise their rights within the law. I believe we have a right to conduct prospecting/mining as the federal law states, some of us chose a level of confrontation (to protect our rights should it arise) that might be more than others wish to go through.

There are a bunch of helpful threads in the laws and regulations section of the forum too........read through some of those that pertain and feel free to post up q's about those as well. There are so many and they can be down right confusing to wade through. Great info to know while in the field so well worth the efforts.

CP