We want to welcome G.I.S. Land Services to the family of sponsors helping support nvracingnews. Although not directly related to racing the inspiration to start the business came from the sport.
“Growing up in Southern California we raced in AMA District 37 that included old mining camps like Mojave and Randsburg, California. There are numerous rock formations, old prospects and mines that catch your eye and that’s how I became interested in prospecting,” Greg Ekins said.
He caught the gold bug and this sparked an interest in geology.
“Over the decades my gold prospecting has included panning, sluicing, dredging and working at 3 gold mines. Who owns the surface and mineral rights are important, you don’t want to trespass,” he said.
After attending Cal State Northridge, Ekins and his wife Linda moved to Reno where he earned a master’s degree from the University of Nevada Reno in Land Use Planning.
“I worked for Homestake Mining Company in the mid-1990’s. When they were taken over by Barrick Gold, I hung my own shingle, started my own business,” he said.
That business covers a lot of territory; surface, mineral and water rights.
“I provide title, due diligence and royalty reviews. Claim maps, certificates of location, cartography as well as geologic support for mineral exploration,” he said. “Over the years I’ve reviewed over 100,000 mining claims and over half a million acres of private land. Most of my business is with mining companies listed on the Stock Exchanges.”
When talking about rights for property owners, like ranches, Ekins explained there are three kinds: surface, water and mineral.
“The typical ranch owns the surface and water rights,” he said. “Usually the mineral rights were sold off after WW II. Only a small fraction of the land in Nevada has valuable mineral rights so 98% of all mineral rights in Nevada are worthless,” he said. “That’s important for people to know because they don’t want to spend money researching a worthless mineral right. In Nevada mineral rights are not taxed but mineral production is so in this case the tax system works well.”
Gas, oil and geothermal are another areas Ekins does consulting for.
“Nevada isn’t an oil province like Texas. 15 to 45 million years ago the crustal heat beneath Nevada cooked most of the oil and drove the gas into the atmosphere. Most of the remaining oil is tar with a few exceptions like Railroad Valley and the Elko Formation.” he said.
Then he continued explaining why geothermal isn’t the pot of gold some thought it is.
“Most of the hot air went out of geothermal over the past fifteen years,” Ekins said. “Nevada has impressive crustal heat flow, but Nevada also has fault lines along every mountain range and basin in the state. The water basins are cracked by faults and the hot water drains ever deeper. Nevada produces a few percent of our annual statewide consumption of electricity from Geothermal.”
Another area Ekins has expertise in is water rights, which are important in an arid state like Nevada.
“I provide title chains for water rights, such as “Orphan Water Rights” where the owner died but the water right still exists. There are many types of water rights. Spend enough time and learn the vocabulary, you can research the water right ownership of record on your own. The Nevada Division of Water Resources website is a valuable tool”, he said.
Asked about challenges he mentioned mineral mining and said, “In the USA it’s declining because most of society have been telling kids that mining is evil, Captain Planet comes to mind, in most movies and TV shows the miners are the bad guys. Regrettably, in the past reclamation of mine sites did not happen but today the mining companies are doing a great job reclaiming the land.”
The prevailing attitude against mining is something that concerns Ekins. Looking into the future he can see some negative consequences from this.
“We don’t live in the Stone Age anymore. Our modern technologically driven world depends on many minerals. American uses vast quantities of minerals in batteries, bicycles, cars, cell phones, computers and TV’s, nearly all those minerals are imported and we as a Nation are dependent on those imports,” he said. “In 2018 a “Final List of Critical Minerals” was published in the Federal Register. There were 35 mineral commodities were identified, but no action to boost domestic production has been taken.”
Since he rides as well as races in MRANN and AMA off road competition one of his passions are to properly manage the public lands.
“In 2015 I wrote a 295 page Public Comment to the USDI-BLM documenting a proposed wilderness area that did not fit the 1964 Wilderness Act definition of wilderness. The mountain range had been the site of many mines, mills and a small town last occupied in 1980.
“That Wilderness proposal has been stalled for 5 years and counting. My allies and I won the battle but eventually the wilderness community will wear us down and convince congress to designate the area as wilderness. A wilderness designation will close the area to multiple use including OHV recreation, in the end we will lose the war,” he said.
Locally he’s concerned about the Truckee Meadows.
“As proposed the Truckee Meadows Public Land Management Act will impact our county including OHV areas for decades. The proposed Act creates more problems than it solves. Enabling land swaps for an additional population increase of 400,000 people north of I80 and 00,000 south of I80 will create a traffic jam that spans the Truckee Meadows,” he said. “Over the past decades we gave up our lawns to save water for new residents. What do we give up next – our tree’s?”
Those wishing help in any of the areas he consults in are welcome to call him or use his e-mail address at; greg@gislandservices.com The office phone is: 775-409-4722.
REPORTER’S NOTE: I’m indebted to Greg Ekins for his help in composing this article. He works in a field I knew nothing about, until I met him, so his help and suggestions, as well as some additions were very appreciated.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
• Teresa’s Garage Radio Show can be heard from 2 until 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. The shot covers everything automotive and due to the virus scare we co-hosts are remote while Teresa is in the studio.
I have a preview section at 2:15 and we can be heard live over the air in the Reno/Sparks area on 1180 AM. You can also ear the show on a Podcast at amm.streamon.fm or watch us live on Face Book.
• If you enjoyed this article please “like,” and share it as widely as possible. Comments are welcome.
Subscribers have articles posted to their inbox as soon as they are up on the site.
We now have seven very appreciated sponsors supporting this site. Please patronize them as they not only support your sport but they help nvracingnews continue.
Our newest sponsor is G.I.S. Land Services that, while having a global client base has a Western U.S.A. Focus. Owner Greg Ekins is a long time off road motorcycle racer competing in the MRANN Series as well as the AMA National Hare and Hound series.
Among the services offers are Surface and Mineral Title Reviews and Cartographic Services. The website is www.gislandservices.com.
Another great sponsor is General Transmission and Power Train Specialists. The shop is located at 2515 Sutro Street in Reno, a few blocks below Hug High School.
Former motorcycle racer Pete Attashian is the owner and they not only service older and newer transmission but now have a section dealing with high performance units including those used for towing.
The phone number is 775-786-5888 and the shop’s website is www.generaltransmissionreno.com.
Last year fantastic race photographer Melissa Coker joined the family of sponsors. If you have raced at Summit in Elko, Battle Mountain, Lovelock, Rattlesnake or Diamond Mountain Speedway she probably has a photograph of your car on the track.
She’s also been at the IMCA Duel in the Desert was well as the Wild West Tour and IMCA Super Nationals in Boone, Iowa. Melissa not only has photos of the cars, and many times drivers, but she can produce hero cards and even a book of from your season.
To see her collections or to place an order please check her website at www.melissasoutonalimb.smugmug.com.
Two of our sponsors are first class motorcycle shops located in Reno.
Our first sponsor is Reno Motorsports (RMS). Not only do they have about anything a rider might want or need and the store also has a full service shop.
Their location is at 964 Terminal Way, by the intersection with Mill Street. Store’s phone number is 775-322-1499 and the site is, www.rms-renomotorsports.com.
The next shop, and our newest sponsor is Moto Source located at 3180 Mill Street. Once again there is a full service shop plus about any thing a rider might need or want.
The phone number is 775-856-3855 and the website is, www.moto-source.com.
The next sponsor is an excellent place if you need collision repair on your car or truck. It’s Concours Body Shop, located at 250 Telegraph Street in Reno and has a long history of first class repairs.
Brian Saul is the owner, a car enthusiast himself and he’s committed to continuing the shop’s reputation of quality work. Phone number is 775-329-4557 and the website is, www.concoursbodyshop.net.
Hungry, want a great place to eat, then try PJ&Company for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and it’s a great place to watch your favorite sports. If you’re a rider, well Wednesday evening is Bike Night, always a great time to see some great looking bikes and meet like-minded people.
The location is 1590 South Wells Avenue, just north of the round about. Phone number is 775-323-6366 and their website is www.pjandco.net.
While we are in the business shut down PJ&Co will be closed. However do patronize our sponsors that are open and when this all ends plan on having a meal or drinks at PJ&CO.
Have a business targeted toward motorsports or an off road demographic? We are always looking for more sponsors and will expose your business to the racing and off road community in this area.
You can contact us either through the comment section of this site or on our Face Book page.
