FOURTH QUARTER, JULY 2026 VOLUME 40, NUMBER 1
Newsletter By Dave McCracken General Manager
This is a short update to follow up on our October newsletter from last season:
First of all, Tucker’s second citation by the Department of Fish & Wildlife (for the same offense which was defeated by Tucker the first time) under a different code sub section of Section 5653 was defeated in Siskiyou County Court a second time by Tucker. Since we are not aware of any other rulings in Siskiyou County that have penalized suction dredgers, we are still assuming that suction dredging under a partnership, corporation or other organization (Section 5653.8) remains legal in Siskiyou County.
it appears that they have refused to honor Siskiyou Counties’ Superior Court Decisions because DFW continues to write citations and seize dredging equipment.
DFW issued a citation to Gerard Buggey in September of last year for “possessing a suction dredge within 100 feet of a closed waterway” (5653(e). Through quite a lot of time and expense, determined to defend himself, Mr. Buggey submitted a substantial Motion to Dismiss to Siskiyou County (not the same judge that decided Tucker’s cases) several weeks ago. Mr. Buggey’s hearing took place over a Zoom call on or around 8 July of this year. After some back and forth, over the DA’s objections, the judge Decided to place Mr. Buggey on a 1-year deferment scheme; which, if I understand it correctly, places the charges against Mr. Buggey on hold for one year. If Mr. Buggey does not get into trouble for the next year, the charges against him will be dropped and his dredge will be returned to him.
We were hoping for a full dismissal; but sometimes you have to take what you can get. The most important part of this hearing, from my perspective, was when the DA was arguing that Mr. Buggey’s dredge should not be returned to him. The judge responded by throwing up his hands and sternly instructing the DA that the suction dredge regulations are so confusing and complex that no person of average intelligence should be penalized for not understanding them. This was, almost word for word, one of the main arguments made in Mr. Buggey’s Motion to Dismiss.
Meanwhile, DFW continues to ignore the Siskiyou County Superior Court’s Orders. Here is their latest press release on the matter.
Because a lot of time and money went into Mr. Buggey’s defense, we are publishing a cut & paste version of his Motion to Dismiss right here:
https://goldgold.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Motion-To-Dismiss-REDACTED.pdf
This motion includes all or most of the important legal arguments for defending suction dredgers from DFW’s maligned intent to ignore their own regulations.
Perhaps, sooner or later, DFW will stop harassing honest, hard-working Americans that simply want to earn a comfortable living on the public lands. Even a pennyweight of gold these days is worth $200!
I will expand on this explanation in our August newsletter.
It seems like we have a good reason to keep on fighting!
Dave McCracken
CEO, The New 49’er Legal Fund
New 49’er Gold Prospecting Association
27 Davis Road P.O. Box 47, Happy Camp, California 96039 (530) 493-2012
www.goldgold.com