The long awaited news report was finally aired on KCRA 3 out of Sacramento on the incident where a USFS Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) pulled, and pointed a Taser at an AMRA member while he was panning for gold.
http://www.kcra.com/news/why-9-ca-sheriffs-are-at-odds-with-federal-agents/41724438
I was camping and prospecting on the North Fork of the Tuolumne River with my wife and two young sons. While lying in the tent reading a story from a book near bed time two forest service creeps made us leave the tent and present ID’s. They took my wife from the campsite for a three year old traffic violation. I had to pack camp in the dark and drive to Sonora to get her from jail(book and release). This was incredibly difficult to accomplish and it ruined what would have been a very good weekend with my family.
Another time I was sluicing at a tributary to lake Melonies and fish and game decide that I could not prospect because it caused a small amount of mud in the lake water. The fish and game said that fisherman have priority over prospectors. They could not provide the California statute or regulations to back their opinion so I continued. An hour later a sheriff deputy (boat patrol) arrived with fish and game to stop me. The forest service and fish and game far too much authority. Why do they hate prospecting? These small dredges, sluices, and panning do not harm the environment at all.