Tribes buy mine site; 27-year Crandon battle ends

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I hadn't seen this posted here yet, so I thought I'd provide some good news for once.



http://madison.indymedia.org/feature/display/14706

A true "regime change" took place this morning at the mining company's information center in Crandon, Wisconsin. A giant "SOLD" sign was hung on the building, and Native kids played on the mining machinery -- the scene resembled the fall of the Berlin Wall. Details, photos and movies are being posted on the Midwest Treaty Network website at
http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/victory.html. This report includes details of the tribal purchase of the Crandon mine site, and a look back at the grassroots movement that stopped the 27-year-old corporate project.

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"With this purchase, we can prevent environmental threats from unsafe proposals to mine at the headwaters of the Wolf River," Sandra Rachal, Mole Lake Chairwoman said. "The risks to the water, the land and the air from the proposed project were much too great."

"This purchase protects the Wolf River, the wetlands and the groundwater of Northern Wisconsin," Gus Frank, Chairman of the Forest County Potawatomi Community stated. "It ends the threat to the tourism economy - the economy that most of us in Northern Wisconsin, including the tribes, depend on. We all depend on the waters and natural resources of the Northwoods - for recreation, to bring tourists to our State, and, for the Tribes, to sustain our traditions. We're proud to be a part of protecting this area for future generations."

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"Protecting these lands has required a great personal sacrifice for tribal members. But it is a sacrifice that honors our ancestors and our children," Thomas VanZile, Mole Lake tribal secretary said. "Our ancestors lived here. They fought and died to protect these lands for future generations. It is our responsibility to continue that tradition.

For this reason, we have used our financial resources, including gaming revenues from our casinos, to protect this important Northwoods area. Without gaming revenues, we could not have purchased the mine site."

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The possibility of mining has created controversy since 1969, when Exxon began mineral exploration south of Crandon. An application to mine at the site was filed with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by Exxon in 1980 and withdrawn in 1986. The current proposal to mine zinc and copper at the site was filed in 1994 and substantially revised in 1998. However, the applicant had not yet submitted enough technical information for the application to be deemed complete and for the formal agency review of the permit to begin. Permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are also needed to mine.

Owners of the current project have included Crandon Mining Company, Rio Algom, Billiton and BHP Billiton. In April, Northern Wisconsin Resources Group acquired the official mine applicant, Nicolet Mineral Company (NMC), from BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company. The Sokaogon Chippewa now own NMC.


I would add that the Chippewa have stated that they are withdrawing the application for mining. FINALLY. This has been a very long and hard struggle for Wisconsin environmentalists.

And we won one. :)

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1. This wouldn't be complete without a commentary by Zoltan Grossman...

Crandon Mine Victory Won by a Historic Alliance
http://madison.indymedia.org/feature/display/14714/index.php

The remarkable victory by Wisconsin's grassroots movement against the Crandon mine goes beyond stopping the 27-year-old project. The movement brought Native American nations with sportfishing groups, environmentalists with unionists, and rural residents with urban students.

This unlikely alliance first drove out the world's largest resource corporation (Exxon) and then the world's largest mining company (BHP Billiton). Now it has not only defeated the mine, but acquired control over the mine site.

Through old-fashioned grassroots organizing (such as speaking tours) the movement reached people throughout Wisconsin for a mining moratorium and a (still needed) ban on cyanide in mining. Through the Internet (through websites such as http://www.nocrandonmine.com and http://www.treatyland.com), it got the message out around the world, even leading to a rally in Australia. The alliance is an example of "globalization-from-below" in our own backyard.

International mining journals in Britain and Canada complained that the Wisconsin organizers were "barbarians at the gates of cyberspace" that were becoming "increasingly sophisticated." They portrayed the Wolf Watershed Educational Project as a "threat to the global mining industry." One mining industry think tank this year gave Wisconsin the lowest "Investment Attractiveness Index" of any political unit in the entire world, with a score of 13 out of a possible 100.

http://madison.indymedia.org/feature/display/14714/index.php

(much more at link, and it's Zoltan Grossman, so it's all good!)

[StClone]

2. Great day!!! Now if we can stop...

The "Crandonization" of the rest of the North by lake shore developement and Bush's logging buddies.

How is the destruction by private piece meal efforts any different than a commercial point source?

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3. Get more Chicagoans to gamble in Wisconsin, then buy up more land

But seriously, now that this is 'over', a lot of us are going to have more time on our hands. With Thompson gone, we have a chance of making some forward progress. The more Bush gets involved here the better. It only makes people angrier and more energized!