American Mining Rights Association

09/03/2026

Winning.....

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1501, the Protecting Domestic Mining Act of 2025, introduced by U.S. Representative Jefferson Shreve (R-Ind.). This legislation will boost domestic mining and mineral processing capacity by expediting environmental review of mining infrastructure projects under the FAST-41 process.

“It’s critical for the United States to achieve mineral dominance and end reliance on foreign adversarial nations for critical natural resources. The Protecting Domestic Mining Act will speed up permitting for mining and processing, allowing America to unleash its domestic mineral abundance, support good-paying jobs and decrease reliance on foreign sources. I thank Representative Shreve for his work on advancing policies to secure America’s mineral supply chains.” - House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.)

“America has the resources. We have the workers. What we don’t need is years of government delay and uncertainty. My bill gives qualified mining projects a clear and accountable permitting process. That will strengthen American manufacturing, support American jobs and reduce our dependence on China.” - U.S. Rep. Jefferson Shreve

Background

The Protecting Domestic Mining Act codifies mining and mineral processing as covered projects under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. The bill also prohibits implementation of a Biden-era proposed rule that would narrow FAST-41 coverage for mining projects to only critical-mineral mining projects, severely impeding domestic mineral investment and American resource independence.

Read full text of the legislation here:

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1501, the Protecting Domestic Mining Act of 2025, introduced by U.S. Representative Jefferson Shreve (R-Ind.). This legislation will boost domestic mining and mineral processing capacity by expediting environmental review of mining infrastructure....

08/20/2026

Log it, graze it or watch it burn.

Trump chooses "log it".

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1530111942489455&set=a.364683965698931

The Forest Service is moving ahead with plans to rescind a quarter-century-old rule that blocked logging and other development on national forest lands. FULL STORY ⬇️

08/19/2026

We sent this letter to President Trump last week after seeing his new push on mining. BUT, he did not include us small-scale miners. We intend to change that. PLEASE SHARE
Here is the letter:

Mr. Shannon Poe
Founder & President, American Mining Rights Association (AMRA)
Supervisor, District II Mariposa County, California (Home of Yosemite)
(address, email and phone have been hidden for this post)

August 14, 2026

President Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

SUBJECT: Request for Small-Scale Mining Representation in National Mineral Strategy

Dear Mr. President,

Thank you for your bold leadership and your recent August 7th address highlighting the critical need to secure America’s domestic mineral supply chains. As you rightly stated, miners are the people who built this country. Your historic allocation of over $3 billion to revitalize our mining infrastructure, support domestic production, and train the next generation of mining engineers is exactly the aggressive action our nation needs to secure our independence from China.

As the Founder and President of the American Mining Rights Association (AMRA)—a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational and advocacy organization founded in 2013—and as a small-scale gold miner myself, I am writing to respectfully request that our community be granted a formal "seat at the table" in ongoing White House roundtable discussions and strategic planning initiatives. AMRA represents the “little guy” who mines on the weekends, the suction dredger in Alaska, the 3-person hard rock operation in California or the placer miner in Montana. There are roughly 290,000 active and individual mining claim owners in the 19 states mining claims can be filed. The majority of these claims are small-scale miners. They feel they have no voice and we desperately need your help.

While major global mining corporations play a vital role, the domestic supply chain begins with the grassroots American explorer, the small-scale miner. We number in the millions across our nation, are overwhelmingly the ones who initially locate and prove up the critical mineral deposits that are later developed by the larger companies you just met with. We are the foundational pipeline of American mineral discovery. Unfortunately, despite our vital economic role, small-scale miners have been regulated to near-death by aggressive, overreaching state agencies in Western states like California, Oregon, and Washington to name a few. In my dual role as a Mariposa County Supervisor and an industry leader, I see firsthand how heavy-handed state regulations strangle small businesses, kill local jobs, and actively prevent patriotic Americans from uncovering the resources our country desperately needs for economic and national defense.

Your administration’s commitment to cutting red tape and decoupling our supply chain from foreign adversaries aligns perfectly with AMRA’s mission to fight for the "little guy." To truly secure American mineral dominance, the voices of millions of small-scale miners must be integrated into federal policy discussions alongside major corporate executives.
I would welcome the opportunity to meet with your staff, the Department of the Interior, or the Department of Commerce to discuss how AMRA and the small-scale mining community can support your administration's goals. Thank you for your time, your dedication to American workers, and your continued efforts to make America great again.

Respectfully and very Sincerely,

Mr. Shannon Poe
Founder & President, American Mining Rights Association
Supervisor, District II Mariposa County, California
Small-scale miner

08/18/2026

When is enough enough?

California regulators on Monday approved new rules that will restrict what tires you can buy when it's time to replace them on your car.

In a unanimous vote, the California Energy Commission voted to adopt new rules that will phase out the sale of replacement tires that don't meet certain energy efficiency standards.

Tire manufacturers and the commission's staff are at odds over whether this will add to the cost of living in the state.

Full coverage: https://www.kcra.com/article/california-energy-commission-tire-efficiency-rules/73456508

08/08/2026

While we are pleased President Trump is focusing on mining and investing billions into it, it would be nice if he'd recognize the little guys....who find many of these deposits which become major mining operations.

We intend to get a seat at this table for you.

Washington, DC

08/05/2026

For those of you who've been to an AMRA function that was catered in the past 8 years, this is our friend and caterer's back yard right now near Angels Camp.

Could use some prayers for Shelly.

Fires suck as much as cancer.

07/23/2026

This pretty much sums up the dredging issue for the past 2 decades. TY Joel for sending us this.

07/22/2026

GRRRRRRRRRRR.

They don't need permits to drive their oil leaking front loaders over salmon habitat, but they say a little lawn mower sized dredge kills fish. This is such BS.

DWR is starting construction on a salmonid habitat improvement project in the Feather River between the Table Mountain Bridge and Bedrock Park in Oroville. Crews will begin mobilizing heavy equipment and supplies the week of July 20, with in-water work expected to begin the week of July 27. The project is placing approximately 7,900 cubic yards of in-river spawning gravel to improve existing spawning habitat sites and will also aid accessibility to existing side channels by excavating and redistributing accumulated streambed material. Migratory fish species such as Chinook salmon and steelhead trout rely on Feather River spawning habitats along the low-flow channel, where most spawning activity occurs. Read more in the Lake Oroville Community Update https://water.ca.gov/News/Blog/2026/Jul-2026/Lake-Oroville-Update-July-17

07/10/2026

Utter bullsh*t.

CDFW continues to issue citations to individuals for violations related to unlawful suction dredging.

04/18/2026

Dismissed due to lack of available courtrooms. Hmmm, that's a new one. Perhaps someone was afraid of the precedence winning the case would set?