All claims are suppose to be properly marked but can be vandalized or removed. Is why it is best to know where they are before heading to the field.



It's not accidental to be prospecting, that's an intentional activity. The cut and dry of prospecting is to know where the claims are or rather aren't so you know where to dig. It's not the claim owners responsibility to show you where the claim is but rather your responsibility to know where you are in the field.........on a claim or off!!




This question makes no sense to me since one has to find open land to prospect first, then and only then can you proceed to prospect for a discovery to stake claims upon as a citizen of this country. Also has to be filed at the proper offices once staked (claimed in the field), so one has to speak of it to them.

Palle,
Denise is absolutely correct. Here is another good link with information on how to avoid trouble: Avoid Claim Jumping

I don't think the average person realizes the severity of Mineral Trespass charges. Mineral claims are Federally protected. In addition to the fines and punishment applicable to Mineral Trespass the violator can also be held financially liable for "estimated mineral loss" and "estimated reclamation cost". This can amount to a lot.
Since the popular TV series "Prospectors" has aired claim owners have become very vigilant in the Antero and Lake George areas. I imagine they don't accept much in the way of law ignorance (I don't on my claims).
Anyway... heed the advice given in this thread and have a safe trip! We've tried to show ya how to steer yourself in the right direction and hopefully you do so.

If anyone knows the individuals photographed via game camera as attached, please contact me at 303-517-8645.

Location Near Mt. Antero, photos taken 09/14/2014 on private property.

Wow... scum of the earth. I applaud you for posting these pics and hope that someone here can identify these morons. Very good quality on the pics too. I'm assuming that you filed a report with the county Sheriff's Dept (the foremost proper legal action). Hopefully the damage to your claim wasn't too bad.

Please note: MS19925 known as the California Mine is private property and No Trespassing signs as well as gates have been installed. All three parcels of MS19925 - California Lode, Utah Lode and White Rock Extension Lodes are all posted - No Trespassing.

Historical land survey monuments from 1918 are still exactly on the ground where they have always been - and land monuments are the law of the land.

Trespassers including but not limited to mineral trespassers, and those who commit mineral theft will be fully prosecuted.

Questions - please contact me.

You're preaching to the choir.
This site specializes in teaching folks how NOT to mineral trespass. Try treasurenet.com
I also suggest posting it on wranglerforum.com in the 'Colorado' section. There are Antero Jeepers there that I've argued with about picking rocks there before.

Thank you for that suggestion - we will also post photos and similar message over there.

It wouldn't hurt to browse through various posts on those sites looking for images of those people as well. Browse the images on this site also. Thankfully I don't see any familiar CP faces in those pics. If I see those people or pics of them anywhere I will let you know, reward not necessary.

... another thought.... maybe there is face-recognition image software available out there that could render potential matches based on archived (cloud) internet images.

Chris, you are starting to get scary!

nyahaha.... just wait til yer a claim owner. it's a whole new brand of crazy.

I fully understand! Caught some black powder hunters here on the property during the season - no, they were not property owners, and did not have permission from any, and they insisted that my property was BLM! There's no BLM on Bull Domingo Ranch, and there hasn't been for at least 18 years. They left....... after I got nasty. I got their plates, reported them, but all I got was "We have to catch them in the act....." What the heck?

They where either lying, or they where lost w/ actual blm leased land nearby. I'm leaning towards B.S though.

They had no clue. There is BLM - 3 miles away, but to access it, you have to go down Oak Creek Grade (unless you have permission from a property owner to access the common area). They thought that since their maps showed BLM where my land sits, they had the right to access it even though it was totally enclosed by private property (which they need permission to cross, plus permission from a property owner to be on the ranch in the first place). They even started to threaten me, but the older gentleman backed the younger ones down. Once he understood that there was no BLM, that was it, though it took several minutes to get to that point. I directed them to the SWA (several miles down the road), and informed them that the parking area to that was also on private land, and that they needed written permission to use it (but they could park on the side of the public road that ran by it, and hop the fence.) He apologized, but the younger guys just gave me very dirty looks. Next time, well, I hope there's no next time. I now have numbers for a few locals on the ranch who are VERY persuasive, and scary to boot!

Caveman, video them next time, it's Dumb a---- like these guys that end up shooting your home or worse. Hopefully there won't be a next time.

I was more worried about my dogs.... I didn't know they were there (I knew something was up, 'cause the horses were looking that way) until Molly started woofing at one of them and I heard him cursing. Then I saw the smoke pole..... realized they were hunting (right off the pasture fence, something they are supposed to be 100 yards away from - active pasture), and confronted them. One - I don't hunt this property (a promise I made Karen), nor do I allow anyone else to. They said right back that I had no say as it was BLM. Then it got ugly.... and I had to get Molly back to the house (before she bit one of them) and go back out to them - I should have made those phone calls first. I mean, what the heck - a cabin, out-buildings, a solar/wind station, and an active, fenced-off pasture with horses on BLM???? ANYONE WITH A LICK OF COMMON SENSE..... well, outta staters with old maps just seem to think they have the right. The old guy did cool their jets pretty quick when they started puffing up to commence kicking my butt.... Glad he had a brain, and started listening. They got their info from a friend of a friend... you know how that goes. They didn't even have their info right - my property was not even marked as BLM on their map - they were just going on someone's word. Last time I confront someone alone and unarmed.... They are lucky it was me - there are some really nasty, unfriendly property owners out here, and it would have gotten really ugly - for them - if they had run into one of those guys.

Excuse me and forgive my ignorance but several of the photos on Antaro look like innocent hikers.. My understanding is, that if your claim is on public land, you cannot stop people from hunting, camping or hiking. All the claimant has is the mineral tights on public land, if a hiker has NO prospecting gear, there's not a thing you can do....

The areas that Marine mentioned seem to be private lands, not public lands. It looks like he is after trespassers as opposed to mineral trespassers or maybe both. If those areas were mineral claims on public lands you would be correct except the prospecting gear would have nothing to do with it. Someone can steal minerals from a claim with just their hands, and just because they have prospecting gear doesn't mean they are stealing. I sometimes look at others claims to see where the boundaries are and what they are digging into while I have prospecting equip with me, but I only look and never dig or remove any rocks or minerals.

Welcome aboard AirBreather!
It appears you have an interest in mining rights and laws. You came to the right place! There is lots of info here dealing with your question and much much more.
If you have any questions feel free to ask.

He brings up a valid question. What exactly are the laws concerning claimed blm land as far as trespassing? Is there a thread that someone can direct us to? This is good info to know in case someone decides to or already owns a claim.

I was always under the assumption that "claimed" land should be treated as private land. No trespassing, no hunting, and of course, no prospecting. Did I assume wrong?

Ive been corrected for this before , so im just passing this along........there is NO BLM land , Forest Service land! its all public land just that its managed by one of these agencies don't make it theirs. but they think so!

Thank you Russau! I'll correct myself next time!

You assumed wrong. Recreational users may use claimed BLM and NFS managed lands for recreational purposes as long as they are not interfering with mining operations. Hunters may not hunt or fire within 1/4 mile of someone working their claim. I don't discourage hunting or recreational use on my claims as long as they are playing by the rules of law and respecting my operation.
The people in the pics posted in this thread were not only on active claims.... but also privately owned property and/or likely patented claims. Neither is open to entry for recreational use. The owner says it is well posted, but that doesn't even matter, not required by law. People should be doing their due diligence of land status research prior to going out and digging or recreationally playing on someone's private property. I don't know what they were doing? I see a 5 gal bucket in the pics and I'm assuming the claim owner has evidence of digging or mineral loss/damage... regardless, they were trespassing on private property. Mineral trespass if they were rockhounding.

Thanks Swizzle-stick!!! You're such a smart cookie!

Good input and questions everyone, in reality though claim owners do have "exclusive rights" to all the surface within the boundries of their claim. That being said, the general "polite understanding" is that if the location claim is not active, then other activities can take place without prospecting as Swizz said. Literally speaking though, claim ownership is just that "ownership" no matter if patented (private) or newer location (unpatented) claims and exclusive rights to all surface is exactly what it says.

A good thread to reference for starters on the topic of avoiding claim jumping would be pinned in this same section titled "How do I avoid claim jumping" as well as the laws and regulations sections in general like the thread about how USC, CFR's and FSH/FSM work or should be used.

Clearly I think Marine posted the pics with intent to find identity of tresspassers in some fashion whether it is private patented claims or location claims. There were no actual accusation of such made by Marine. Hopefully the situation works out fine/best for everyone without incident.
Welcome to the Colorado Prospector forums by the way Marine, good luck with your claim situation, hope it all works out ok.

The Property is marked: Private Property No Trespassing. This is on a very clearly marked Patented land location = Private property. In fact there are over 10 Private Property Signs, No Trespassing on the property at the time the photos were taken.

For those captured in the photo - we have over 50+ photos of them, carrying 5 gallon bucket, shovel and other potential digging equipment.

This is on Patented land = Private property. In order to get to the location they set down the bucket and were at, they - the four individuals had to pass by no less then 6 No Trespassing Signs and a locked cable gate also with Private Property, No Trespassing sign.

They arrived at approx. 10:10 and left at approx: 13:56 according to the time stamps taken of the photos.

Photos have been turned over to Chaffee Country Sheriff's Office, of course the photos are all date/time stamped.

Fantastic! I hope that you do catch up with them, recover any stolen property, and are able to prosecute. This does need to be done more often, with prosecution and convictions. These persons have no excuse. Good luck, and please keep us updated as you are able (legally).

Take care!

I wish you the best of luck. I also wish I could see those pics, but I guess Dan took them down. :(
I knew folks on both sides- fellas that had claims that folks were trying to jump, and then folks, unrelated to the matter, bragging about jumping other's claims.

I don't know if Undersheriff Speezee is still there or not. He seemed interested in taking a stand on mineral trespass issues when Sheriff Tim Walker lost the election.

Hi, again!

It´s been a while since I wrote something in this thread. In spring 2014 I planned to at least give Mt Antero a try. I got a lot of good advice on this forum, and also got more information than I could handle from BLM (Very service minded guys over there). As it turned out, 11 days of one a clock showers prevented med from doing more than just pass by on the highway, while Mt Antero laughed at me! I also ran down quite a few other mountains shortly after having lunch next to a mine during that period (Zuni mine for instance), but those are other stories.

I´ve just booked flights for next summers geology road trip, and I want to try again. I´ve read reports on the whole mountain of Mt Antero being claimed (Is that even possible, in a Natl. forest?), and that there aren´t much of Mt White left either. So, I´m looking for a plan B and C, if it turns out I can´t even climb the foot of either mountain with a hammer. My question therefore is, how about Mt Princeton? I´ve also read reports mentioning Mt Baldwin, which should be close to Baldwin lakes, but I can´t find any peak with that name.

Hi Palle, sorry you didn't get up to Mt. Antero while visiting but maybe next time you can get up there weather permitting. Very glad you found helpful information from the Colorado Prospector forums.
The "blanket claim" of the entire mountain is not valid as one claim period and I highly doubt that the blanket claimant even knows anything about claims and their limits on sizes or associations etc.....best to do your own diligent research on facts and actual mining claims filed as such.

I do not know of a Mt. Baldwin either in that area, but doesn't mean there isn't one, I just haven't heard of it. Good luck on your next adventure, hope it turns out very well for you.

I'm wondering if he means Mt Baldy.... if so, it's got the wrong geology for aquas. Mt Baldwin is in CA.

Sorry - I was thinking of Colony Baldy Peak in the Sangre de Cristo range. The Sangre's have the wrong geology for aquamarins... I have no idea about Mt Baldy in Teller County. Interesting fact - the Sangre's have the most 14ers of any range in CO.

Major peaks of the Sangre de Cristo
Named peaks over 13,500 feet (4,100 m)
Peak name Elevation Prominence
Blanca Peak [1] 14,351 ft (4,374 m) 5,326 ft (1,623 m)
Crestone Peak [2] 14,300 ft (4,400 m) 4,534 ft (1,382 m)
Crestone Needle [3] 14,197 ft (4,327 m) 437 ft (133 m)
Kit Carson Peak [4] 14,165 ft (4,317 m) 1,005 ft (306 m)
Challenger Point [5] 14,080 ft (4,290 m) 281 ft (86 m)
Humboldt Peak [6] 14,064 ft (4,287 m) 1,164 ft (355 m)
Ellingwood Point [7] 14,042 ft (4,280 m) 322 ft (98 m)
Mount Lindsey [8] 14,042 ft (4,280 m) 1,522 ft (464 m)
Little Bear Peak [9] 14,037 ft (4,278 m) 357 ft (109 m)

Columbia Point [10] 13,960 ft (4,260 m) 320 ft (98 m)
Mount Adams [11] 13,937 ft (4,248 m) 851 ft (259 m)
California Peak [12] 13,855 ft (4,223 m) 609 ft (186 m)
Rito Alto Peak [13] 13,800 ft (4,200 m) 1,114 ft (340 m)
Colony Baldy [14] 13,711 ft (4,179 m) 905 ft (276 m)
Pico Aislado [15] 13,612 ft (4,149 m) 837 ft (255 m)
Tijeras Peak [16] 13,610 ft (4,150 m) 724 ft (221 m)
Electric Peak [17] 13,601 ft (4,146 m) 915 ft (279 m)
Cottonwood Peak [18] 13,504 ft (4,116 m) 1,108 ft (338 m)
Twin Peaks [19] 13,560 ft (4,130 m) 600 ft (180 m)
Broken Hand Peak [20] 13,579 ft (4,139 m) 653 ft (199 m)
Fluted Peak [21] 13,560 ft (4,130 m) 714 ft (218 m)
Milwaukee Peak [22] 13,528 ft (4,123 m) 282 ft (86 m)

Neat, huh?

Very neat little peak layout you added Caveman!

Hi!Thanks for the replies. I´m just as confused as you about this Mt Baldwin, thinking it probably is a ridge or a lower top close to the Baldwin lakes.

I´m glad to hear about that claim. Not so much for my plans, as for the whole area. I´ll see what happens with my next road trip to Colorado. It´s looking like three days in that area, before I move north.

I believe it is Boulder Mountain near Baldwin Lakes. That would be my best guess.

I forgot to tell you, I actually got up to Mt. Antero this time. Finally! I parked some 100 yards after the creek, as the road went from worst to unbelievable. I´d got a Jeep Renegade, and thought I´d gone too far already.

It could have been the thin air, or me being too eager, but I got exhausted before I got to the timberline. As you experienced guys now, it gets a lot better once the serpentine road takes over.

This happened to be on the 4th of July, and I guess professional prospectors were elsewhere celebrating. What amazed me, as I got up to the 'parking lot' by the Bluestar load sign, is that no one seemed to care about the claims. Some teen to twelve guys picked around on the claim. My guess is, these were normal tourists, only looking around for souvenirs, and not knowing much about clams and mining. But, they couldn´t have missed that sign or its message.