Northwest Mining Association (NWMA)
Laura Skaer, Executive Director
NWMA is a 110-year-old, 1,500-member nonprofit, nonpartisan trade association based in Spokane, Washington. Its members reside in 42 States and are involved in exploration and mining operations on U.S. Forest Service-administered lands, especially in the West. Laura Skaer has 25 years of management, operations, legal, and government affairs experience in the natural resource industries on public lands. She has served as Executive Director since 1996. She was previously Vice President and General Counsel of Skaer Enterprises, Inc., an independent oil and gas production company. The following is from a November 12, 2004, letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest…