May 24, 2008

Dear Supporters of the Wisconsin Resource Protection Council,

Since the shameful decision of Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to approve permits to Kennecott’s controversial nickel sulfide mine on the Upper Peninsula’s Yellow Dog Plains, the opposition has mounted a variety of legal, administrative, and political challenges that have delayed the project. Despite growing public opposition to the project, Kennecott has tried to portray the opposition as an unrepresentative minority. This is exactly what Kennecott tried to do in Ladysmith. In both cases, the tactics of the company divided neighbor against neighbor and split the community into hostile factions.

In Michigan, these tactics have led to a violent assault on Cynthia Pryor’s husband, Robert, while Cynthia was attending a contested case hearing challenging MDEQ’s decision to permit Kennecott’s sulfide mine. He was assaulted by three unknown males in the late hours of the evening at his cabin which is located in a remote area near Big Bay. The three identified themselves by asking if he “was one of those anti-mining guys.” When he asked them to leave they knocked him to the ground and beat him, leaving him unconscious outside in the freezing rain. Cynthia, one of the most outspoken critics of the proposed mine, called the crime “beyond appalling, shocking and distressing – in my mind it is attempted murder. Bob is 60 years old, was attacked by three younger men and left to the elements…The fear and shock reverberating through our small community is something that should make everyone take note. What are the stakes in this project that would lead to such violence against a citizen of this state – unprovoked and at their home?”

Mining companies have increasingly resorted to violent tactics against opponents to mining projects in the Third World, but this is the first instance where pro-mining individuals have used violence to intimidate those who dare criticize ecologically dangerous mining projects in Michigan, Wisconsin or Minnesota. It is important that bureaucrats, company officials and politicians hear from citizens who are outraged at this assault. Their names and phone numbers are:

Governor Jennifer Granholm 517 373-3400

DEQ Director Steve Chester 517 373-7917

DNR Director Rebecca Humphries 517 373-2329

Jon Cherry – Kennecott Minerals 906 225-5791

Tom Albanese – CEO Rio Tinto (Kennecott’s parent company) 011 44 20 7781-2000 (London Main #)

Shortly before this violent assault, several members of the Michigan Coalition against Kennecott’s proposed mine attended Rio Tinto’s annual shareholder meeting in London on April 17. The Michigan delegation included Susan La Fernier, Vice President of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Fran Whitman from Friends of the Land of Keweenaw, Gabriel Caplett, from Northwoods Wilderness Recovery and Yellow Dog Summer, and Cynthia Pryor from the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve.

Susan La Fernier tried to ask the Rio Tinto board how they planned to protect and guarantee the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s treaty rights to hunt, fish and gather on lands in the ceded territory of Michigan but was interrupted and cut off by Chairman of the Board Paul Skinner. Roger Moody, of Partizans and Gabriel Caplett called out from the audience, demanding that Skinner show some respect for an Indigenous Nation representative. Susan was able to continue, concluding that “If metallic sulphide mining is allowed to proceed on this land, not only will our territorial sovereignty be jeopardized, but also our survival as a people.”

Paul Skinner asked CEO Tom Albanese to respond to Susan’s comments. He responded that the Eagle Project had the support of the majority of the community with only a small group opposed to it. He also pointed to the successful reclamation of the Flambeau copper mine in Wisconsin, which had now become a park. Gabriel Caplett responded that the local project manager, Jon Cherry, has lied to the community and to the company’s shareholders about the degree of local community support for the project. Cynthia Pryor responded that Tom Albanese was terribly misinformed about community support and needed to visit the area and meet with the community without Jon Cherry. Gabriel also informed the board that Kennecott had not received a Certificate of Completion for the entire mine site, contrary to the company’s statements to shareholders. After the meeting, the Michigan delegation met with Tom Albanese and Cynthia presented him with group resolutions against the mine and 10,000 signatures from an on-line petition against the mine. Gabriel gave him a copy of Roscoe Churchill and Laura Furtman’s book, The Buzzards Have Landed: The Real Story of the Flambeau Mine . The book documents ongoing pollution at the Flambeau mine site.

As Paul Skinner pointed out at the meeting, Kennecott’s Eagle Project is just one of many projects being planned for a new mining district in Michigan. Skinner announced its Lakeview nickel-copper project, located in central lower Michigan is in the exploration stage. Other companies, such Bitterroot Resources and Trans Superior have been exploring for uranium in the western Upper Peninsula (see map by Save the Wild UP). Trans Superior reports on the Bitterroot Resources website (http://www.bitterrootresources.com/s/Home.asp) that they are encouraged by the area geology and the results of their initial exploration activities in the area. Bitterroot is a partner with Cameco, the largest Canadian uranium company. Cameco is currently negotiating with China to supply uranium for nuclear power plants. Michigan does not have regulations for uranium exploration, mining or waste disposal. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community has requested that the U.S. Forest Service conduct an Environmental Impact Statement on uranium exploration to consider whether there may be significant radiation exposures to the public and the environment during exploration. Ongoing uranium mineral exploration is located within the Ceded Territories of the Lake Superior Chippewa.

Finally, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken the first step toward placing the coaster brook trout on the endangered species list. They have begun a status review to gather more information about the coaster brook trout. The only self-sustaining populations in the U.S. are in four Lake Superior streams. One is the Salmon Trout River in the Upper Peninsula where Kennecott proposes to construct a nickel sulfide mine beneath the Salmon Trout headwaters. The Sierra Club and the Huron Mountain Club sued the agency for failing to act on petitions to list the coaster brook trout submitted in 2006. Officials blamed the delay on budget constraints. The agency plans to make a tentative determination by December 2008.

The Wisconsin Assembly voted to repeal Wisconsin’s Nuclear Plant Moratorium Law but the bill was not taken up by the Senate. Nuclear proponents plan to re-introduce the bill in the next session. Stay tuned.

Sincerely,

Al Gedicks, Exec. Sec. Gedicks.al@uwlax.edu