Special Provisions in Wilderness: Minerals   

Course summary: 

Managing the balance between preserving wilderness character and managing mineral related activities requires a great deal of knowledge and skill. This course reviews the basic principles regarding mineral rights and examines the management steps in evaluating and authorizing mineral activities so as to preserve wilderness character to the greatest degree possible. 

Course objectives: 

After completing this course, learners should be able to: 

• Define common vocabulary associated with mineral management. 

• Recognize the various mineral related activities that may occur in a wilderness. 

• Differentiate between saleable, leasable, and locatable minerals activities in wilderness. 

• Understand how exploration, development, and conclusion of mining activities may take place in wilderness. 

• State what constitutes valid existing rights to minerals and by what means that is determined. 

• List principles of private mineral estate ownership in wilderness. 

• Explain key laws and related case law, regulations, and policy related to mineral management in wilderness. 

• Recognize the access provisions and limitations associated with development of mineral rights in wilderness. 

• Describe how to protect wilderness character to the greatest extent possible while managing mineral activities in wilderness. 

• Explain the relationship of mineral activities outside of wilderness to adjacent wilderness. 

• Understand how mining activities originating outside of wilderness may progress into wilderness. 

• Understand how mining activities adjacent to wilderness may be mitigated. 

• Describe the allowances and limitations of recreational minerals activities and their management. 

• Describe the allowance of scientific mineral activities in wilderness. 

Recommended background: 

It is strongly recommended that you complete the free The Wilderness Act of 1964 e-course before beginning this course. Without foundational knowledge of the Wilderness Act, you will not be able to get the most out of this course and could find the content confusing. It is also recommended that you complete the Minimum Requirements Analysis (Writing and Evaluating) courses. 

Course topics include: 

• Making Sense of Terminology and Definition 

• Minerals and Wilderness 

• Withdrawal 

• Valid Existing Rights to Federal Minerals by Mineral Classification 

• Determining the Validity of Mineral Material Contracts, Mineral Leases, or Mining Claims, or Privately Owned Minerals 

• Mining Patents 

• Non-Federal Mineral Estate 

• Access to Minerals Across Adjacent Wilderness Lands 

• Mineral Development Plans 

• I have mineral development proposed or occurring in my Wilderness-What are my responsibilities? 

• Prospecting and Mineral Surveys 

• Reclamation 

• Abandoned Mine Lands 

• Development of Minerals External to the Wilderness Boundary 

• Scientific Activities 

• Recreational Activities 

Elements of the course: 

• Informational text 

• Interactive practice activities 

• Real-life examples 

• Supplemental reference materials 

• Final assessment 

This course is self-paced, allowing learners the flexibility to complete the course as quickly or slowly as they need. 

After completing all course content and activities, you will complete a final quiz to demonstrate your understanding of key course concepts. Upon successful completion of the quiz, you will be awarded a certificate of completion. 

Please Note: After successfully registering for this course, login information for the online learning platform, Canvas, will be emailed to you at the address used for your account creation. This process could take up to 48 hours to complete. If you do not receive the login information in 48 hours, please email ExtendedLearningSupport@umontana.edu for assistance.