Gold Panning Ban Defeated In Larimer County

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - Panning for gold in Larimer County will still be allowed after commissioners rejected a measure that would have banned it.

The Loveland Reporter-Herald reports that two members of the three-person commission rejected a proposal that would have prohibited taking minerals from county lands. A third commissioner was on vacation.

The vote followed testimony from hobbyists who spoke about the fun of searching for gold in Colorado's rivers and streams.

Natural resources staff and the Larimer County Parks Advisory Board suggested the proposal after questioning whether the county owns the minerals on its lands.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)