A new mining boom is on in the West, spurred by an increase in the price of uranium, used in nuclear power.

Colorado, a new report says, is ground zero.

Mining claims on federal land here increased 239 percent since 2003, from 5,430 to 18,391, the greatest jump in the West, according to a study released Thursday by the Environmental Working Group.

Across 12 Western states, mining claims increased from 207,540 in January 2003 to 376,493 last month, the report said.

The authors attributed the boom to higher prices for gold and copper and, especially in Colorado, greater global demand for uranium.

The report warned that a large number of the claims are near some of the nation’s most treasured national parks and other scenic destinations. Grand Canyon National Park, for example, had 805 claims staked within five miles of its borders since 2003.

Such claims, if developed, could mar the scenery, drive away wildlife, pollute the environment and even hinder public access, warn the authors.

“There’s a race afoot to snatch up mining rights close to America’s most precious and recognized parks,” said Jane Danowitz, director of the Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining. “This is allowed by a mining law that not only allows the practice, but underwrites it at taxpayers’ expense.”

Mineral mining is regulated by the 1872 General Mining Act, a law that even the mining industry agrees needs to be updated.

It gives federal officials little leeway to deny mining claims, and it permits land to be sold to mining companies at a price capped at $5 an acre, called “patenting.” Though Congress has been banning patents annually since 1994, those submitted before then can still gain approval, and some lawmakers have pushed to allow the cheap sales again.

Congress is making the first serious attempt in a decade to change the 1872 law. Hearings have been held in Washington and another is scheduled in Nevada next week.

The report was released to bring attention to that law.

“Land managers have the legal equivalent of a pick and shovel when it comes to protecting our precious places,” said Dusty Horwitt an analyst for the Environmental Working Group.

No national parks in Colorado were included in the report, though the authors say some of the state’s most pristine land is threatened by the mining claims.

The report covers land managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

Counties with the most new claims were in western Colorado, including San Miguel, Montrose, Gilpin, Rio Blanco and Moffat, as well as the mountainous region between Leadville and Fairplay.

The group said there have been 2,190 claims filed within five miles of the Dolores River in western Colorado since 2003.

Uranium mines can pollute water for decades and cost millions of dollars to clean up.

The groups said the claims could impede access to public land. Some Colorado fourteeners — mountains over 14,000 feet tall — have been closed to the public for periods because of mining claims.

Most of the claims are for uranium, which has seen increased demand because of the worldwide resurgence of nuclear power. Colorado has the nation’s third-greatest reserve of uranium, behind Wyoming and New Mexico, according to the state Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety.

The division says there are 35 permitted uranium mining projects — though none are actively producing — and 28 prospecting permits in eight counties, including Fremont County.

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