Category Archives: Events
Who’s Digging Under Your Camp? UPX Minerals….
UPX Minerals Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Highland Copper, a Canadian mining company, already owns half a million acres of mineral properties in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan: in 2017 they acquired all of the mineral properties previously held by Kennecott and Rio Tinto.
Now they want more –approximately 4,000 acres of minerals owned by the State of Michigan. Many of these minerals lie under private lands, where mineral ownership is severed from surface ownership:
UPX Minerals Inc., of Wakefield, Michigan, has requested direct metallic mineral leases from the State of Michigan covering Department of Natural Resources (DNR) metallic mineral rights located within T46N-R31W, Iron County; and T48N-R26W, T48N-R27W, T48N-R29W, T48N-R30W, T49N-R26W, and T49N-R28W, Marquette County; containing a total of 3,964.78 acres, more or less.
Private landowners in Iron and Marquette Counties have received letters from the Michigan DNR notifying them that UPX Minerals wants to lease state-owned minerals located underneath their homes, camps, rivers, wetlands – even nature preserves, and the DNR’s own ecological reference areas! Read this Letter to the Editor from a local landowner: http://www.miningjournal.net/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2018/04/letters-to-the-editor-90/
After meeting with concerned citizens, the UPEC Mining Action Group requested an extension of the public comment period (originally set to expire on May 11th):
“On behalf of numerous concerned citizens, impacted landowners and stakeholder groups, I am requesting that the State of Michigan extend by at least 30 days the public comment period for this lease request, in order to allow impacted landowners and members of the public to further investigate this significant request, providing valuable resource information regarding the proposed leases, and ensuring informed comment.”
UPDATE: The DNR has granted the request for an extension. According to the DNR’s Office of Minerals Management:
“This is to notify you that we are extending the public comment period for this lease request to June 11, 2018 to allow members of the public additional time to review the request.”
Our next meeting with impacted landowners to discuss the UPX mineral lease requests will take place in Marquette on Thursday April 26th, 5-7 pm. Contact the miningactiongroupUPEC@gmail.com for location and additional information.
Message to Friends and Supporters!
Dear friends,
Success! As many of you know, Save the Wild U.P. (SWUP) has joined with the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC) to create within UPEC the Mining Action Group (MAG). MAG is a 100% volunteer, grassroots effort defending the clean water and wild places of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from the dangers of sulfide mining. MAG is a new semi-autonomous arm of UPEC; the leadership team includes Alexandra Maxwell, Kathleen Heideman, Jon Saari, and Steve Garske.
As activists, MAG will continue to build on Save the Wild U.P.’s legacy. We serve as environmental watchdogs, urging regulators to make wise decisions to protect the natural resources and public lands of Upper Michigan, educating citizens about the risky business of sulfide mining and the industrialization of our wild lands, reviewing and objecting to permits for new mineral leases in sensitive areas, speaking out at public hearings, and working collaboratively with regional tribal nations and watershed organizations. During the past year, SWUP activists achieved many noteworthy accomplishments, including:
- Opposing Aquila Resources’ Back Forty proposal to construct a large open-pit sulfide mine and mill on the bank of the Menominee River, the U.P’s largest watershed: hosting forums, training activists, facilitating a red-flag review of the mining permit by Center for Science in Public Participation, and preparing evidenced-based comments.
- Objecting to the County Road 595 proposal which threatened fragile wetlands and watersheds, and the Marquette County Road Commission’s lawsuit against the EPA.
- Hosting cultural events and boots-on-the-ground experiences including inspired musical events and poetry readings, opportunities to explore wetlands, waterfalls and native plant habitats.
- Participating in the U.P. Environmental Stakeholder Group in order to provide meaningful input on sulfide mining permits to Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality.
Your active involvement and generous support has always made our work possible, and we ask you to help us continue defending the U.P.’s clean water and wild places!
As a member-based organization, UPEC has been helping to protect the U.P.’s great places since 1976. We ask you to support the Mining Action Group by becoming a UPEC member. For a minimum donation of $25, you’ll receive an annual UPEC membership, a year’s subscription to UPEC’s quarterly newsletter, Mining Action Group updates, and a free invitation to attend UPEC’s annual “Celebrate the U.P.” event.
* If you prefer mailing in a donation, click here to download this letter and print the donation form (pdf).
Join us! With ONE VOICE Working Together to Protect the Upper Peninsula,
Kathleen Heideman, Mining Action Group
Horst Schmidt, UPEC President
Sing the Wild U.P.
Featured
Welcome and thank you for your interest in our Sing The Wild U.P. songwriting competition! Sing The Wild UP is a video submission based songwriting competition sponsored by The Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition/The Mining Action Group. Songs must be inspired by a love for the Upper Peninsula or make a statement about the importance of conserving our land’s natural beauty and resources. These songs may be written in protest to environmental issues and threats or may simply give a voice of appreciation for our land. This competition is open only to residents of The Upper Peninsula. Please view the links below for more information.
Contest Rules and Guidelines – these are important!
Submission Form – can’t go far without this one!
Pay Entry Fee – certainly can’t go far without this one, either!
Meet our Judges!
Kim Parlato and the Nerdfighters
The Marquette Senior High School Nerdfighters are a group of service-minded students inspired by the activism of brothers John and Hank Green, who – as the VlogBrothers on YouTube and as themselves in real life – have been speaking out for truth, justice, and decreasing world suck. Musicians, writers, artists, and overall good human beings, the MSHS Nerdfighters organize the MSHS food drive for local food pantries and celebrate the talents of their peers by hosting “Music in the Mornings” in the MSHS Library, which provides attendees with free coffee and inspired entertainment by school music groups. This year, the group also collected books for the Marquette-Alger Reading Council’s Gift of Reading program and is working toward establishing a mural proposal protocol to ensure the walls of MSHS become covered in student art. These Nerdfighters are advised by English teacher and Marquette musician Kim Parlato, who fancied herself a singer-songwriter in one of her (many) former lives before she dedicated herself to the education of the Upper Peninsula’s amazing young people.
Ben Weaver
Be outside – Protect the land and water – Sing while you do it. Songwriter/Poet Ben Weaver travels by bike crafting human powered musical expeditions. Recently Ben’s expeditions have taken him down the length of the Mississippi River, around Lake Superior, across the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska and throughout the Netherlands. Ben has released eight albums of original music and four books of poetry. Given the choice, he will side with the animals, the lakes, the streams and the trees.
Michael Waite
Michael Waite’s songwriting is thoughtful Americana without any glitz, both brutally and joyously honest. A classically-trained singer, he lives with his family in Michigan’s Huron Mountains and enjoys a repertoire of hundreds of songs ranging in style from Irish folk to bebop. His delivery of his own songs and original interpretations of others is influenced by his first musical exploration, the jazz trombone.
Prizes
First Prize:
The winning song will be performed live at the Ore Dock brewing Company on Friday, March 24th at the kickoff event to the Annual Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition Celebration! Then, you’ll get to record your winning song at Da Yoopers Studio! The top song and artist (or band) will get to work with local musicians/sound engineers Jesse DeCaire and Jim Bellmore of Da Yooper Studio in Ishpeming, Michigan. If the additional recording of songs is desired, a package price can be worked out at the time of recording. Mixing and a basic master of the winning song are included in the prize and a CD copy will be provided of the song at the end of the session. While a specific amount of recording/mixing time is not stated in the prize and will be very flexible and will depend on the availability of all participants, we ask that the scope of the recording be kept to a reasonable time frame (unless as stated above additional studio time was purchased).
Second Prize:
The second place song will be performed live at the Ore Dock Brewing Company on Friday, March 24th at the kickoff event to the Annual Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition Celebration! Second place winners will also receive a $200 cash prize.
Third Prize:
The third place song will be performed live at the Ore Dock Brewing Company on Friday, March 24th at the kickoff event to the Annual Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition Celebration and the winner will receive a gift card to Jim’s Music of $50.
Honorable Mention:
We will also celebrate an honorable mention for outstanding performance! This song will be performed live at the Ore Dock Brewing Company on Friday, March 24th at the kickoff event to the Annual Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition Celebration and the winner will receive a musician’s gift basket, all the goodies a budding musician needs!
Have Questions?
Contact Alexandra Maxwell at miningactiongroupUPEC@gmail.com or Rebecca Rucinski at rebeccalrucinski@gmail.com
Dancing for the Earth
Don’t miss Dancing for the Earth – a benefit to support the work of Save the Wild U.P. / Mining Action Group! Join Carrie BiOLO and Maria FormOLO as they explore the elements of the Upper Peninsula winter wonderland through dance, sound, movement, and visual imagery in Dancing for the Earth. The first performances will take place next Wednesday, December 21 – the Winter Solstice – near the Gazebo on Presque Isle in Marquette, MI. Two performance times: 4:45-5:15pm (sunset), and 7-7:30pm. Suggested donation $10.00 or what you can give. Performances are tailored to the environment and the weather. THIS EVENT WILL NOT BE CANCELLED. No matter the weather, the dancers will celebrate the wild splendor of Lake Superior and Winter Solstice!
OLO has teamed up with local like-minded organizations like Save the Wild U.P. and the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition for a season of special nature benefit events:
December 21 Wed. Winter Solstice: Save the Wild UP, near Presque Isle Gazebo. 4:45-5:15pm & 7-7:30pm
January 12 Thurs. Full Moon: Cedar Tree Institute, Presque Isle pavilion. 7pm- 8pm
January 28 Sat. New Moon: tba
February 11 Sat. Full Moon: OLO performing at Rhino Fest in Chicago performing a new version of Superior Elements first premiered in Marquette on Lake Superior Day and other works.
February 26 Sun. New Moon: Percussive Attack Camp, near Presque Isle Gazebo. 5pm-6pm with young percussionists
March 12 Sun. Full Moon: tba
March 18 Sat.: Van Riper Snowshoe Hike see DNR website for location off 41 near Michigamme, 7-9 pm
March 21 Tuesday.: Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition, at the Presque Isle Park Pavilion, 7-8 pm
Additional pop-up performances are scheduled around full and new moons in surprise locations. Contact cbiolo@sbcglobal.net for more details on dates/times/locations and how you can be involved in the pop-up performances!
Curious about their work? Check out this video from last winter’s performance, Running Toward the Light, part of a 100-day project. Carrie and Maria performed a series of outdoor weekly events from Dec. 21, 2015 – March 21, 2016. Each event ran around 30 minutes with the exception of a 3-hour continuous event with the music of gongs, bells and a tuned ice xylophone made by Carrie and dance by Maria at Glacier Glide. The performers were costumed spectacularly and well underdressed. Each event was tailored to the environment and the weather.
See carriebiolo.com for video clips and information on Running Towards the Light Project
Testimonials by those who attended Running Toward the Light:
It was marvelous. . . Glad we saw and heard you! Felt like in some exotic land! – Christine Saari
Wonderful Creativity! Looks beautiful, magical, and coooold! – Dort Schlientz
I loved it!!!! – Gray Louise Phillips
Talent, beauty and mystery! – Elizabeth Yelland
We were in awe of your music last night. Thanks! – Cathy Church
Save the Wild U.P. and the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition Join Forces!
Featured
NEW ERA OF COLLABORATION AS UPEC AND SWUP COMBINE FORCES
Marquette — The Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC) and Save the Wild U.P. (SWUP) are joining forces to create a far-reaching, inclusive environmental advocacy group for the Upper Peninsula. Effective January, 2017 SWUP will become a part of UPEC, allowing the strengths of both groups to be highlighted in their cooperative work to protect clean water, healthy ecosystems, and wild places. UPEC will maintain its focus on environmental education and advocacy for U.P. wild lands, while SWUP, with its new partner’s support, will continue its activism as the SWUP Mining Action Group within UPEC.
Horst Schmidt, UPEC President, said “We’ve done it! UPEC and SWUP are becoming One Voice. With five decades of combined leadership and effort, the merger leads to a strengthened organization reaching out to the citizens of the Upper Peninsula. We could not have done it without the dedication of board members of both groups. ”
The leaders of SWUP, Kathleen Heideman and Alexandra Maxwell, will be joining the UPEC board, adding depth and knowledge to its discussions. SWUP’s strength lies in its social media contacts and in its hard-hitting public commentary on sulfide mining related permits, most recently on the proposed zinc-copper mine targeting the Menominee River and the proposed expansion of the Eagle Mine in Marquette County.
“UPEC’s perspective is broader and more historical,” said Jon Saari, who has served in leadership roles in both organizations. “The U.P.’s extensive public lands are the key to providing the needed core area for nature’s story to unfold. Enhancing the quality of these wild lands and containing the threats to them are UPEC’s goals. If we can do this, the U.P. has a rare chance to demonstrate what it means to be a sustainable place in the 21st century.”
UPEC’s activities have focused on community outreach through its quarterly newsletter, its annual Celebration of the U.P., and its grant programs in environmental education and community conservation. “We awarded $34,000 in grants in 2016 in these two programs,” said President Schmidt, “and going forward we want to enhance our presence and partnerships U.P. wide.”
SWUP has gone through several transformations in its 12 year history, but has always maintained a presence as think-tank for citizens concerned about the environmental and social threats brought by sulfide mining. In recent years its accomplishments have included stimulating impressive public participation in the permitting processes, providing college-level fellowship programs, leading one-of-a-kind outdoor excursions to threatened wild places in Marquette County, and providing intelligent analysis on mining-related permits, and all for the purpose of protecting clean water and wild places.
UPEC and SWUP complement each other, said Kathleen Heideman, SWUP President. “This organizational transformation will enable members of the SWUP Mining Action Group, now organized under the larger tent of the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition, to refocus on their grassroots work – defending Upper Michigan’s clean water and wild places from the threat of sulfide mining. We’re not getting bigger as a result of the merger, we’re getting better.”
As the groups join and navigate the path ahead, they will speak with “ONE VOICE” for the environment of the U.P.
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Founded in 2004, Save the Wild U.P. is a grassroots environmental organization dedicated to defending wild places and clean water of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from the dangers of sulfide mining. For more information contact info@savethewildup.org or call (906) 662-9987. Get involved with SWUP’s work at savethewildup.org or follow SWUP on Facebook at facebook.com/savethewildup or Twitter @savethewildup.
Save the Menominee River Speaking Tour and Paddling Trip!
Grassroots opposition to Aquila’s Back Forty metallic sulfide mine next to the Menominee River will sponsor its fourth public forum on the cultural, environmental and economic impacts of the proposed mine in the Wausaukee, Wisconsin Town Hall (N 11856 Hwy 141) on Saturday, July 23rd at 10:00 am. Save the Menominee River Speaking Tour sponsored previous forums in Marinette, Wisconsin and Menominee and Stephenson, Michigan. The event is free and open to the public.
Speakers from groups including the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, the River Alliance of Wisconsin, the Front 40 citizens group and the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council will present information about mining impacts, including the endangered sturgeon population in the Menominee River and invite public comments about the proposed open pit mine.
Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality is expected to hold a Public Hearing on the Back Forty proposal later this summer (TBA). Citizens can learn how to speak out at public hearings in “lunch & learn” activist trainings sponsored by Save the Wild U.P. (SWUP) on Monday, July 18th and Monday, July 25th from 12 noon to 3:00 pm followed by a social hour at the Ore Dock Brewing Company’s upstairs public space in Marquette, Michigan.
For those interested in a closer look at the proposed mine site, the River Alliance of Wisconsin is leading a canoe/kayak excursion on the Menominee River on Friday, July 29 to learn about the mine and appreciate the beauty of this river. Starting at the White Rapids dam, east of Amberg, Wisconsin, and northwest of Stephenson, Michigan, the excursion will visit significant native American archaeological sites and do a “paddle-by” of the proposed mine site. The River Alliance will be joined by officials from the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and the Front 40 citizens group. The Menominee River takes its name from the Menominee Indians of Wisconsin whose creation stories start at the mouth of the Menominee River. According to Guy Reiter, a Menominee tribal member, “the creator gave us responsibility for watching out for that water thousands of years ago.” For more details and to register, go to htts://www.wisconsinrivers.
For more information contact: Guy Reiter (715) 853-2776 anahkwet@hotmail.com
or Ron Henriksen (906) 563-5766 menomineeriver.com
Aquila Back Forty: Lunch-and-Learn Activist Trainings
CALLING ALL CONCERNED CITIZENS!
Save the Wild U.P. will offer “lunch & learn” activist trainings to help you prepare for an important public hearing on Aquila Resources’ Back Forty Project (*public hearing TBA, currently anticipated in August – September!).
It is time to defend clean water! Learn about the Menominee River (the U.P.’s largest watershed), specific threats posed by an open-pit sulfide mine on the river, and how to speak out at public hearings. We’ll provide visual overviews of the permits (4) and key concerns – the primary sulfide mining application, and permits regulating Back Forty’s wetland degradation, air pollution caused by mine and mill emissions, and wastewater discharges to the Menominee River. Multiple speakers! Check the facebook page for more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/269182010105958/
Join us on Monday, July 18th, Monday, July 25th and Monday, August 1st from 12:30-3pm, followed by a social hour. Location: the Ore Dock Brewing Company’s public space (upstairs), 114 Spring St., Marquette, MI 49855. Please bring a bag lunch –and your passion for environmental justice!
As the Dalai Lama said, “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”
Guided Hike to Pinnacle Falls with Save the Wild U.P.
MARQUETTE — Grassroots environmental group Save the Wild U.P. will host a Guided Hike to Pinnacle Falls this Thursday, June 23rd. Attendees will enjoy a beautiful hike on the Yellow Dog River, truly one of the wild gems of Marquette County. SWUP guides will share stories of ecology, geology and local history.
Save the Wild U.P.’s guided outdoor summer programs are perfect for nature-lovers, hikers, artists and budding environmental activists.
“This is the third year in a row we are holding this hike, because people love it so much. Finding the falls on your own can be kind of tricky!” said Alexandra Maxwell, SWUP’s director. “We’re highlighting the intrinsic value of wild and scenic places, especially clean rivers and undisturbed wetlands – and providing a grassroots update on the environmental threats posed by active sulfide mining and mineral exploration, just upstream.”
There is a $10 fee per person for this waterfall hike, with proceeds supporting Save the Wild U.P.’s grassroots work to oppose sulfide mining. Participants should meet-up at the Big Bay Outfitters (308 Bensinger St., Big Bay MI 49808) and expect to hit the road by 12:30. Please arrive early. Participants should pack a bag lunch for a picnic at the falls, water, bring bug dope or netting, sturdy hiking shoes, a walking stick if needed, and a camera. SAVE YOUR SPOT: rsvp@savethwildup.org, or call (906) 662-9987 for more information.
Founded in 2004, Save the Wild U.P. is a grassroots environmental organization dedicated to defending wild places and clean water of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from the dangers of sulfide mining. For more information contact info@savethewildup.org or call (906) 662-9987. Get involved with SWUP’s work at savethewildup.org or follow SWUP on Facebook at facebook.com/savethewildup or Twitter @savethewildup.
LEARN MORE
Pinnacle Falls: https://flic.kr/p/6VAkb1
Suggested caption: “Save the Wild U.P. is offering a guided hike to Pinnacle Falls, one of the U.P.’s must-see waterfalls. Pinnacle Falls is located in a gorge of the wild Yellow Dog River, on land preserved by the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve.”
For more info on the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, see: http://www.yellowdogwatershed.org/blog/
Summer 2016 Events Line-Up!!
It’s here! Our summer events schedule! We do everything we can to get all of our amazing supporters out to the woods, rivers, waterfalls and wetlands that make the Upper Peninsula so darn special. Check out what we have to offer for folks of all ages and abilities:
Download a copy of the poster (PDF).
See you outside, eh!