Open Letter To The DNR: Will They Listen?

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CITIZENS SPEAK OUT AS EAGLE MINE REQUESTS ANOTHER MINERAL LEASE TO DIG UP MORE LAND ON THE YELLOW DOG PLAINS

Marquette, MI – As the mineral hungry Eagle Mine asks for additional privileges to dig up more land in the Yellow Dog Wilderness, the DNR has an opportunity to show local citizens who they are advocating for: profit-minded shareholders or the precious resources and lifestyle residents and tourists alike enjoy in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Aerial photo showing the “Mineral Lease” land in question. (photo courtesy of Jeremiah Eagle Eye)

Karen Maidlow, Property Analyst, Minerals Management
Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
P.O. Box 30452
Lansing, MI 48909

Dear Karen Maidlow,

This letter is with regard to land owned by the State of Michigan on the Yellow Dog Plains and next to the Yellow Dog River in Michigamme Township, Marquette County (40 acres, NE1/4 SE1/4, Sec.13, T50N, R29W).

I am a property owner on the west side of Eagle Mine and also on the east side. We have owned our property since 1949, and built a seasonal home there. The Eagle Mine mine has taken away the wilderness we have previously enjoyed.

I feel the DNR is mandated to care for the resources on Michigan-owned land for all citizens of Michigan, both living and future generations. Michigan is known throughout the country for our valuable natural resources.

You recently stated in an interview, “All we’re doing is saying that if there’s activity on state-owned land, we need to be paid for it. That’s what the lease does.” You must understand, however, that this public land is more valuable because its minerals have not been leased, because natural resources on the surface are not undermined or threatened by mine activity. What value does the DNR assign to silence, to the tranquility of being in a wilderness area, to the experience of seeing wild animals and sleeping to the sound of wolves howling at night? What value does the DNR assign to the health of the Yellow Dog River, spring-fed lakes, or a drink of pure, cold spring-water? How do you put a price-tag on the experience of a family picking a full pail of wild blueberries, kneeling in soft reindeer lichen, enjoying pine-fresh air unpolluted by industry?

Blueberry blossoms from the Yellow Dog Wilderness a popular place for blueberry picking in the late summer season. (photo courtesy of Kathleen Heideman)

Clearly, Eagle Mine has removed value from public land. They have taken away the resources I describe above, along with their ore. Their profits go to stockholders in other states and countries with precious little benefit for the citizens of Michigan. Future generations will not have the pleasure of breathing clean air and enjoying pure water. The mine has drawn up so much water from the aquifer that we cannot hand-pump our needs for the cabin. Animals we used to enjoy seeing are dislocated from their places of feeding and nesting: the mine already occupies so much acreage with noise, pollution and vehicle activity that our wildlife are forced from their native habitats. By allowing more mineral exploration, the DNR is not caring for Michigan’s natural resources. The DNR will be leaving our children with holes filled with waste rock and tailings to replace the minerals extracted from below. Will our water ever be the same again?

The Yellow Dog Plains are home to many such as this Spruce Grouse. (photo courtesy of Kathleen Heideman)

Test-drilling for minerals on state-owned land must cease! The DNR must recognize that protecting all of our state’s natural resources is more than seeking glad-handing and backslapping from corporate executives. The constitution and laws of the State of Michigan are intended to serve the public, not the whims of Eagle Mine or Lundin Mining!

The DNR is not obligated to lease additional mineral rights simply because a mine requests them. Eagle Mine will be gone when they obtain what they came for, leaving a barren landscape in their wake. Michigan’s citizens deserve better. Our regulatory agencies must stop serving profit-minded shareholders and begin to preserve and protect the experience of wilderness as it was before the mine — for all to enjoy.

I am asking you to deny Eagle Mine’s request for a new mineral lease on the Yellow Dog Plains (NE1/4 SE1/4, Sec.13, T50N, R29W). Please hold a public hearing concerning this lease request.

Sincerely,

June E. Rydholm
November 8, 2014