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000815 of a mine.r who., on the date of the passage of FLPct-'\, was not exploring for hardrock min~ra1s on the public no~ain if, subs~quent to the passage of the Act, the miner bE"Jins ey.?loration. This n':',;.'Clctivity wOIJld b~ subject to the Sil"-e kind of regulation as a miner ,,;,0 '~ClS eA;)lor in, on October 21, 1976 with a pickax and burro and who thereafter sought to explore with motorized ve~icles, explosives and/or drilling equi?7,ent. Elsewhere in FLP~l; Congress recognized that, in certain situations, the stringency of so~e regulations may actually conflict with the Secretary's obligations under the :lining La\~ of 1872, 30 U.S.C. ~ 21 et se::j (1970), as a"I1ended. In section 302(0), Con')ress e.:nended the 1.1ining La I,' so that the Secretary could diSCharge his obligations under section 603. This section states in appropriate part: Except as provided in . . . Section 603 . . . no provision of this section or any other section of this Act shall in any way mlend the ~lining La\1 of 1872 or ir.,?air the rights of any 10~ators or claims under that Act, including, but not limited to, rights of ingress and egress. In m~aging the public lands the Secretary shall by regula- tion or otherwise, take any action necessary to prevent ~'necessary or undue degradation 6fthe lands. , Under the Mining L3w the Sec::etary has the authority to regulate the conduct of op2r~tions on Inining claims, but the specific 3utho::ization in sections 302(b) and 603(c) of FLP:.v\ It3!:es clear he can regulate those claims for the sole purpose of protecting wilderness characteristics. Unlike the sp~cific prohibition in se~tion 603 precluding the Secretary from ~..ithjraYling wilderness revie',." lands fro:n a??ropriation u:1der the mining 1a\..., no ?rolTision in section GO] prevents the Secretary from pro- bibiting new grazing uses if such a use ~~uld im9air an area's wilderness characteristics. In otl1er words, section 603 directs the Secretary to regulate and, if necessary, prohibit ne\{ grazin, uses if required in order to I?reserve the wilderness characteristics of the land. In assessing the physical im?act of existing uses, a rule of reason must be folloY!ed. It bears reiteration that it is the physical ar.d aesthetic impact on a study area by all uses, including minin9 or grazing, which Section 603 directs the Secretary to regulate. The identity of the person c2rrying out the use is not ~rtant. Congress focused on the ilT'pact ratJlcr than the uscr. An individual, therefore, \~ho \~as mining a claim on o.:tober 21, 1976, can, assuming the ~ssi9nment is otherwise valid, assign his claim or lease to another person and the assignce I11:JY continue to mine without regulation under section 603, if his operations are conducted in the same "manner and degree" as th~sc of the assignor on October 21, 1976. . ..