Miners are fighting to end the six-year 'moratorium“ on suction dredge mining imposed by California state legislators. The moratorium, Senate Bill 670, has since been extended under various pieces of legislation, including Assembly Bill 120, signed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2011. The dredging 'moratorium' was imposed in 2009 by state legislators and signed into law by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. If a settlement can’t be reached, the case is likely to go to trial in November. After saying in open court that he would make a ruling in two weeks, Judge Gilbert Ochoa instead reserved judgement in a closed-door session with all parties, instead calling for a Mandatory Settlement Conference set for June 24, 2014. on May 1 to show support for Public Lands for the People, which is leading the legal battle to end the statewide ban on small-scale suction dredge mining.

More than 120 miners representing the GPAA, LDMA, SPMA, WMA and PLP showed up at the California Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

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