Gold Hill gold miner returning to area that led to conviction

Clifford Tracy targets Sucker Creek again, this time with mining pits 20 feet from the important salmon stream.

As he vowed to do during his trial in U.S. District Court in Medford last November, a gold miner who was convicted of illegal mining on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest is moving ahead with plans to mine again in the same drainage where he was arrested.

Clifford R. Tracy, 37, of Gold Hill, has filed a proposed plan of operations to placer mine a site along Sucker Creek on the Grants Pass Resource Area in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Medford District.

His previous mining operation was about 2 miles upstream on national forest land.

His mining activity that led to his trial raised hackles among environmental groups while drawing support from the local mining community.

By law, BLM can only consider Tracy's past history with the U.S. Department of the Interior, when it comes to this proposal, said district spokesman Jim Whittington.

"He is in good standing with us," Whittington said, adding, "He has been communicating with us fairly well."

Tracy recently completed exploratory mining work in a nearby watershed in the resource area and completed reclamation work as required, Whittington said.

He noted that no matter who the miner is, BLM would make sure the work adheres to federal law, he said.

"There is nothing out of the ordinary about his actions on BLM land," Whittington said.

Tracy's proposed placer mining operation would cover 3 to 4 acres near the stream, about a dozen miles southeast of Cave Junction, according to the BLM.

"Mr. Tracy's proposal is to remove all the vegetation in this area, level the area, and evacuate a pit measuring approximately 50 by 100 feet to bedrock," wrote area field manager Abbie Jossie in a Dec. 22 letter to the public announcing the mining proposal.

"Material would be processed through a sluice, and tailings would be returned to the pit as he moves through the plan of operations area," Jossie added.

"Excavation is proposed to within 20 feet of normal water flow on Sucker Creek."

As part of the plan, the area would be reclaimed after mining, she noted. The mining activity is expected to last about two years.

Tracy could not be reached for comment about his new mining plans. He said during his bench trial that the U.S. Forest Service was opposed to gold mining and miners. He told Judge Owen Panner that he would continue to work mining claims on land administered by the BLM.

"My right to minerals can't be circumscribed by any agency," he told Panner.

Panner told Tracy the land management agencies have the authority to control mining activities on the lands they manage. He found Tracy guilty of one count of conducting mining operations in the forest without an approved operating plan.

In addition to serving 12 days in jail for refusing to agree to stop his mining operation, Tracy was placed on one year's probation. He was also required to remedy his road-building and mining in the watershed.

Tracy filed for bankruptcy protection last fall.

Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 541-776-4496 or e-mail pfattig@mailtribune.com.