UDW Endorses Joe Rose for District 12 Ashland County Board

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Barbara With

GREETINGS FROM JOE M. ROSE – CANDIDATE FOR ASHLAND COUNTY BOARD, DISTRICT 12

I have represented the citizens of District 12 for the past 6 years, and respectfully request your vote in the April 7, 2020 election.

I sincerely hope that all of you are safe and healthy as we each do our own part to help protect our families, friends, and communities from the coronavirus pandemic. Although it is difficult to think about other things at a time like this, we have many serious issues to consider as we look to the future.

The Ashland County Board consists of many different subcommittees, and as a board member I have served on several of them including: the Planning Committee, Large Scale Assembly Committee, Mining Impact Committee, and the Land and Water Conservation Committee. In addition, I currently serve as the Chairman of the Zoning Committee.

When the entire Bad River Watershed was threatened by proposed mountaintop mining in the Penokee Hills, the Zoning Committee conducted public hearings, developed taconite mining ordinances, and submitted them to the County Board who in turn voted to pass them. After several years of strong local resistance, the proposed project was finally scrapped. Shortly afterwards, the Wisconsin Mining Moratorium Law, which had been in effect for many years, was voted out of existence by the Wisconsin State Legislature. In response to local concerns regarding this loss of protection, the Zoning Committee conducted more public hearings, amended the County’s existing taconite mining ordinances to address the threat of potential sulfide mining as well, and submitted them to the County Board where they were approved.

Many local citizens will recall the proposed Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) in the Fish Creek Watershed of Bayfield County, which empties into Chequamegon Bay and Apostle Islands area of Lake Superior. With the increased frequency and intensity of flood events that have occurred in our area, many local citizens and communities were highly concerned about the potential risks involved with this proposed facility. In response, the Land and Water Conservation Committee of the Ashland County Board followed a similar path as Bayfield County by conducting public hearings, establishment of a study committee to gather information, and the development of CAFO-related ordinances that were ultimately approved by the Ashland County Board.

As you know, our area has experienced three major floods in the past six years. The Zoning Committee has initiated a process to develop Wetland Conservation ordinances to protect, restore, and enhance local wetland habitats, and help reduce flooding. In addition, the Land and Water Conservation Committee is currently exploring state and federal funding opportunities that would be used to initiate a pilot project to help address these wetland conservation needs. Hearings are being planned to provide information and obtain public input before these ordinances are presented to the County Board for approval.

However, the statewide travel restrictions that have been enacted to slow the spread of coronavirus may require these hearings to be postponed. I am deeply concerned about the potential risks associated with the presence of Enbridge Line 5 in our area, and with the increasing amount of influence that this foreign corporation appears to have on our local communities.

As a member of the Ashland County Board, I have worked with many local citizens and elected officials to help protect the health of our local lands and waters for area citizens and the generations yet to come. If re-elected, I will continue these efforts to the best of my ability. I request your support to continue these efforts for the next 2 years. As always, let your voice count and be sure to cast your vote in the April 7, 2020 election.

Realizing the number of coronavirus infections continues to increase throughout the state, many Wisconsin citizens may not feel comfortable about voting in person on April 7. Voters can request an absentee ballot online by going to http://www.myvote.wi.gov, click on Vote Absentee and then follow the required steps. You will need to enter your name and date of birth to confirm that you are a registered voter. If you do not have a photo ID on file with your local municipal clerk, you will need to upload a copy of your (acceptable) photo ID card in order to submit your absentee ballot request.

Please note that absentee ballot requests must be made no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday before the election (April 2) in order for an absentee ballot to be sent to you. Voters can also contact their local clerk to request an absentee ballot via email or fax, by mail, or in person.

A directory of clerks can be found by going to http://www.myvote.wi.gov, click on Find My Polling Place at the top of the page, then click on Find My Clerk on the left hand side. After filling in your address, click on the Search button, and the contact information for your local clerk will be provided.

Authorized and paid for by Joe M. Rose

Benjamin Armstrong: Early Life Among the Indians

Posted on July 2, 2018 by Barbara With

On Sale Now $14.99

First published in 1892, Early Life Among the Indians is the biography of Benjamin Armstrong, who in 1840 took up his residence in northern Wisconsin. Having learned the Ojibwe language, he became a well-known interpreter. He was known for respecting and documenting the traditional life and culture of the Anishinaabe and became the adopted son of Ke-Che-Waish-Ke, Chief Buffalo, the most respected leader of the Lake Superior bands. In 1852 Armstrong accompanied Great Buffalo and other Ojibwe leaders to Washington, D.C., to plead against the proposed forced relocation of the Ojibwe west of the Mississippi. A meeting between the chiefs and President Millard Fillmore was a success and brought a reversal of the removal order of 1849.

Armstrong did more to humanize Native Americans than nearly any white person of his day. In the end, he writes: “… the unbiased judgment of the future will be that the Indians were found good and were made bad by white people, and that the condition of things has not been one whit improved by white associates, but, on the contrary, has been degraded … [the Indians] saw that the example of the white people was far from the teachings of the missionaries, far from the truth and the pretensions of the traders, and far from justice and right.”

Through his respect and love for the tribes and his connections with Chief Buffalo’s family, Armstrong was granted access to leaders of all the Ojibwe bands. Early Life Among the Indians contains his recollections of battles with Sioux adversaries, memoirs of the Sandy Lake tragedy, accounts of the crucial treaty councils that defined modern Ojibwe life, the arrival of miners and loggers in the Ojibwe homelands, and much more about northern Wisconsin in the 19th century.

This edition also contains a special message from the 7th generation of Chief Buffalo, his great-granddaughter Sandy Gokee, Anishinaabe kwe, mother, a daughter, a student, a teacher, and water protector living on the shores of Lake Superior.

Made possible by a generous grant from the La Pointe Center.

Proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to support the Madeline Island Jingle Dress Dancer Project.

$14.99

Bad River Band Denies Renewal of Enbridge Line 5 Grant of Easement

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Barbara With

January 5, 2017

Tribe calls for decommissioning and removal at Bad River, WI

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

P.O. Box 39 Odanah, Wisconsin 54861

CONTACT: Dylan Jennings
Bad River Tribal Council DylanJennings@badriver-nsn.gov (715) 348-6594

Odanah, WI, January 5, 2017- The Bad River Tribal Council passed a formal resolution Wednesday evening, January 4th that established the Tribes decision not to renew its interests in the grant of easement for rights-of-way of Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 crude oil pipeline through the Bad River Reservation. Furthermore, it calls for the decommissioning, and removal of the pipeline from all Bad River lands and watershed.

Bad River Watershed, including the Kakagon Sloughs

Formerly known as Lakehead Pipeline Company, Enbridge sought renewal of rights of way with the Band for the existing line that is now 64 years old. 15 Individual grant of easement rights of way for Line 5 expired in 2013, however, Bad River had reacquired interests in 11 of the 15 parcels of land within the grant of easement rights of way. “As many other communities have experienced, even a minor spill could prove to be disastrous for our people. We depend upon everything that the creator put here before us to live mino-bimaadiziwin, a good and healthy life.” said Bad River Tribal Chairman Robert Blanchard. He remarks in the Tribal Council’s decision, “We will work with our native and non-native communities to make sure that Line 5 does not threaten rights of people living in our region, and we will reach out to federal, state and local officials to evaluate how to remove Line 5, and we will work with the same communities and officials to continue developing a sustainable economy that doesn’t marginalize indigenous people”

The Band has directed Tribal staff to begin planning for the Line 5 removal project development and the environmental issues/hazards that exist with removal of old pipelines including hazards response and health study, pipeline contents recycling and disposal, and surface restoration. “These environmental threats not only threaten our health, but they threaten our very way of life as Anishinaabe. We all need to be thinking of our future generations and what we leave behind for them.” Says Tribal Council Member Dylan Jennings.

With over 7,000 members, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians is located on an over 124,000-acre reservation in an area within Ashland and Iron Counties on the south shore of Lake Superior (known by the tribe as Gichi Gami). The Ojibwe people have a long and rich heritage throughout the Great Lakes region and at Odanah on Lake Superior prior to European traders, missionaries and settlers and continuing to today. Treaties signed by eleven Ojibwe Tribes ceded territory in the region, including what is currently the upper one third of the State of Wisconsin. Learn more about the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians on their website, badriver-nsn.gov.

United in Defense of the Water Endorses Joe M. Rose for Ashland County Board, District 12

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Barbara With

Mr. Rose is the incumbent and is currently serving on four committees of the Ashland County Board: Joint Impact Committee on Mining, Land and Water Conservation Committee, Zoning, and Long Range Planning Committee.

District 12 in Ashland County is unique, as it serves both Madeline Island and the Town of Sanborn, Ward 1, on the Bad River Reservation. Whoever represents this district is the voice of both island residents and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa living in Sanborn.

In our estimation, Mr. Rose is the best qualified to represent these areas for several reasons:

Jan. 26, 2012 Joe Rose at the WI State Capitol to testify against the mining bill. Photo: Rebecca Kemble

Mr. Rose grew up on the Bad River Reservation and has served on the Ashland County Board in the past. His experience with both tribal and non-tribal governments, and his love of the water and resources instilled in him growing up on Lake Superior as a tribal member have given him the unique ability to represent native and non-native alike.

Mr. Rose has ties to Madeline Island that go back 500 years.

Mr. Rose has consistently fought to protect the resources. Unlike his opponent, Mike Stark, a Scott Walker supporter and Republican who backed Gogebic Taconite and their attempts to take over the Penokee Hills with a 22-mile open-pit mountaintop removal iron ore mine, Mr. Rose has stood up his entire life to fight against such atrocities. In the first video below, Mr. Rose outlines his consistent stand for 35 years against a multitude of threats to the safety and health of the area.

Mr. Stark has since admitted his mistake in aggressively pushing through the “Responsible Mining” resolution while serving on the County Board in 2011 without consulting his constituents. UDW feels, however, that any future misjudgments of this nature could be devastating to the health and well-being of District 12.

Reicks Concentrated Animal Feed Operation. This is a huge disaster looming in Ashland County. A 26,000 hog CAFO is on the verge of being permitted in Eileen that would destroy the water of our region. Mr. Rose not only understands this imminent danger and explains it clearly in the video below, but is already working hard on several fronts to prevent the destruction of Lake Superior that would inevitably happen if this CAFO is allowed to move forward. He is a strong supporter of local control and understands the power of the Treaties.

February 2014, standing united in defense of the water, with Edith Leoso at a press conference in the Penokees. Photo: Rebecca Kemble

Mr. Rose is Chairman of the Anishinaabeg Environmental Protection Association. This sub-committee was formed by the Bad River Tribal Council, which works to protect the land and water for all. With Mr. Rose we have two governments standing up for us.

Mr. Rose has working relationships with all of the county’s State legislators, including Sen. Janet Bewley, Assemblywoman Beth Meyers, former Senator Bob Jauch, and State tribal leaders. He also is able to bring the Ashland County Board together and has used these relationships to broker support for important issues. Board Chair Pete Russo has said his presence on the Board is “invaluable” and has strong support from the Native American community.

Mr. Rose was Professor of Native American Studies for many years at Northland College. He has an excellent track record as an effective educator.

For these reasons and many more, United in Defense of the Water feels he is the best candidate to represent District 12.

Be sure you are registered to vote:
https://myvote.wi.gov/Voter/VoterSearchScreen.aspx

Information on the proper ID:
http://bringit.wi.gov/

For more information, contact:

The League of Women Voters for Ashland and Bayfield Counties

Town of Sanborn

Town of La Pointe

Joe M. Rose speaking at the candidates forum, March 27, 2016 at La Pointe Town Hall.

GTac sends message to investors: Penokee Hills unmineable.

Posted on March 28, 2015 by Barbara With

March 28, 2015

On March 27, 2015, Gogebic Taconite (GTac) sent a letter to the Wisconsin DNR withdrawing their pre-application for a mining permit. Earlier, they had announced that the Penokee Hills of northern Wisconsin were “unmineable” due to wetlands, and said they would be closing their Hurley, WI offices and abandoning the idea of investing in an open-pit mountaintop removal mine here.

This victory for northern Wisconsin and concerned citizens everywhere was due to a combination of circumstances that ultimately proved once and for all that the boom and bust of the mining industry is too great a risk to the economy, environment and democracy of the region. Some of the factors for GTac’s failure to mine include:

The manner in which GTac conducted business

GTAC armed security forces in northern Wisconsin. Photo: Rob Ganson

Besides the $700,000 pay off to Scott Walker, the use of an unlicensed private paramilitary company to guard the mine site, the smear campaigns against scientists conducted by extreme pro-mining propaganda organizations, the death threats against concerned citizens, and being allowed to author the new mining legislation created great risk for the region.

Many never believed GTac was a real mining company. Organized as an LLC in only 2010 and having no previous iron ore experience, GTac did not behave like a mining company. Authentic taconite mining companies don’t:

· Hire an official wanted for crimes against the environment in Spain;
· Claim to know the deposit with only a few hundred core holes, when thousands are necessary;
· Hire a public relations person who only makes people angry and appears totally ignorant of mining issues and technology;
· Bulk sample using loose rock in an old hole with no knowledge of its origin;
· Put forth a mine plan which shows a pit diagram which misses much of the deposit;
· Tell blatant lies in public legislative sessions—lies which contradict their own previous statements;
· Deny the existence of minerals in the deposit that have been documented to be there for over 100 years;
· Have only a handful of employees on a project which would require hundreds;
· Use an economic study based on laws and conditions in a different state and that shows only half the picture;
· Put forth a mine plan which does not show any water storage pond/facility, when tens of millions of gallons are needed every day;
· Say they plan to dry stack their tailings, when this method has never been used in a wet climate, and propose a pile hundreds of feet high when 35 feet is pretty much a limit;
· Say they will dry stack, which is the most expensive method of tailings disposal, and at the same time say that they will be cost efficient.
· Not publish their test results (Aguila, Copperwood, Highland Copper, Eagle Mines—all published their core test results either online or in the local papers);
· Not know the extent of wetlands before performing expensive core drilling and bulk sampling;
· Contradict their own consultants while in meetings with the ACOE, DNR and EPA, resulting in those regulators telling them to come back when they get serious;
· Drill only a handful of water monitoring holes, when hundreds would be required, and never bother to install instrumentation in those that they did drill;
· Propose to convey and handle wet materials (tailings) 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in a climate in which the temperature goes below -35F;
· Say they are pulling out of Ashland County, leaving almost 1/3 of the ore in the ground, because the local county board chair is “mean”;
· Get caught bribing the governor to the tune of $700,000;
· Suggest that they are going to file a permit soon, when years of investigation are still required;
· Promise 700 jobs but not be able to produce a single job description …*

This list could go on and on, but this is more than enough to know now that they were never serious about mining iron ore.

Residents of the Lake Superior basin gather in Winter 2014 to spell out “SOS Protect Our Water” with their bodies on the ice. Photo: David Doering

The power of the people
Lake Superior has always been special to those who live near her. The Lake Superior Chippewa Bands have for generations cared for the resources, particularly water and air. Natives and non-native alike living in the basin joined together to stand united in defense of the water. The new mining law, ignoring the voice of the people and putting all resources at risk, could not usurp the power of so many individuals working together on so many levels to protect the water.

All across the state, people became educated about the Penokee Hills and GTac. Frank Koehn from Save the Waters Edge and the Penokee Hills Education Project (PHEP) traveled the state with others giving presentations to local communities. Bad River potlucks became meeting grounds for action planning. The Harvest Education Learning Project (HELP) opened in the hills near the mine site and hosted thousands of visitors from all over the world.

Downstate, Madison Action for Mining Alternatives (MAMA) was formed to unite the north and the south in efforts to protect the water, not just from iron ore but sand frac mining overtaking central and southern Wisconsin. Educational events were held in Milwaukee, Madison, Wausau, Eau Claire and all across the state to raise awareness and unite concerned citizens.

As we reached out to our friends and neighbors about the vital issues of Lake Superior and Bad River water, we also increased awareness about the growing global water shortage.

Falling world iron ore prices and divestment of fossil fuel
International iron ore prices continue to fall. When the Wisconsin legislature first introduced GTac’s mining bill, prices were considerably higher. In 2014, they dropped by 49%.

According to scientists familiar with the iron ore in the Penokees, it is a low-quality formation and would have taken much more effort and expense to extract the ore from the ore body. Add to that the cost of mitigating the abundant wetlands, and it does not make a profitable investment.

The Work Continues
We must continue to stand strong together united in defense of the water. Mining won’t go away, and there are new threats to the water by way of tar sands pipelines, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO), sand frac mining. According to NASA, California has about one year of fresh water left. This global crisis will reach everyone at some point. So be inspired to do something to help your local community to protect the water. Attend county board meetings, educate your neighbors, become involved with a local citizen group and continue to stay apprised of what is needed to stand united in defense of the water.

* written by Richard Theide, Iron County.

United In Defense of The Water

Water is Life

Tag Archives: Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa