EDITORIAL
Appointing Brooks
AD is good move
The University scored a public-relations touch
down last week when it named head football coach
Rich Brooks as the new athletic director. The decision
comes in wake of the departure of Bill Byrne, who has
accepted the AD position at the University of Nebraska.
The next six months should provide a good test of
Brooks* ability to perform in his new dual role as ath
letic director/football coach. The Ducks’ football team
is coming off a disappointing 3-8 season and Brooks
should have his hands full trying to rebuild, particular
ly at the chaotic quarterback position.
At the same time, he will be handed the continuing
legacy of Measure 5 and the unenviable position of po
tentially overseeing the dismantling of much of the ath
letic department. The pressure to perform will be great,
and Brooks had bettor have his playbook memorised
when the budget ax starts swinging.
The selection of Brooks is advantageous to the Uni
versity for a number of reasons, not the least of which
is the $68,000-per-ycar savings that will result in not
having to pay a separate athlotic director's salary.
Whether the University scores the extra-point will be
determined by how the savings arc allocated. Conceiv
ably, at least one position in the department could be
rescued from cutbacks for at least two years (the length
of Brooks' contract as athletic director).
Another positive outcome of selecting Brooks is
that he is already familiar with the environment in
which he and his department must operate. He knows
his staff, the administration and mentality at which the
state government pretends to operate. Brooks is also
more likely to fight to protect the jobs of the people in
his department than would be an outsider who is iso
lated from the staff.
The increase in job responsibilities for Brooks will
most certainly result in some overflow, meaning he
can't do it all. Presumably, some of this overflow will
be picked up by the administration. Such a move
would be in step with University President Myles
Brand's desire to bring the athletic department closer
to the University as a whole.
Not that the University's athletic department can
be considered a maverick institution, but the percep
tion is often that the athletic department is too isolated
from the rest of the University. A greater role in athlet
ics by the University administration can only better the
image of the department, both at the University and
throughout the state.
In short, if there is anyone who has the ability to
do the job, it’s Brooks. He deserves the full support of
the University community as he tries to make the best
out of a potentially bleak situation.
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writer must be verified upon submission. The Emerald
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if necessary. _
Oregon Daily
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COMMENTARY
1872 law facilitates abuse of land
By Tom Ragland
In 1872. the United Staten
Congress enacted the Mining
Act of 1872. The purposes of
the law wore to promote miner
al exploration and develop
ment of the western United
States. The mining law granted
free access to public lands, and
upon discovery (of minerals) a
patent could bo Issued.
Today, 220 years later, the
law remains relatively Intact. A
patent can still be bought for ei
ther $2.50 or S5 00-por-aere,
depending on the type of claim
A normal claim Is 20 acres.
While those foes were substan
tial In 1872, today the value of
the public land far exceeds the
amount paid by mining compa
nies In patents. For example,
the slate of Oregon sold 780
acres of public coastline for
$1,050 to a mining company.
Tho land was valued at $12
million In 1070. tho General
Accounting Office reviewed 20
patents. It's research showed
that of 20 claims reviewed, the
land was doudcd to mining
companies at under $4,050; tho
public land was worth to tho
American public over $47.0
million, this land was your
land.
Another stipulation of the
1872 law is that companies and
individuals must perform a
hundred dollars worth of devel
opment to a claim for five
years. However, thoro is noth
ing in tho law that requires in
dividuals of companies to com
mence mining. This allows In
dividuals to legally steal public
land, build permanent struc
tures while paying absolutely
little to the taxpayer. Tho Bu
reau of Land Management re
ports that thoro are cases of in
dividuals building ski chalets
outside of such ritzy places as
Aspen, Colo.
The 1872 mining act allows
for tho following to take place
on all publicly hold claims on
public land: No land reclama
tion. no regulation as to type of
mineral extraction method, no
limit as to tho amounts of
claims on Individual or corpo
ration can hold, thero is no re
quirement that mineral produc
tion ever commence. The tim
ing method and pattern of de
velopment is not regulated.
Once again, our non-sustain
ublo economic practices based
on short term gain and feeding
giant industry until there is no
more food, has resulted in envi
ronmental degradation. The
powerful mining industry has
successfully lobbiod against
any environmental regulation.
The BLM. under the Federal
Land Policy and Management
Act controls what public land
«n be sold for mineral explora
tion and what can bo with
drawn from mineral explora
tion.
Nearly two-thirds of all land
withdrawn from mineral explo
ration wore withdrawn for the
following reasons: infrastruc
ture Improvements, military
reservations, Federal oil re
serves and power sites. The Na
tional Wildlife Federation chal
lenged this policy In the Su
premo Court case Lugan vs. Na
tional Wildlife Federation. Not
surprisingly, the NWF lost.
Taking advantage of lltllo en
vironmental regulation, the
mining industry has begun to
use cyanide in its never ending
quest to supply the world with
gold. Cyanide is used in a pro
cess called cyanide heap loach
mining This insidious process
is extremely cost-offoctlvo. Not
uncommonly, extremely cost
effective processes in the min
ing industry moan environmen
tal degradation. Cyanide pits
litter the American Woat and
are the most prevalent in Ne
vada. So far, wo have boon able
to stop cyanide mining in Ore
gon. The Atlas Company of
Denver has proposed a cyanide
mine In Southeastern Oregon at
Grassy Mountain.
The biological effects of cya
nide mining are many. Cyanide
pits are, on the average, 1.200
feet deep and 2,000 feet across.
Roughly, 50 Empire State
Buildings could lit Into one pit.
Mining companies by law do
not have to reclamate the pits.
For every 100 tons of earth
scraped from the mountains
and valleys, the yield is a half
a-teaspoon of gold. It costs the
company about $200 dollars to
get an ounce of gold, but fair
market valuo for an ounce of
gold is around $800. so as you
can see, it is entirely cost effec
tive.
Another problem associated
with the dreadful cyanide prac
tice is the amount of water used
on a daily basis. On the aver
age. a cyanide mine uses 1,000
to 1,500 gallons of water per
minute. The stealing of water
from the desert and wildlife
causes massive damage to this
fragile ecosystem. Bighorn
sheep, coyotes, foxes, countless
birds and flora and fauna aro
robbed of their precious water
supply. These animals aro
forced to unknowingly drink
tho poisonous water supply, be
cause all that is left Is this toxic
laden, instant death drink. The
mining industry is lobbying
hard to not be required to cover
these cyanide ponds.
Once tho earth is scraped
from our public land, it is put
on polyothelane liners to be
sprayed. Much of the cyanide
runs off into the groundwater
and streams of the American
West, poisoning water supplies
and killing aquatic habitat. Tho
present '■state-of-the-art'' liners
are unable to prevent 75 per
cent of tho cyanido from run
ning off.
Cyanide spills are common.
A typical cyanido mine uses 3
million pounds of cyanide per
years. The state of Nevada re
ports two spills-por-woek In
South Carolina, a mine spilled
9 million gallons of cyanide
into a nearby river. Tho Exxon
Valdez spill was ten million
gallons.
So what can wo do? First of
all, boycott gold. If the demand
for gold drops it will be no
longer cost-effective to mine it
Sixty percent of all gold mining
is done for jewelry. A boycott
would be extremely effective.
Placing pressure on your con
gressman and/or senator will
only result in greater regula
tion, which is needed, but it
will probably result in compa
nies moving to Mexico to pol
lute their deserts. After all.
many mining companies In the
United States are form overseas
and Canada. They como here to
take advantage of the 1B72 law
and there is no reason why
they would not move else
where. We need to close down
their operation, not get them to
move on.
What else can you do?
Spread the word about the boy
cott, print flyers, write articles,
toll your parents, etc. To stop
this practice of cyanide mining
will take many methods, this is
not just a boycott or a letter
writing campaign. A variety of
methods at all levels of activity
is the only was to stop this de
struction.
Tom Ragland is a resident of
Eugene.