For anyone even the least bit aware of Wisconsin politics of late the current climate of Walker vs. the People of Wisconsin is on the upsurge. Recall petitions abound, thankfully, but the Wisconsin legislature still grinds on and the latest malodorous creation is the State Assembly Mining Bill, AB426, an intentional shortcut of a mine permitting process that will allow a corporation with no ties to Wisconsin (Gogebic Taconite Company, subsidiary of the Florida-based Cline Group) to escape environmental safeguards in order to strip mine iron ore along a 22 mile long stretch of the Penokee Hills near Mellen, Wisconsin, a pristine swath of northern Wisconsin forest and its connecting watershed. In a perverse twist of logic, the mine is touted as a 'jobs creator' and environmental consequences will be minimized by eliminating protective regulations and by assuring the cleanup and reclaimation efforts will be within the scope of the law (by eliminating the laws).
The Walker administration sprung the 183 page bill on Wisconsinites last month with the soul intent of heralding the 'open for business' (at any cost) agenda, giving little time to read and comprehend the lengthy bill and little regard to local concerns regarding water quality and environmental degradation. The initial hearing of the bill was presented in Milwaukee, more than 300 miles away from the proposed mine site and home to several potential business interests supporting the mine. The local people of Mellen, Wisconsin and the the Bad River band of the Objibwe were put at such a distance that it effectively silenced their opinion.
If there is any silver lining to be found, the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Ojibwe Tribe may prove to be just that. The Ojibwe control a portion of the Bad River watershed, the largest source of fresh water feeding into Lake Superior and an important source of wild rice for the Ojibwe tribe. Perhaps if there is enough protest from within the tribe and the current laws stand firm, the Ojibwe will be enough of a collective hurdle for the corporate interests that hope to plunder our environment and the Wisconsin legacy of protections afforded it.
Read More
