Source: Statistical Appendix to Annual Report of the Director, Bureau of Land Management, 1961. Figures are as of June 30, 1960.

This portion o ftotal withdrawn from public domain, and not included in grant total.

Mrs. PrOST. Thank you very much, Mr. Boyd.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado.

Mr. ASPINALL. Madam Chairman, I wish to welcome Mr. Boyd before the committee. His service to education, government, and to industry is well known to the people of the Nation generally, and very favorably known.

I wish to commend you for the presentation, Jim, which you prepared for us, and the manner in which you have given it. In my opinion, it is most inclusive and states very well the position of those whom you represent.

Also I am very appreciative myself, personally, of the recommendation you make as to any changes thought by you to be necessary in order to protect the mining industry.

If I understood the first map that you showed, the map you had where you had the 1,000-square-mile area set out in the rectangle, that is supposed to include all of the active mining operations of the Nation on public lands; is that right?

Mr. BOYD. Yes, Mr. Aspinall. It was calculated about 10 years ago. The change is not much different. It was done by a prominent geologist. He put together all of the areas covered by the active mines at that time, and they come to approximately a thousand square miles.

Mr. ASPINALL. Would the inclusion of some of the ghost-town areas and ghost-operation areas of yesterday make the area very much larger?

Mr. BOYD. Not a great deal larger; no, sir.

Mr. ASPINALL. Some of the best wilderness areas, you know, in my district at the present time happen to be those ghost-town areas of years ago, as far as that is concerned.

Mr. BOYD. I agree with you.

Mr. ASPINALL. I think we ought to bring this amount of land into a proper perspective. It would be approximately 33 miles square, is that correct?

Mr. BOYD. Yes, it would be 33 by 35. I think that is correct.
Mr. ASPINALL. Which is not a very large area, of course.

Up to the present time, have the withdrawals by the Federal Government of certain areas been injurious, to any great degree, to the mining industry?

Mr. BOYD. Mr. Chairman, when you answer that question you have no real means of judging that, because you would not know what would have been found had you been permitted in these areas. In prospecting we are inhibited from going there and we have missed mines because of that.

Mr. ASPINALL. What is your personal feeling about it? Do you know of any areas that have been withdrawn for these various purposes where there would have been the likelihood of very much prospecting up to the present time?

Mr. BOYD. Yes, particularly the AEC and military ranges. Many times we wanted to go in there to follow up geological data and could not go in there.

Mr. ASPINALL. What is the percentage of the mining activities in public lands above 10,000 feet?

Mr. BOYD. I am afraid I could not give you that answer directly. No; I am sorry Mr. Chairman, I could probably find something for

you on that.

Mr. ASPINALL. Could you find some information relative to that and give us some approximation in answer to that question? Mr. BOYD. I think we could find that, sir; yes, sir.

Mr. ASPINALL. Madam Chairman, I would ask that the information be received and made a part of the record at this place. Mrs. Prost. Without objection, it is so ordered.

(The information appears on p. 1577.)

Mr. ASPINALL. In your statement you made reference to some comparative numbers of people using the area involved for wilderness areas and the likelihood of the number of people who would be affected, directly or indirectly, in mining activities in the future. Could you bring us in a little better perspective as to that matter? We will say 2 million people might be involved presently or in the near future in visitations to the wilderness area. How many people would have an interest, directly or indirectly, in the values involved in mining activi

ties?

Mr. BoYD. Directly in the mining activity itself?

Mr. ASPINALL. Directly or indirectly.

Mr. BOYD. Indirectly, it is everybody in the United States.

Mr. ASPINALL. Right.

Let me ask you this: Would you be willing to have the administration make rules and regulations for development of mining activities or mining properties within the wilderness area providing the prospecting, as such, was left open as it is at the present time?

Mr. BOYD. Yes, sir. The industry has no objection to being regulated in their activities as long as those regulations are permissive and not prohibitive.

Mr. ASPINALL. If you permit prospecting and valuable ore is found, then would you be willing to leave it up to the Secretary whose jurisdiction was involved to make the decision as to whether or not the mining of that ore would be permitted at the time the ore is found, or immediately thereafter, or whenever thereafter the owner of the discovery saw fit?