The Problem

Nevada has a long history of prospecting and mining. The state was settled by miners just after the end of the American Civil War, and while their efforts brought prosperity and even statehood, in some cases they also left an environmental mess. We are still cleaning up the mess; and the more we do, the more we realize that we need to do even more.

While seemingly small and insignificant compared to open pit mines and large-scale prospects that have been abandoned across the state, hollow mining claim markers have large negative affects on birds and other small animals.

The main problem is that some of our migrating birds nest in cavities (holes in things). In nature, they use old woodpecker nests, rotten holes in old trees, and even cracks in rocky cliffs. In searching for nest cavities, birds like Mountain Bluebirds (mostly in northern Nevada) and Ash-throated Flycatchers (mostly in southern Nevada) hop down into the hollow mining claim markers to investigate -- never to come out again.

Nobody knows how many birds die every year inside hollow mining claim markers, but estimates are high. Researches have investigated the scope of the problem, and while not every marker contains the remains of birds, many do, and counts are as high as 42 dead birds (I've recently heard of 100!) inside a single mine marker. Even the number of hollow mining claim markers is unknown, but estimates suggest hundreds of thousands across Nevada, and one million across the western United States. Even if only a few markers catch birds each year, the annual number of deaths must be large.

Personally, the most I've found is 35 dead birds inside a single marker (mostly Ash-throated Flycatchers), but in addition to birds, I've found dead bats, lizards, mice, chipmunks, scorpions, beetles, tarantula hawk wasps, caterpillars, darkling beetles, and lots and lots of bees, flies, and other insects. Bird species I found dead include Ash-throated Flycatcher, Western Bluebird, Western Screech Owl, House Finch, Northern Mockingbird, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, and Black-tailed Gnatcatcher. In many cases, all that is left is a few old bones.

The Law

Historically, miners set up large stone cairns (piles of rocks) to mark the corners of their claim, and old mining districts around the state are full of these historic cairns.

Claims usually cover about 20 acres in a rectangular strip 1,500 feet long and 600 feet wide. Traditionally, the four corners of the claim, and the midpoint along both long sides, are marked. Thus, each mining claim is identified by 6 markers. Usually, one of the midpoint markers is designated the "discovery post," and to the discovery post is attached a statement about the claim, including how the claim is orientated, when the claim was staked, and who made the claim. If claims are arranged side by side, they can share corner and midpoint markers.

In the "old days," prospectors staked their claims, then filed location information with the county. A filing fee was required, and until about 1990, the fee was $10 per year per claim.

The low fee allowed speculators to enter the game, and speculators could establish claims over vast acreages in any area where they thought someone else might want to prospect or where someone else might want to develop. If the speculator got lucky, say a major mining company wanted to move in, they could sell their "worthless" claim for a lot of money.

Back in the old days, prospectors marked their claims with stone cairns, but rocks are hard to find in some places, and they are always hard to move, so 4-inch square (4x4) wooden posts became popular. As materials developed, starting in about 1970, prospectors began using 4-inch diameter PVC pipes. Compared to earlier materials, the white pipes were easy to set up, easy to see from long distances, light weight, and long lasting.

While 4-inch PVC pipes made life easier for prospectors, they had unintended consequences, and as the evidence mounted, environmental groups such as the Audubon Society raised the alarm about how the markers were trapping and killing many birds.

In 2009, the law in Nevada changed to prohibit hollow mining claim markers, required claim owners to retrofit or remove their old markers, and raised the annual fee from $10 to $100 per claim (now $155/yr). Raising the fee was a game changer and essentially put an end to speculative claims. Claim owners with real claims retrofitted their markers by replacing them with wooden or metal posts, or by simply putting a cap on the original PVC pipe, following current BLM regulations (PDF 1 MB).

Over vast swaths of Nevada, and eventually other western states, many speculative claim owners just walked away and abandoned their claims leaving the bird-killing posts upright and scattered across the landscape.

What Citizens can do in Nevada

In Nevada, starting November 1, 2011, the law empowered citizens on federal public lands (not private lands) to knock down mine markers anywhere they are found. To make it easier for claim owners to return and retrofit their claims, citizens are required to leave the markers on the ground to mark the spot, although most of the claims are abandoned and it seems silly to leave the 4-inch PVC pipes (now just trash) on the landscape.

In Nevada, the BLM and NDOW are working hard to remove hollow mining claim markers, but the numbers are vast and many remain. Clark County is thought to be free of marker pipes, but land managers in other parts of the state have lots of work to do.

I am coordinating citizen efforts to knock down markers in southern Nevada. I encourage all users of public lands to knock down hollow mining claim markers, but even more, send me an email and let me know where you found them. I'll get volunteers out for a Mine Marker Take-Down project.

Fence Posts can be a Problem Too

Around the desert, whenever hollow pipes are used for fence posts, birds, bats, and other small creatures become endanger when people don't put permanent caps on the pipes. In a few cases where pipes are set in concrete without caps, rain and snow falls into the pipes, collects at the bottom, and entices thirst creature in for the water. Unfortunately, the creatures die, and of course, the pipes rust out prematurely. Pipe caps are expensive, but an inexpensive alternative is to simply put empty food cans over the pipe to make a temporary cap. In the desert, temporary might be 50 years, so this is a pretty good alternative solution that citizens can empty to keep creatures out of the pipes. I started doing this after eating beans in camp, and now I save all of my cans at home and pack a small box of them along with me when I'm out.