Casual Use
Mining-related activity on public lands that ordinarily causes no or negligible disturbance, for which no notice to BLM is required under 43 CFR subpart 3809.
Detailed Definition
Casual use means activities ordinarily resulting in no or negligible disturbance of the public lands or resources (43 CFR 3809.5). It is the lowest of the three levels of operations under BLM's surface management regulations, and an operator need not notify BLM before carrying it out.
What casual use generally includes
According to the regulation, casual use generally includes:
- Collecting geochemical, rock, soil, or mineral specimens using hand tools
- Hand panning and non-motorized sluicing
- Metal detectors, gold spears, and other battery-operated devices for sensing minerals
- Hand and battery-operated drywashers
It may also include the use of small portable suction dredges. Motorized vehicles may be used for casual use where that is consistent with off-road vehicle rules, BLM land-use plan designations, and any temporary closures.
What casual use does not include
- Mechanized earth-moving equipment or truck-mounted drilling equipment
- Motorized vehicles in areas closed to off-road vehicles
- Chemicals or explosives
- Occupancy, as the regulations define it
- Operations in areas where the cumulative effect of activities is more than negligible disturbance
The duty that comes with it
No notice is required, but the operator must reclaim any casual-use disturbance it creates (43 CFR 3809.10).
The three levels of operations
- Casual use: no notice to BLM.
- Notice-level operations: exploration causing surface disturbance of 5 acres or less. A complete notice is due 15 calendar days before the work begins, and a project may not be split into several notices to avoid a plan (43 CFR 3809.21).
- Plan-level operations: anything greater than casual use that does not qualify for a notice. A plan of operations must be submitted and approved by BLM before work starts (43 CFR 3809.11).
The 5-acre figure applies to exploration only. Mining, as distinct from exploration, beyond casual use requires a plan of operations regardless of acreage.
When a plan is always required
- Bulk sampling that removes 1,000 tons or more of presumed ore for testing
- Any operation greater than casual use in special status areas, including designated wilderness, Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, BLM-administered national monuments and national conservation areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers areas, areas closed to off-road vehicles, and lands or waters with listed threatened or endangered species or their critical habitat
Where these rules apply
Subpart 3809 applies to operations under the mining laws on public lands where the mineral interest is reserved to the United States. It does not apply to lands in the National Park System, the National Forest System, or the National Wildlife Refuge System, or to acquired lands (43 CFR 3809.2).
Related Terms
Mining Claim
A parcel of federal land on which a claimant asserts the right to possess and develop a valuable mineral deposit under the Mining Law of 1872.
BLM (Bureau of Land Management)
The Bureau of Land Management, the Interior Department agency that manages the federal mineral estate and records and maintains unpatented mining claims and sites.
Prospecting
The search for a mineral deposit, from looking for outcrops to sampling, which comes before a discovery and the location of a mining claim.
Plan of Operations
The operating plan BLM must approve under 43 CFR 3809 before mining on public lands, before exploration beyond 5 acres, and before any work beyond casual use in certain special areas.
Notice-Level Operations
Exploration on public lands causing surface disturbance of 5 acres or less, conducted under a notice filed with BLM at least 15 calendar days before work begins, with a financial guarantee.