Bedroc Limited v. United States

314 F.3d 1080 BEDROC LIMITED, L.L.C., a Nevada Limited Liability Company, Plaintiff-Counter-Defendant-Appellant, and Western Elite, Inc., a Nevada corporation, Plaintiff-Appellant, and Earl Williams, an individual, Plaintiff-Counter-Defendant, v. The UNITED STATES of America; Gale A. Norton, Secretary of the Interior; United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management; and Curtis L. Tucker, Area Manager, Caliente Resource Area Bureau of Land Management, Defendants-Counterclaimants-Appellees. No. 01-17080. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted November 7, 2002. Filed December 30, 2002. L. Eric Lundgren, Lundgren Law Offices, P.C., Cheyenne, WY, for the plaintiffs-appellants. Blaine T. Welsh, Assistant United States Attorney, Environment and Natural Resources Division, Las Vegas, NV, for the defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada; Philip M. Pro, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-98-01012-PMP. Before HAWKINS, GRABER, and TALLMAN, Circuit Judges. OPINION GRABER, Circuit Judge. 1 In this appeal, we must decide whether sand and gravel are "valuable minerals" within the meaning of…