We got the notice in the mail yesterday from the Bureau of Land Management, announcing plans to prohibit mining claims to be filed on lands set aside for solar or wind energy. A story on Forbes.com today reports that 437 mining claims were filed on lands claimed for wind energy and 216 claims filed on lands for solar projects in western states including Arizona. Officials speculate the mining claims are mostly speculative, since the renewable energy projects cannot proceed as long as mining claims exist. The plan is to ban mining claims for two years with a possible two year extension. [right, BLM solar lands in red, southern AZ and CA. Credit, BLM Geocommunicator]