Hi Realnice,
Not really anything to "argue" about as it's just simply an obvious difference in opinion between your interpretation of the FS's delegated authority and what mine and many others views are here.
I know for a fact the FS has no authority to regulate location claims, through many many hours reading of the laws/codes, regs that support them, the handbooks the officials must use to have their jobs, and years and years of experiences in the field on claims (mine and many others) where FS authority was defined and the FS officials have been told they do not have the authority by other agencies who do have the "delegated authority" on mining claims.
The FS officials were not only told they could not regulate/prohibit miners activities, but in fact were told their (FS) restrictions were causing safety issues for the miners! The other agency has told the FS they will not impose these restrictions on claim owners any longer!
Filing a mining claim to begin with states (IMHO) that you in fact WILL BE MAKING A SIGNIFICANT DISTURBANCE! Other wise how would the miner extract the deposit?! In fact that is also part of your right to mine....making a disturbance! As is reclamation...part of the POO.
It's the miners job to know when, how and where they will be extracting the minerals so it goes without saying that it must also be the miner who decides/should know when the specific thresholds for filing either an NOI or POO are crossed.
There are rare occasions where an NOI will suffice for the activities such as traversing drilling equipment across NF lands off road.....this may "create a road" to some degree temporarily needing the NOI approval but that is a special situation.
Either way it's got to be the claim owner making the decisions for the claim....not the officials. IT'S NOT THEIR CLAIM!!
Please don't take it the wrong way, your efforts to work with the officials are commendable. It's just too bad the FS officials don't know their job duties or the law they should......and they still get paid with our tax dollars! The law states they will foster and encourage mining as well as to work with each miner rather than against......Are they?
If you ever find that you decide the FS does not in fact have delegated authority to regulate your mining claim activity in this way then your courses of action as well as willingness to work with the FS may change dramatically.
There are just so many things that point this out it's impossible to link or quote them all in one spot or thread. I remember digging out a bunch for start off point when you started the "how to tell when my disturbance becomes significant" thread......but that was just the tip of the iceberg so to speak.
Once you dig into some of the rest the list grows quickly
Inter-agencies agreements - How FS deals with BLM concerning mining claims....... Why? Because the BLM is the only mining authority.
Laws about not having duplicate regulation from two agencies for the same activities........Why? Not to waste resources and to ensure only the "delegated" agency is the one to regulate.
FSM and FSH both state the FS employees who deal with mining claimants must know and abide by....yep 43cfr's! For all mining claim decisions. (and they MUST pass the POO or NOI onto BLM!) And they MUST APPROVE them (POO's), they (FS) may only "request" changes to minimize adverse conditions that WILL occur.
No one is saying that anyone should be "Taking a standoffish I'm gong to do whatever I want attitude" at all....it's more along the lines of just as you said, know your rights as a claim owner and don't let them tell you what you're going to do....it's not their claim.
The FS officials will play on words often though.........significant disturbances CAN BE site specific but they are not always and in fact it's quite rare that any specific site is sensitive to anything under 1600 sq ft disturbance.
Another couple very interesting facts that help clear "authority" up.........only two things fall into "surface resources" which is what the FS is "delegated" the authority to regulate......those resources are timber (miner has first right to that on the claim) and agriculture.
Surface resources and their authority over those are only 6" deep in the soil according to the public law term BLM book.
The only other "delegated authority" FS is given by congress is "surface use" (recreational activities) and occupancy. But not mining claims occupancy....again, kinda goes without saying, you are expected to occupy the claim.....can't do any diggin' without being there! And would also be why the law states "exclusive right to all surface" as claim owner.
And the list goes on and on and on.......not that the FS will help you find any of these. Almost every FS official I've spoken too on these topics takes notes on what I'm telling them....all the while they should have already known it for their job duties....they're getting paid for it!
Like I said, your efforts are commendable Realnice and don't give up on that attitude. But in time I think you'll find that the FS officials aren't very "fostering and encouraging" when you get right down to it. Other wise they wouldn't try to throw such a child like fit every time some miner wants to dig a hole!
Duh! IT'S WHAT WE DO!!
Hopefully all goes well with the FS in the future and don't let em' push ya' around! Good luck on the digs!
Stay safe everyone and remember there's more to dig into than just the dirt.
CP