Gene`s BMX News

*** Appleatchee Buys Cannon Mine Property ***

Wenatchee, Washington -- 09/21/2007
Appleatchee Riders have struck gold in
the hills south of Wenatchee.

Asamera Minerals Inc. has sold the old
Cannon gold mine property to Dry Gulch
Preserve LLC, which represents the recreational
interests of the riders group.

Negotiations have been ongoing for seven years,
and Appleatchee officials say they are pleased to
have the sale completed.

For a history of the Cannon Gold Mine 1985-1994,
See: * http://www.genesbmx.com/cannon-gold-mine

The Appleatchee Riders Association has bought the old Cannon Mine
property south of Wenatchee and will open some of it for public hiking
and horseback riding.

Asamera Minerals Inc. has sold the 700-acre site at the west end of
Circle Street to Dry Gulch Preserve LLC, a division of Appleatchee,
for $100,000. Appleatchee is a private-member organization for
horse riders. The land is adjacent to the organization's riding stables.

“This really assures Appleatchee that there won't be conflicting land uses
nearby,“ said Katherine March, manager of the Dry Gulch Preserve. “We
have had lots of use of this land over the last several years for riding,
and we would like to keep it that way.“

One stipulation of the sale is that Appleatchee not build any new trails,
she said. However, existing roads associated with the mine that are now
being used for hiking and horseback riding can be improved and linked
to make a better trail system.

Another of Asamera's requirements was that Appleatchee grant
a conservation easement to the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust to
permanently preserve the land in its current state, prohibit future
residential development and allow public trails, March said.

“Because of the mine history, there is still a potential for a
lawsuit over hazardous waste exposure,“ she said. “Adding
homes would only increase that liability.“

The gold and silver mine closed in 1994.

Trails on the property will be opened to the public for nonmechanized
use after a small parking lot is developed on Circle Street near a trail
head to Saddle Rock, said Bob Bugert, executive director of the land
trust, a nonprofit conservation group.

March said the parking lot likely will be completed in spring.

The trails will not be open to mountain biking or motorized off-road
vehicles because of “compatibility concerns“ with the horses, Bugert
said, and the potential for erosion.

Dee Olin, president of the Appleatchee board, said in a prepared
statement, “We are pleased to provide recreational use to Appleatchee
members and to the public and to protect the functions and values of
the resource. One stipulation that Conoco/Asamera had in the sale
agreement was complete restriction of bicycle use, because of the
potential for increased erosion on the trails.“

Asamera, which is owned by ConocoPhillips, first approached
Appleatchee about a possible sale about seven years ago, March said.

“They were looking for a buyer that would be
stewards of the land without developing it,“ she said.

Since then, Asamera has done additional rehabilitation work on the
property before the sale could be completed, including recontouring
the land, controlling leaching of minerals from the mine, ensuring
adequate water flow through the gulch and monitoring water quality,
March and Bugert said.

“The rehabilitation was a key component of the sale,“ Bugert said.
He said the site still has some geological hazards, such as unstable
slopes, so the public will have to stay on designated trails. Asamera
will continue to monitor a large earthen dam to ensure that it will not
slide, March said.

The Dry Gulch trails likely will be linked to the Saddle Rock trails,
which are part of the western foothills trail system, Bugert said.

The land trust has been working with local recreation advocates to create
an interconnected trail network from Saddle Rock south of Wenatchee to
Horse Lake Road north of the city.

“Hopefully we'll be able to manage this land like the land trust does, with
trust in the public and through education,“ March said. “We'll promote a
basic leave-no-tracks philosophy.“

Appleatchee will pay the land trust a $40,000 stewardship endowment for
the land, however it has not yet been determined how the money will be
spent, Bugert said.

The mine property sits along Dry Gulch, just outside the southern limits
of Wenatchee. Cannon Mine operated from 1984 to 1994, producing 1.23
million ounces of gold and 2 million ounces of silver. The mine extended
north under Appleatchee land.