The area of Pisgah I am asking about is the Northern section around Grand Father mountain and such I live in North East Tn and would like to do some exploring in the creeks in Pisgah and thought I would check here to see if anyone might have any info they would like to share. Also what are the laws and/or rules in the Pisgah.
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According to the National Forest Service page for N.C. the rules for all of N.C. National Forests are...
"Recreational Gold Panning is allowed where minerals are in federal ownership, using non-mechanized equipment, where no ground disturbance takes place, and where streams are not designated as closed to this activity."
So it most likely it is the same as Uwharrie, shovel, pans, sluice, etc., I know that Uwharrie will not let you use a "sucker tube".
But as I always advise check with the District Ranger's Station for the area you going to be going too, and I would print out the above PDF file and have it with you in case you run into a Ranger that has his or her's on interpretation of what the rules actually are!!
You can find the different Ranger's Districts at this link, Pisgah has several different districts.
Thanks gang I was sure the members here would be able to point me in the right direction. My first attempt to researching this area left me more confused than when I started after reading what I could find on the National Forests web page I guess I need to brush up on my ability to research the National Forests web pages. The links will be a great help and thanks again everyone.
I've found gold in the Gragg Prong, North Harper and Wilson Creek. The streams coming off the southeast slopes of Grandfather do have gold. I believe it's still panning only. Two years ago the rangers told me it was illegal to use a hand operated sucker tube but I'm not not sure that's true.
Carolina Au > Douglas SayreDecember 3, 2010 at 11:15am
The prettiest, brightest gold I have seen came from Wilson Creek. I have samples from Georgia, several places in California, Alaska, and from numerous counties across NC.
The regulations there are panning only from what I have been told.
No mechanized equipment. Don't think they allow detectors either, but the safest thing to do is check with the Forest Service. They are the ones that enforce the laws.
There was gold discovered in Boone but the area is private property.
Replies
It is illegal to dig into a bank. Make sure your sampling comes from under the water.
"Recreational Gold Panning is allowed where minerals are in federal ownership, using non-mechanized equipment, where no ground disturbance takes place, and where streams are not designated as closed to this activity."
So it most likely it is the same as Uwharrie, shovel, pans, sluice, etc., I know that Uwharrie will not let you use a "sucker tube".
Here is where I quoted from...
http://www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/recreation/rockhounding.pdf
Here is where I got the above link from...
http://www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/
But as I always advise check with the District Ranger's Station for the area you going to be going too, and I would print out the above PDF file and have it with you in case you run into a Ranger that has his or her's on interpretation of what the rules actually are!!
You can find the different Ranger's Districts at this link, Pisgah has several different districts.
http://www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/facts/office_addresses.htm
Also this link maybe helpful for maps of all the National Forests in N.C. and the different district as well in a PDF format.
http://www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/roads/roads.htm
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The regulations there are panning only from what I have been told.
There was gold discovered in Boone but the area is private property.