In Josephine County Board of Commissioner's weekly televised business meeting on March 1st, Commissioner Dwight Ellis confirmed the rumors circulating in the mining community that Senator Jason Atkinson's anti-mining legislation, SB 765, had died on the table.

Ellis recounted a phone conversation he had with Jason Atkinson the day before, where in the Oregon State Senator remarked that he was stunned by the amount of opposition that the bill had generated and the large amount of letters, e-mails and phone calls that political leaders across the State of Oregon had received which were strongly opposed to SB 765. Ellis reported that Atkinson himself was withdrawing the bill and that he "did not feel it was worth it to impale himself on the sword" over the bill.

It also appears that Atkinson was deeply concerned about the possibility that Josephine County might pass a resolution against the bill that had been proposed by members of the South West Oregon Mining Association, who were also also actively working to propose similar resolutions to other Southern Oregon counties known for their rich mineral wealth. 

Other sources confirm that in addition to the public outcry, there appeared to be some concerns over the legality of the bill.

Despite this good news, SWOMA would recommend that all those who are concerned about keeping our mineral lands free and open and who are concerned about their local economy, continue to keep the pressure up over SB 765 until Atkinson confirms that SB 765 is done and dusted IN WRITING.