A stand-in for the late U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant came through Missoula on Wednesday morning as part of a nationwide campaign that's lobbying for reforms to the 1872 Mining Law, which still governs how gold, silver and other resources are mined in the United States.

The original President Grant signed the legislation which some groups believe is in sore need of repeal.

Montana is one of many western states pock-marked with evidence of historic mining under the old rules, and while the state does have an aggressive program to reclaim old mine sites, some groups believe more needs to be done to deal with safety and environmental problems created by the 135 year old rules.

 "What it means to Montana is we have a great hunting and fishing heritage and we want to make sure we have that for future generations. And part of that is reforming this 1872 mining law" says Land Tawney with Sportsmen Untied for Sensible Mining.

The visit by President Grant was part of a four state tour which is aimed at building up support for legislation to change the mining law. Additional stops are planned in Portland, Denver and Albuquerque.