[env-trinity] Oil America Group Inc. Doubles Gold Claim Acreage (Push out the little guys in dredgers, and this is what you're gonna get...coming to the Trinity first!)

[Dan Bacher]

As corporations seize control of Trinity County gold, the oil  
industry has seized control of marine "protection" in California.

Life in California has become living political theatre under  
Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature.

This is a story - a huge environmental issue with many implications -  
that the  corporate media refuses to investigate!

Dan



Big Oil Takes Control of Marine Protection in California

MLPA Task Force Chair Appointed President of Western States Petroleum  
Association

by Dan Bacher

Corporate greenwashing in California under Arnold Schwarzenegger, the  
"green governor," has become so bizarre and egregious that no  
political satirist, comedian or novelist could concoct fictional  
schemes that rival the reality of current politics in the state.

Only in Schwarzenegger's California would a governor appoint an oil  
industry lobbyist to a key administration position supposedly  
promoting "marine protection" at a time when oil companies are  
seeking to expand drilling operations off the California coast.

On August 14, Secretary of Resources Mike Chrisman announced the  
Governor's appointment of Cathy Reheis-Boyd, the Executive Vice  
President and Chief Operating Officer of the Western States Petroleum  
Association, as chair of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Blue  
Ribbon Task Force for the remainder of the MLPA South Project.

After having served on the MLPA Task Force for the North Coast,  
Chrisman and Schwarzenegger apparently thought she had done such a  
good job of promoting the fast-track MLPA process that he appointed  
her to the new position.

Under the guise of "marine protection," Reheis Boyd and other task  
force members chose a "marine protected area" plan for the North  
Central Coast that banned the Kashia Pomo Tribe and other American  
Indian Nations from harvesting seaweed, mussels and abalone as they  
had done for centuries from their traditional areas off Stewarts  
Point and Point Arena. In spite of overwhelming opposition to the  
plan by North Coast environmentalists, seaweed harvesters, fishermen  
and Indian Tribes, the Fish and Game Commission voted for the  
"Integrated Preferred Alternative" (IPA) adopted by the task force on  
August 5.

More recently, in yet another installment in this living political  
satire, the Board of Directors of the Western States Petroleum  
Association (WSPA) on October 16 announced that Reheis-Boyd will  
assume the role of President of the oil and natural gas industry  
trade association January 1, 2010.

“No one is more capable, experienced and deserving of leading our  
Association into the future than Cathy Reheis-Boyd,” said Gary  
Yesavage, President of Global Manufacturing for Chevron Corporation  
and Chairman of WSPA’s Board of Directors. “Cathy is a great leader  
and the Board is 100 percent confident she will continue to be a  
forceful and successful advocate for our industry.”

The Western States Petroleum Association is the leading petroleum  
industry trade association in six western states – California,  
Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Its twenty-seven  
members include major integrated oil and natural gas companies as  
well as independent refiners and marketers, and independent  
producers. Formed in 1906, it is the oldest petroleum industry trade  
association in the United States.

Reheis-Boyd, 52, has become the Association’s "primary expert and  
spokesperson on climate change issues" and has played a key role  
regionally, nationally and internationally in public policy  
discussions on these issues, the news release noted.

“Providing our region’s future energy supplies and meeting our  
climate change objectives are going to be major challenges for all of  
us, not just the petroleum industry,” said Reheis-Boyd. “WSPA members  
will be integral to solving those challenges and I am looking forward  
to helping craft those solutions.”

Ironically, the contact for the association listed at the top of the  
release was Tupper Hull, the former spokesman for the Westlands Water  
District. The district, considered by many to the "Darth Vader of  
California water politics, has continually fought every move by  
fishermen, tribes and environmentalists to restore salmon, steelhead  
and other fish populations of the Trinity, Sacramento and San Joaquin  
Rivers.

John Lewallen, longtime North Coast environmentalist and seaweed  
harvester, believes that Reheis-Boyd's position as an "oil industry  
superstar" is a conflict of interest with her position as chair of a  
task force charged with developing marine protected areas (MPAs).

"Reheis Boyd is moving right on up, really advancing the cause of the  
oil industry," commented Lewallen. "By setting up these no-take  
marine reserves and kicking fishermen, Indians, seaweed harvesters  
and other ocean food providers off traditional areas of the ocean,  
the Schwarzenegger administration is paving the way for offshore oil  
drilling. Twenty-three percent of the nation's offshore oil reserves  
are off the coast of California. The Point Arena Basin off Mendocino  
is on track now to be leased for drilling by the Mineral Management  
Services."

Lewallen noted that under Reheis-Boyd's "leadership," the Southern  
California community plan for new Marine Protected Areas, developed  
over 14 months by 64 stakeholders and many community groups, was  
"thrown in the trash can" on Nov. 10 by the Blue Ribbon Task Force of  
the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative.

"The Southern California Blue Ribbon Task Force 'Integrated Preferred  
Alternative' is devastating to fishing communities, but good for  
offshore oil drilling interests," said Lewallen, the co-founder of  
the "Seaweed Rebellion" movement and longtime opponent of offshore  
oil drilling, the clearcutting of forests and corporate greenwashing.

Reheis-Boyd's ascendance on the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force and in  
the oil industry are no coincidence, since the MLPA task force's  
decisions provide a "green" veneer to plans by the oil industry, wave  
energy companies and corporate aquaculture to privative public trust  
ocean resources.

"The people of the state of the California are being denied access to  
sustainable ocean food by the MLPA process," said Barbara Stephens  
Lewallen, John's wife, who will be banned from sustainably harvesting  
seaweed off Point Arena starting next year, the result of the August  
vote by Schwarzenegger's hand picked Fish and Game Commission.

The North Coast Blue Ribbon Task Force is about to be chosen by  
Governor Schwarzenegger - and Lewallen suggested that the  
environmental, fishing, tribal and seaweed harvesting communities of  
the North Coast demand that Catherine Reheis-Boyd should not be  
appointed as a member, due to her obvious conflicts of interest.

John and Barbara are outraged that a private corporation, the  
Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, a group with dark ties to some of  
the worst corporate greenwashers on the planet, is funding the MLPA  
Initiative.

"A shadowy group called the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation has  
taken over the process of setting up Marine Protected Areas, and is  
moving to finance and control fisheries law enforcement and the  
making of all fisheries regulations," added Lewallen. "The sooner  
Californians unite to stop the private takeover of California’s  
fisheries management, the better."

All of those concerned about the privatization of public trust  
resources and the corruption of the democratic process should join  
John and Barbara in challenging Schwarzenegger's appointment of an  
oil industry "superstar" to chair a process supposedly designed to  
"protect" the ocean. Has the MLPA initiative under Schwarzenegger,  
the worst Governor for fish and the environment in California  
history, become in reality the Marine Life Privatization Act process?

On Nov 22, 2009, at 8:09 AM, Kier Associates wrote:

> did you notice that "gold" is capitalized throughout the release,  
> like "God" ?
>
> At 02:34 PM 11/21/2009, Greg King wrote:
>> Joshua,
>>
>> The "little guy" dredgers have no place in a salmonid stream, and  
>> neither does American Energy. Why do we need to choose? Both  
>> should be opposed.
>>
>> Greg
>>
>> On Nov 19, 2009, at 9:23 PM, Joshua Allen wrote:
>>
>>> SOURCE: American Energy Production Inc.
>>> Nov 19, 2009 08:30 ET
>>>
>>> American Energy Production Inc. Announces Wholly Owned Subsidiary  
>>> Oil America Group Inc. Doubles Gold Claim Acreage
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Highlighted Links
>>>
>>> http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/American-Energy- 
>>> Production-Inc-1079268.htm
>>>
>>> l MacReport Media Publishing
>>>
>>> MINERAL WELLS, TX--(Marketwire - November 19, 2009) - American  
>>> Energy Production Inc. ("AENP") (OTCBB: AENP) announced today  
>>> that it's wholly owned subsidiary Oil America Group Inc. ("OAG")  
>>> has signed a letter of intent to acquire an additional 200 acres  
>>> of Placer Gold Claims in Trinity County, California. 140 acres is  
>>> contiguous with the previously announced 200 acres currently  
>>> operated by OAG in a joint venture with Dorado Gold LLC. The  
>>> remaining 60 acres is located close to Helena, California where  
>>> the Trinity River runs through the property. This is very  
>>> prolific Gold mining country that shows tremendous commercial  
>>> promise.
>>>
>>> Joe Christopher, President of OAG and Gold Project manager, said,  
>>> "We are very excited with the opportunity of acquiring more  
>>> Placer Gold Claims in the same vicinity as the Dorado Gold  
>>> processing operations. With access to water and our existing  
>>> equipment we can transition into producing this adjoining Gold  
>>> Claim faster and more efficiently and keep the entire area  
>>> environmentally friendly."
>>>
>>> Charles Bitters, President of AENP, stated, "We are adding more  
>>> Gold Claim acreage in the Trinity area because of two fundamental  
>>> reasons, number one is competition from other potential mining  
>>> operations that might enter the area and two, there is  
>>> significant potential for finding additional large deposits of  
>>> Gold along the Canyon Creek proven area. Gold is currently making  
>>> new record highs almost every day (currently over $1100/troy  
>>> oz.). With the economy in such disarray, an expert economist  
>>> projects that in two years there could be double digit inflation  
>>> and the Gold price could rise to $1,500.00 to $2,000.00/oz. AENP  
>>> will now have a very profitable hedge against the declining  
>>> dollar and the increasing demand for Gold. The country of India  
>>> purchased $6.5 billion dollars worth of IMF Gold this past week  
>>> and we believe many countries will be purchasing Gold to reduce  
>>> their dollar holdings over the next few months. Gold will become  
>>> the 'new currency.' These purchases, coupled with increasing  
>>> private demand, could make Gold and Gold related investments a  
>>> very exciting investment over the next few years."
>>>
>>> Gold has been mined in Trinity County, Calif. since the 1880s. A  
>>> tremendous amount of Gold has been mined in the county, along  
>>> with related noble metals such as silver and platinum. The  
>>> largest platinum nugget ever found in the US was found in Trinity  
>>> County in 1920. In 1917, 25,000 ounces of Gold was produced in  
>>> Trinity County. This amount of Gold produced at today's prices  
>>> would represent approximately $27,000,000.00.
>>>
>>> Mr. Christopher's Gold team has almost completed a magnetic grid  
>>> map on the Dorado 40 Gold claim. This map will show potential  
>>> "hot spots" or areas where there are black sand deposits. Where  
>>> you find black sand you often find commercial quantities of  
>>> Placer Gold. This should allow much more efficient recovery of  
>>> the Gold, reducing the amount of earth moving. This type of Gold  
>>> recovery operation is one that does not require the use of any  
>>> chemicals and is a totally green operation and thus is  
>>> environmentally friendly.
>>>
>>> Statements contained in this release, which are not historical  
>>> facts, may be considered "forward-looking statements" and are  
>>> based on current expectations and the current economic  
>>> environment. We caution the reader that such forward-looking  
>>> statements are not guarantees of future performance. Unknown  
>>> risk, uncertainties, as well as other uncontrollable or unknown  
>>> factors could cause actual results to materially differ from the  
>>> result, performance, or expectations expressed or implied by such  
>>> forward-looking statements.
>>> Contact:
>>>
>>> American Energy Production Inc.
>>> Charles Bitters
>>> 940-445-0698
>>> http://www.americanenergyproduction.com
>>>
>>> or
>>>
>>> Oil America Group Inc.
>>> Joe Christopher
>>> 972-386-0601
>>> Jchristopher at oilamericagroup.com
>>> Click here to see all recent news from this company
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> env-trinity mailing list
>>> env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us
>>> http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity
>>
>> --
>> Greg King
>> President/Program Director
>> Siskiyou Land Conservancy
>> P.O. Box 4209
>> Arcata, CA 95518
>> 707-498-4900
>> gking at asis.com
>> http://siskiyouland.wordpress.com/
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> env-trinity mailing list
>> env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us
>> http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity
> Kier Associates, Fisheries and Watershed Professionals
> P.O. Box 915
> Blue Lake, CA 95525
> 707.668.1822
> mobile: 498.7847
> http://www.kierassociates.net
> GSA Advantage Contractor GS-10F-0124U
>
> _______________________________________________
> env-trinity mailing list
> env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us
> http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity

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