Gold miner's trial delayed

Alleged illegal mining activity evidence will be heard in court next month.

The civil court trial of a gold miner charged with illegal mining in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest has been rescheduled to Nov. 2.

The trial for Clifford R. Tracy, 37, of Gold Hill, arrested early in September for mining without a permit on his 4.75-acre claim, had been scheduled to begin today before Judge Owen Panner in U.S. District Court in Medford.

Tracy, whose 4.75-acre claim is in the Sucker Creek drainage about a dozen miles southeast of Cave Junction, denied in a court hearing last month that he was mining illegally. U.S. Forest Service officials were opposed to mining and did not understand the mining laws, he told Panner.

In documents filed with the court, forest officials said that Tracy mined without a permit, then continued to do so after he was warned and later cited for the violation.

The documents indicated Tracy illegally cut more than 20 trees up to 40 inches in diameter near the stream, dug two large pits on the site, punched in a road and released sediment into the stream, a key watershed for coho salmon, chinook salmon and steelhead trout.

Panner earlier postponed a criminal trial on a misdemeanor charge against Tracy of mining without a permit until after the civil trial.