The Penokee Hills Education Summit will take place Friday and Saturday, September 20 – 21, 2013 at the Whitecap Resort in Upson, WI. One of the keynote speakers for the Friday Water Awards Dinner will be Josephine Mandamin, Anishinaabekwe from Manitoulin Island who made a sacred walk around each of the Great Lakes over a period of give years, and then traveled from Kingston, Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean along the St. Lawrence River.
Cost for the full 2-day event is $49. Register for the Summit here.
Flags of LCO Harvest and Education Camp. Photo: Rebecca Kemble
Please join us for a peaceful, silent protest at the next Iron County Board meeting Tuesday, July 30 at 6 PM at the Iron County Courthouse at 300 Taconite St, Hurley.
We will be gathering at the Hurley Visitor Center at 4:30. Join us or call 218.341.8822 for more information.
Why will we stand in silence?
On July 16, 2013 the Iron County Forestry Committee voted to press criminal and civil charges against Lac Courte Oreilles Treaty Harvest and Education Camp for allegedly operating without a permit.
Without any discussion or input from Harvest Camp, the Forestry Committee went into closed session to determine what actions should be taken, despite the fact that Camp Manager Paul DeMain was present at the meeting.
The same committee had previously given a unanimous green light to Lac Courte Oreilles to set up the camp on County Forest Land. There is confusion as to why the permit has not been issued. The new attorney for the county advised the committee to press criminals charges or the DNR has threatened to revoke their certification for managing County Forest Law — including partial funding of forestry positions — if they allow the Harvest Camp to remain in place.
As outlined by the Forestry Committee, this move will likely push Iron County into probable litigation, costing Iron County residents possibly millions in lawsuits over the next .. undetermined number of years.
We will stand in silence to protest this unjust, unnecessary, wasteful and unreasonable solution to a minor conflict.
We request Iron County Forestry sit down with LCO Harvest Camp and work together towards a solution that will be in everyone’s best interest.
Please come to the courthouse and stand in silent protest of this unjust and unnecessary action. You are also encouraged to testify before the committee and share your thoughts.
The Penokee Hills above and strip mined land for iron ore in MN below. Photos by Joel Austin
Everything that Northern Wisconsin holds dear is gravely threatened by Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) and from out-of-control legislation coming from Madison that is selling our precious natural resources, not to mention our democracy, to the highest bidder.
Armed Security Forces in Northern Wisconsin. Photo: Rob Ganson
The Penokee Hills would be blasted and excavated into oblivion, becoming the largest open-pit taconite mine in the world, if GTAC is allowed to continue on its present destructive course. First phase: 4.5 miles long, 1 mile wide, and 800-1000 feet deep and over time, a “war zone” nearly twice the length of Manhattan.
Hurley Sidewalk Press Conference and Walk
402 Silver Street, Hurley, Wisconsin
Monday, July 1st at 4:30 p.m.
Contact: Frank Koehn, Penokee Hills Education Project, 218-341-8822
Community leaders and citizens speaking at the Hurley Sidewalk Press Conference will give voice to economic, environmental and health impacts which would emerge from taconite mining in the Penokee Hills of Northern Wisconsin. The topics all center on preserving clean, drinkable water now and into the future.
After the press conference, those in attendance will walk to the American Legion Memorial Building at 201 Iron Street where a 6:00 public hearing is scheduled on the Iron County Metallic Mining Ordinance which Iron County Zoning Administrator, Tom Bergman and his staff have been diligently working on.
The walk is a peaceful event and is not intended to interrupt or delay the ordinance meeting in any way.
Press Conference sponsor: PHEP. The Penokee Hills Education Project was formed to educate the public about risks to the Bad River watershed and the Penokee Hills posed by GTAC’s mountaintop removal mine; to share relevant information about the impact of mining on our economy, health, and environment; and to connect with citizen-led groups locally, statewide, and nationally.
United In Defense of The Water 