A couple uses a dredge mine to search for gold on the Illinois River in Southern Oregon.
Amelia Templeton
A bill that restricts motorized mining in salmon and trout streams advanced in the Oregon Senate Wednesday evening.
Senate Bill 838 would place a five-year moratorium on suction dredge mining, the practice of sucking up river gravels with a floating dredge to look for precious metals.
The Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee approved the bill on a party line vote, with only Democrats voting to pass it.
The bill now goes to a budget committee for review before it can be sent to the floor for a vote.
Miners who violate the moratorium could face a fine and jail time.
Last year, more than 2,000 miners received permits to dredge for gold in Oregon's streams. Their numbers may be increasing thanks to the high price of gold and a ban on dredge mining in California.
Read: Idaho Suction Dredge Miners Now Need EPA Permits
There’s relatively little peer reviewed research on the effects of recreational placer mining.
Miners say their activities disrupt the riverbed gravels than an average winter storm. Environmental groups counter that the practice increases sediment and reduces salmon survival rates.