Representatives from the Protect the Porkies campaign delivered a petition of 250,000 signatures and a letter signed by over 70 organizations to the Governor’s office and to members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, urging state leaders to reject the SOAR funding to the proposed Copperwood Mine, which is a Canadian company’s plan to mine next to and potentially underneath Porcupine Mountains State Park, ship the copper out of country, and leave behind over 30 million tons of mine waste on topography sloping into Lake Superior.
“Our message was met with enthusiasm by leaders from both sides of the aisle,” said Tom Grotewohl, founder of the campaign and resident of Gogebic County where the proposed mine site is located. “Democrats are traditionally more concerned about the environment and Republicans with wasteful government spending, and this checks both boxes: a handout of $50 million to a failing foreign company to turn one our most beloved and ecologically vital areas into a sacrifice zone for a contaminating boom-and-bust operation, all for the sake of copper shipped out of country?”
“This is not a partisan issue — this is common sense. Proud Michiganders fought for decades to get the old growth forest of the Porcupine Mountains protected from logging and mining interests, and now that this incredible place is being threatened again with noise and light pollution, subterranean blasting, heavy industrial traffic, and the rollout of the power grid which would open the floodgates for development well beyond an 11-year mine right next to mainland Michigan’s largest designated Wilderness Area, it’s time for us all to step up, carry the torch and respect the legacy of past generations.”
Along with the sign-on letter for organizations, also delivered was a letter endorsed by one hundred local residents, intended to combat the “letters of support” submitted by the mining company, “most of which came from a handful of sorely misinformed political and business leaders and not from the regular people who cherish outdoor recreation and old growth ecology,” Grotewohl said.
The public petition has picked up nearly 200,000 signatures in just the last three days — most of which come from Michigan residents — in large part due to a viral video gaining over 4.5 million views. The surge in momentum comes just one week before Highland Copper, the mining company, is slated to speak in a hearing at the House Appropriations Committee next Wednesday.
“Many lawmakers were surprised to learn our information — such as the fact that only 1.45% of extracted material would be copper and 98.55% would be waste, to be stored in a vulnerable waste facility which a model shows could rupture and send a surge of mine waste directly into Lake Superior and the State Park; or such as the fact that mining in general and copper mining specifically is far more likely to harm the economy in the mid to long term (1, 2). They’d mainly heard from the mining company, and when there’s tens of millions of dollars on the line, sometimes the full story doesn’t get told. When the truth does come to light, many are willing to change their tune: Brock Tessman — President of NMU, who had formerly endorsed the project — was quick to rescind his letter in support of the project, and we’re hopeful that the House Appropriations Committee which approved the grant back in May will choose to stand with Michigan interests this time around.”
Campaign records indicate that in recent weeks over 5,000 individuals have written and called the legislators. “We were told that we’re breaking through the noise,” Grotewohl said. “In the House Appropriations Committee hearing next week, we expect the mining company will attempt to do some damage control. Already they’re claiming they aren’t going to mine underneath the Park, despite these meeting notes between the company and the DNR proving that they intend to mine beneath Section 6 of the State Park, but if that permit is issued and the precedent is set, they would surely seek to mine deeper into Park boundaries. We ask our lawmakers to remember that, when attempting to discern which information to trust, it’s crucial to consider the role of money: one side has a $50 million grant on the line; the other side has only our love of a truly Pure Michigan.”
Outdoor recreation contributes over $12 billion to Michigan’s economy annually; mining, around $1 billion. In addition to being mainland Michigan’s largest old growth forest, Porcupine Mountains State Park has been ranked as the most beautiful State Park in the country by Yelp and TripAdvisor.
The Protect the Porkies campaign is backed by a coalition of local residents, outdoor enthusiasts, and environmental groups who believe the mine would harm Michigan’s $12 billion outdoor recreation economy for the promise of short-term mining jobs that may never fully materialize.
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