Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed unauthorized nonmining surface activities occurring on mineral mining claims on federally owned land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service.
GAO found that: (1) out of 662,000 mining claims in Arizona, California, and Nevada, about 1,600 have known or suspected unauthorized activities occurring on them; (2) claim holders did not have to prove discovery of a valuable mineral deposit to maintain their claims, unless the government challenged the validity of their claims; (3) some claim holders are using their claims for unauthorized residences, illegal activities, or speculative activities not related to legitimate mining; (4) unauthorized residences have resulted in several problems, including blocked access or rights-of-way, environmental eyesores caused by abandoned vehicles, dumped garbage, and unauthorized road construction; and (5) BLM and the Forest Service could act to reduce unauthorized activities on mining claims.
