Source: http://openjurist.org/print/375608
Timestamp: 2014-12-23 03:22:09
Document Index: 670953290

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 261', 'art 261', 'art 228', 'art 228', 'art 261', 'art 228', 'art 228']

888 F2d 630 United States v. Doremus
888 F2d 630 United States v. Doremus 888 F.2d 630
20 Envtl. L. Rep. 20,316
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,v.Rory DOREMUS and David Doremus, Defendants-Appellants.
No. 87-3831.
Argued and Submitted July 12, 1988.Decided Oct. 31, 1989.
Appellants Rory and David Doremus were convicted of violating United States Forest Service regulations which prohibit "[d]amaging any natural feature or other property of the United States" (36 C.F.R. Sec. 261.9(a) (1987)) and "[v]iolating any term or condition of ... [an] approved operating plan" (36 C.F.R. Sec. 261.10(k) (1987)). On appeal, appellants contend that their activity was permissible as "reasonably incident" to their mining operation (see 30 U.S.C. Sec. 612 (1982)) and that the regulations are unconstitutionally vague. We affirm.
Appellants are brothers who have staked mining claims in the Red River Ranger District of the Nez Perce National Forest in central Idaho. Since 1972, appellants have conducted mining operations on these claims under operating plans approved by the Forest Service.
On May 13, 1985, the operating plan at issue was executed by Rory Doremus and Jerry Dombrovske, District Ranger for the Red River Ranger District. Paragraph IV of the plan provides that "[t]he area of exploration will be concentrated to the clear cut," and that "[n]o more than five trenches will be open at one time." The magistrate found that the latter provision was proposed by the appellants. The plan also prohibited the cutting of live, green trees for firewood and provided that "[i]f timber is needed operator is asked to cut small dead timber." The plan neither expressly authorized nor expressly prohibited the removal of live trees in conducting the mining operation.
Between July 23 and July 31, 1985, Forest Service representatives visited the site and observed more than 30 open trenches, some larger than 10 feet by 30 feet, crisscrossing more than 1 1/4 acres.1 Several trees has been pushed over, and a road had been constructed through the trees on one side of the claim. Violation notices were issued, and appellants were tried before a federal magistrate on March 14, 1986. On June 18, 1986, the magistrate issued a memorandum opinion denying the Doremuses' motion to dismiss and finding them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The Doremuses appealed to the district court, which affirmed their convictions. United States v. Doremus, 658 F.Supp. 752 (D.Idaho 1987).
The questions presented involve the construction of federal law and its application to essentially undisputed facts, and therefore they are reviewed de novo. United States v. McConney, 728 F.2d 1195, 1201-02 (9th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 824, 105 S.Ct. 101, 83 L.Ed.2d 46 (1984). The factual findings of the magistrate will not be overturned unless they are clearly erroneous. United States v. Nance, 666 F.2d 353, 356 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 918, 102 S.Ct. 1776, 72 L.Ed.2d 179 (1982).
I. STATUTORY CHALLENGES
Appellants' first argument is that they are exempted from the prohibitions of 36 C.F.R. Part 261 by the proviso which states:
Nothing in this part shall preclude activities as authorized by ... the U.S. Mining Laws Act of 1872 as amended.
36 C.F.R. Sec. 261.1(b) (1987). Appellants contend that their activities were authorized by statute and that therefore the regulations do not prohibit such activities.
Appellants' statutory rights derive from the provision in the 1872 Act which reserves to the claimant "the exclusive right of possession and enjoyment of all the surface included within the lines of their locations." 30 U.S.C. Sec. 26 (1982). This right was limited by the Surface Resources and Multiple Use Act of 1955, which reserved to the United States the right to manage and dispose of surface resources on unpatented mining claims; however, the 1955 Act provides that such use shall not "endanger or materially interfere with prospecting, mining or processing operations or uses reasonably incident thereto." 30 U.S.C. Sec. 612(b) (1982). The same statute also prohibits the removal of vegetative surface resources "[e]xcept to the extent required for the mining claimant's prospecting, mining or processing operations and uses reasonably incident thereto, ... or to provide clearance for such operations or uses." 30 U.S.C. Sec. 612(c).
Appellants argue that the effect of 36 C.F.R. Sec. 261.1(b) is to exempt mining operations from the general prohibitions of Part 261, thereby limiting the regulation of mining operations to 36 C.F.R. Part 228. We reject this argument. Part 228 does not contain any independent enforcement provisions; it only provides that an operator must be given a notice of noncompliance and an opportunity to correct the problem. 36 C.F.R. Sec. 228.7(b) (1987). The references to operating plans in Sec. 261.10 would be meaningless unless Part 261 were construed to apply to mining operations, since that is the only conduct for which operating plans are required under Part 228. In addition, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 478 (1982), which authorizes entry into national forests for "all proper and lawful purposes, including that of prospecting, locating, and developing the mineral resources thereof," specifically states that "[s]uch persons must comply with the rules and regulations covering such national forests." This statutory caveat encompasses all rules and regulations, not just those (such as Part 228) which apply exclusively to mining claimants. In this context, Sec. 261.1(b) is merely a recognition that mining operations "may not be prohibited nor so unreasonably circumscribed as to amount to a prohibition." United States v. Weiss, 642 F.2d 296, 29