FLPMA

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), Public Law 94-579, is the statute under which the Bureau of Land Management manages the public lands. For mining claims, it matters through three sections: recordation (section 314), withdrawals (section 204), and surface management (section 302(b)).

Policy and multiple use

Section 102 (43 U.S.C. 1701) declares a policy that "the public lands be retained in Federal ownership" unless disposal through land use planning serves the national interest, and that management "be on the basis of multiple use and sustained yield unless otherwise specified by law." It also calls for management that "recognizes the Nation's need for domestic sources of minerals." FLPMA's definition of multiple use lists "recreation, range, timber, minerals, watershed, wildlife and fish, and natural scenic, scientific and historical values" (43 U.S.C. 1702(c)).

Recordation of mining claims (section 314, 43 U.S.C. 1744)

• Mining claims and sites located after October 21, 1976 must be filed with BLM "within ninety days after the date of location": a copy of the official record of the notice or certificate of location, with a description sufficient to locate the claimed lands on the ground.
• Mining claims located before that date had to be filed within the three-year period following October 21, 1976.
• Owners were to file each year either a notice of intention to hold or an affidavit of assessment work.
• Failure to file "shall be deemed conclusively to constitute an abandonment of the mining claim or mill or tunnel site by the owner."
• Recordation "by itself shall not render valid any claim which would not be otherwise valid under applicable law."

The annual maintenance fee is now paid "in lieu of" the assessment work requirement and the related filings under section 1744(a) and (c) (30 U.S.C. 28f). Claimants who pay the maintenance fee file none; claimants holding a small miner waiver still do (43 CFR 3835.31(d)).

Withdrawals (section 204, 43 U.S.C. 1714)

FLPMA authorizes the Secretary of the Interior "to make, modify, extend, or revoke withdrawals but only in accordance with the provisions and limitations of this section." It states a policy that Congress "delineate the extent to which the Executive may withdraw lands without legislative action" (43 U.S.C. 1701(a)(4)). BLM's brochure "Mining Claims and Sites on Federal Lands" lists "lands withdrawn pursuant to FLPMA (Section 204)" among areas withdrawn from mineral entry.

Surface management (section 302(b))

BLM's surface management regulations at 43 CFR 3809 were issued under section 302(b), 43 U.S.C. 1732(b), which the BLM brochure says "specifically amended the Mining Law."

Why it matters in mining claim research

FLPMA's filing rule is why every mining claim recorded with BLM since 1976 carries a BLM serial number (43 CFR 3830.95), and why a missed filing ends a mining claim with no inquiry into intent. Research on older mining claims turns on whether a pre-1976 location was filed with BLM within the three-year window.