Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Mountain City Ranger District
2035 Last Chance Road
Elko, NV 89801

Contact: Tom Montoya, 775-738-5171

FOREST SERVICE DECREASES AREA CLOSURE AROUND JERRITT CANYON MINE

Elko, Nevada…The Mountain City Ranger District on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest announced today that they are reducing the approximately 50,000-acre area closure in the vicinity of Jerritt Canyon Mine by issuing a new closure order. This new closure order now affects roads and trails within an approximately 20,000-acre perimeter. The closure provides public protection from safety concerns associated with the Jerritt Canyon Mine’s operations and infrastructure, such as unsecured adits and shafts.

“We fully understand that it’s an inconvenient time of year for hunters and other recreationists to work their leisure pursuits around the area closure,” said Tom Montoya, Mountain City District Ranger. “Although a number of the health and safety concerns have been reduced for a portion of the closure near the mine, we still want to ensure that visitors in this area remain safe.”

“We have done our best to scale back the earlier closure area and limit the new closure area to the mine workings and the mine road network,” said Susan Elliott, Acting Forest Geologist. “The mine is still considered an active mine, but due to the recent unexpected reduction in personnel, there are more exposed, unprotected public safety hazards. Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp. (Queenstake Resources, Inc.) has been working diligently with the Forest Service (FS) and Nevada Division of Environmental Protection to secure safety hazards at the site and increase security on site to ensure public safety,” said Elliott.

Approximately 30,000 acres have been removed from the previous closure, opening up the Jerritt Canyon Creek, Mahala Creek, Snow Canyon Creek, and Winter’s Creek area to recreationists and hunters. This new order and map will be available at the Elko Forest Service office, and can be found at www.fs.fed.us/r4/htnf on the Forest Service website. It will also be shared with local law enforcement entities and the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW). For further information on this release, please call Tom Montoya at 775-738-5171.

Click Here to see a map of the affected area.