Tag Archives: Michigan DNR

DNR to hold Public Meeting on UPX Mineral Lease Requests

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ALERT — At the request of concerned citizens and environmental groups. the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has agreed to hold a Public Meeting on December 4th to discuss controversial mineral leases requested by UPX Minerals, Inc. (UPX).

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Office of Minerals Management will hold an informational public meeting next month in Marquette on a metallic minerals lease request by UPX Minerals Inc., a division of Highland Copper.

The meeting is set for 6-8 p.m. eastern time, Tuesday, Dec. 4 in the Charcoal Room at the University Center on the campus of Northern Michigan University in Marquette.

“We will give a brief overview of the metallic mineral lease request submitted by UPX Minerals, Inc.,” said Julie Manson, manager of the Lease Management Unit of the DNR’s Office of Minerals Management. “We will also be providing attendees with an opportunity to ask questions, and we will answer them as time allows.”

UPX Minerals Inc. initially submitted a lease request to the DNR for state-owned metallic mineral rights on 6,655.69 acres in Iron and Marquette counties. UPX has since withdrawn over 4,000 acres from its application and is now requesting to lease 2,500.80 acres of the originally requested acres.

All the acreage initially nominated for leasing in Iron County has been withdrawn from the request by UPX.

Should this request be approved by DNR, issuance of a lease to UPX would give them the exclusive right to explore for the presence of metallic minerals in these areas. A lease alone does not grant a lessee a right to mine.

The recommended lease classification is development with restriction, which means there are other specific restrictions in the lease in addition to the standard lease provisions. The lease would allow surface use for metallic minerals exploration or development after all necessary permissions have been obtained.

Concerned citizens, including impacted homeowners in the Marquette area who submitted public comments opposing the proposed leasing of minerals under their homes, camps, and forests, were NOT notified of the hearing – they learned about the decision only after the DNR issued a press release dated November 4th.

“The DNR’s failure to directly contact concerned landowners and other environmental stakeholders reflects poorly on the Minerals office,” said Kathleen Heideman of the UPEC Mining Action Group. “When folks take the time to educate themselves about a complex issue, write informed comments, and submit them in a timely manner to the State of Michigan, I really feel they should be treated with more respect.”

UPX is seeking to lease thousands of acres of State-owned minerals in Marquette County. These mineral properties are underneath private property, homes, camps, rivers and streams, lakes, wetlands – even nature reserves and the DNR’s own Rocking Chair Lakes, located 25 miles northwest of Marquette. The Rocking Chair Lakes are considered one of the “jewels of the state forest system… a natural area in a rugged and nearly inaccessible part of Marquette County. Managed for trout, these lakes offer a wilderness fishing experience.”

Comments opposing the UPX mineral lease requests were jointly submitted to the DNR by UPEC’s Mining Action Group, the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition, the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, the Superior Watershed Partnership and Land Trust, Friends of the Land of Keweenaw (FOLK), Freshwater Future, Concerned Citizens of Big Bay, the Michigan Environmental Council, and the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.

“We urge everyone to attend the DNR’s public meeting on December 4th. This is the public’s chance to ask questions and get answers,” said Horst Schmidt, president of the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC).

CONCERNED CITIZENS MEETING

Landowners who are impacted by the UPX mineral lease requests may contact miningactiongroupUPEC@gmail.com for additional information.

UPDATED MAPS

Are you impacted by UPX Mineral’s plans for mineral exploration in Marquette County? Check these detail maps showing the UPX mineral lease requests:

Download this file (PDF)

Download this file (PDF)

Download this file (PDF)

Download this file (PDF)

Download this file (PDF)

Download this file (PDF)

Download this file (PDF)

Download this file (PDF)

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Environmentalists to DNR: Protect the Rocking Chair Lakes!

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Major environmental groups have joined forces with the Mining Action Group of the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC), calling on the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to protect Rocking Chair Lakes Natural Area.

Comments opposing the UPX mineral lease requests were jointly submitted to the DNR by UPEC’s Mining Action Group, the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition, the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, the Superior Watershed Partnership and Land Trust, Friends of the Land of Keweenaw (FOLK), Freshwater Future, Concerned Citizens of Big Bay, the Michigan Environmental Council, and the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.

UPX Minerals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian mining company Highland Copper, is seeking to lease more than 3,800 acres of State-owned minerals in Iron and Marquette Counties. Most of these mineral properties are in Marquette County, and many are underneath private property, homes, camps, rivers and streams, lakes, wetlands – even nature reserves and the DNR’s own Rocking Chair Lakes, located 25 miles northwest of Marquette.

The DNR’s Forestry Division calls the Rocking Chair Lakes one of the “jewels of the state forest system… a natural area in a rugged and nearly inaccessible part of Marquette County. Managed for trout, these lakes offer a wilderness fishing experience.” 

The Mining Action Group has released the following statement:

“The special qualities of Rocking Chair Lakes Natural Area demand that it be protected in its natural state. Mineral exploration is obviously not a compatible land use. Rocking Chair Lakes is listed on the Michigan DNR website under Natural Areas. If the DNR cannot deny a mineral lease request in this unique and highly significant area, then it seems it cannot deny a lease anywhere. In that case, what do we have a DNR for?

As a Natural Area, any form of mineral exploration is prohibited by Michigan law: “Natural Area status as provided under Public Act 451 of 1994 Part 351 WILDERNESS AND NATURAL AREAS: Sec. 35105. prohibits the following activities: (…) Exploration or extraction of minerals.”

We remind the DNR of their statutory prohibition regarding “Exploration or extraction of minerals” which must be applied in this case:  Any area which has been “proposed for dedication” is protected under the act, and must be managed as a natural/wild/wilderness area until the dedication is final.”

“These mineral lease requests appear to be oblivious to the community’s concerns. UPX doesn’t care about surface ownership, environmental management goals, the potential for environmental damage, legal or regulatory restrictions, or proximity to wetlands and water,” said Kathleen Heideman of the Mining Action Group. “To be clear, we believe that ANY mineral development activity in this remote, fragile place threatens the DNR’s stewardship of the Rocking Chair Lakes area.”

In their joint comments, Michigan environmental groups criticized the DNR’s overly-permissive lease classifications, requested on-the-ground reviews for lands of special environmental concern, and called on the DNR to hold a public meeting in the Upper Peninsula prior to making any final lease decision:

“The agency needs to meet with concerned landowners to discuss the UPX request, and answer questions directly, engaging and educating the public on the work of the minerals management division. The DNR appears to be rushing from nomination to public comment and then straight to ‘decision’ – bypassing the opportunity for a Public Meeting.”

Four different Ecological Reference Areas have been established in the Rocking Chair Lakes Natural Area, representing natural areas of “High Conservation Quality” including cliffs, wetlands, old growth forest, numerous threatened and endangered plants and one of Michigan’s largest inland cliffs, the Mulligan Cliffs.

Read their full comments, here.

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Action Alert – Petition the Michigan DNR to DENY Mineral Lease Requests by UPX

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Concerned? SIGN ON.

The Mining Action Group is working with concerned citizens who received letters notifying them that UPX has requested mineral rights underneath their private homes, camps and wild lands. The public comment period ends on June 11th, 2018. This petition will close at 2 PM Eastern on June 11th, and will be submitted to the Michigan DNR along with our public comments on the proposed leases. Please join us in asking state environmental regulators to PROTECT Michigan’s Natural Resources!

– – – – – – – TEXT OF SIGN ON PETITION – – – – – – – –

Canadian conglomerate Highland Copper’s wholly-owned subsidiary, UPX Minerals Inc., is targeting 3,800+ Acres in Marquette County and Iron County for sulfide ore exploration and mining by requesting mineral leases now owned by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Because granting these mineral leases will:
(a) Pollute our air, quiet forests, ground water, and watersheds to
Lake Superior;
(b) Damage the use and enjoyment of surface rights on land of
many private homeowners;
(c) Damage the natural environment on our public land; and
(d) Damage the “Pure Michigan” ethic/image of a growing multimillion $$$$ recreation economy in the Upper Peninsula,

We, the undersigned, petition the Michigan DNR to DENY “UPX Mineral Inc.’s Request for Direct Mineral Leases.”

DNR: Deny UPX Mineral Inc.’s "Request for Direct Mineral Leases"

Thanks, the petition is now closed.

End date: Jun 11, 2018

Signatures collected: 237

237 signatures

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If you have additional concerns about the UPX mineral lease request, please send written comments providing additional information “relative to the request to lease the specified mineral rights” by June 11, 2018 to DNR, Office of Minerals Management, P.O. Box 30452, Lansing MI 48909, or DNR-Minerals@michigan.gov

Thank you for defending the wild U.P.!