Category Archives: Public Land

Write the Marquette County Road Commission: Say No to the Woodland Road

Posted on October 12, 2010 by | Leave a comment

The Marquette Couty Road Commission will announce its DECISION on whether to pursue the development of a new county/Kennecott haul road on Monday, October 18th. 

Public comment will be taken.
MCRC Regular Board Meeting
October 18th – 6:30 pm
Ishpeming Township Hall

This road would go through one of our largest roadless areas.

If you cannot attend you can send  Public comment \to the  Marquette County Road Commission via email, phone or mail:
1610 N. Second Street
Ishpeming, MI  49849
Phone: (906) 486-4491
Fax: (906) 486-4493
Email: lbrogan@marqroad.org

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Posted in Public Land

Please Attend the Public Hearing on the Woodland Road Thursday, October 7th at 6:30 pm

Posted on October 6, 2010 by | 2 Comments

There will be a public hearing this Thursday, October 7th at 6:30 pm – location the Ishpeming Township Hall – 1575 U.S. 41 West, Ishpeming, MI.

The subject of the hearing is to take public comment relative to the need for a NEW public county road from U.S. 41 north to the AAA road.  We understand that the county is not presenting any alternatives – but rather just wants to query the public about the NEED for a new county road.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Native American Rights, Public Land, Uncategorized

Tribal mine protester gets delay of sentence

Posted on September 28, 2010 by | 4 Comments

MARQUETTE – Keweenaw Bay Indian Community member Charlotte Loonsfoot received a 30-day delay of sentence today on a misdemeanor trespass charge involving a May protest of the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company at Eagle Rock.

Loonsfoot, 37, of Baraga pleaded no contest today to the charge in Marquette County District Court. If she abides by all terms of the 30-day delay, the prosecution has agreed to dismiss the charge.

Click here to read the entire Mining Journal  article

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Posted in Native American Rights, Public Land

Michigan Regulators Unsure How To Enforce Changes to Rio Tinto’s Eagle Mine

Posted on September 21, 2010 by | Leave a comment

article from Headwaters News:

Marquette, MI – Since earlier this month Rio Tinto has been burying electric lines underneath County Road AAA in northern Marquette County.  The underground lines will connect the company’s Eagle Mine with new power lines running on County Road 550, leading to a coal-fired power station in Marquette.

According to regulators at the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE), connecting the electric line to the mine site would be illegal.  Or, it isn’t.  It really depends who you talk with.

While Rio Tinto stretches the boundaries of Michigan’s new nonferrous mining law in the construction of its Eagle Mine, state regulators seem unsure how to apply the law, and the law’s interpretation seems to change from day to day.

Read the rest at Headwaters News.

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Posted in Public Land

Attend the Marquette, County Road Commission Meeting

Posted on September 19, 2010 by | Leave a comment

County Road Commission Meeting, Monday September 20, 2010

The Woodland Road will be a subject at this week’s Marquette County Road Commission.  The Board meets on the third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m.; unless otherwise noted in the schedule. The meetings are held in the Board Room at the Road Commission’s Administrative Office located at 1610 North Second Street in Ishpeming, Michigan.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Public Land

Kennecott power project debated

Posted on September 15, 2010 by | Leave a comment

BIG BAY – A dispute has erupted over an ongoing Alger Delta Electric Cooperative project to run power lines to the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company mine site in Michigamme Township.

Under a permit from the Marquette County Road Commission, Alger Delta recently began burying electric lines, running roughly 13 miles from Marquette County Road 550 to the mine site.

Click here to read the entire article

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Posted in Public Land

1st Month At Camp

Posted on August 30, 2010 by | 5 Comments

This month at camp has been very interesting. We had 10 people at camp for a week and our friends from Minnesota had to go home and take care of their things. One of them stayed with his dog Yucca, he is a very good watch dog and he listens to Micah very respectfully.  Art came to help us for a few weeks and he has to go do a 13 month walk in October. Michelle and Tom also joined us for a couple of weeks and they are really good fisherman, we had fish fry a few times when they were here. They also have beautiful and well-behaved children that spent a couple of days with us to and we couldn’t ask for better people to come out to camp with us.

My 17 yr. old daughter Shauna, my 16 yr. old  son Chris, my 6 yr. old son Virgil, my 1 & 1/2  yr. old son Robert have been staying at camp with me. I have only went home 4 days out of the month but get to see them often. Virgil has been staying at camp with us the most. He loves it here, the things he wants to do the most everyday is fish and split wood:) Jerry, Robert’s dad brings my children back and forth from camp as much as he can. He helps us get wood, water, and food every few days. We are going to get married in October. Continue reading →

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Posted in Native American Rights, Public Land

Yellow Dog Watershed’s Annual Meeting with Drew Nelson and Friends Was a Blast

Posted on August 29, 2010 by | Leave a comment

A few of us attended the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve’s annual meeting tonight. It was a lot of fun. The UP’s very own  Gold Mine Girls and Michael Waite opened for Drew Nelson.  The concert and song writing workshop were co-sponsored by the Peter White Public Library.

Drew encouraged us all to keep fighting and said something like, my grandpa use to tell me that there are things that you do, but you don’t always know what your ‘do’ does, so keep doing it. He assured us that all of our efforts to protect the Yellow Dog and Eagle Rock and to protect the water have ripple effects that we may not realize.

The Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve (YDWP) is an environmental organization comprised of grassroots individuals who take environmental ethics to heart. They focus on informing the public about the watershed, conducting sound science, and protecting the resources from threats like sulfide mining.  Emily Whittaker, director of the YDWP encouraged everyone to keep visiting our public lands and the rivers on the Yellow Dog Plains.

Click here to read more about the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve or to donate to help them continue their much needed efforts on the Yellow Dog Plains

Click here to listen to Drew Nelson sing Eagle Rock (song for the people)

Opening Act: Gold Mine Girls

Opening Act Michael Waite

Drew Nelson

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Posted in Native American Rights, Public Land

Native Plant Walk along Woodland Road

Posted on August 24, 2010 by | Leave a comment

NORTHWOODS NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY OUTING

Proposed Kennecott haul road and North Country Trail
Michigamme Highlands, Marquette County, Michigan
Saturday, August 28, 10 AM Eastern (9 AM Central).

Leaders:
Emily Whittaker, Executive Director, Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve
Steve Garske, Invasive Plant Specialist, GLIFWC

This trip will begin near the southern end of the proposed mining haul road through the scenic Michigamme Highlands. We’ll drive the southern 2/3 of this gravel road. At the north end of the road we’ll take a hike along a seldom-visited and very scenic portion of the North Country Trail. This trail runs through an amazing variety of natural habitats ranging from open rock outcrops to northern hardwood forest and upland white pine and cedar. At the far end of the trail, we’ll visit a forest of  red oak and white pine, where a plant never before seen on an NNPS trip grows in perfusion! This area is also the heart of Michigan’s moose range, so there is a (small) chance that we could see a moose. This trip will also provide a chance to see a little of what the big mining companies are planning for this still-isolated and wild part of the UP.  Continue reading →

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Posted in Native American Rights, Public Land

Drew Nelson Headlines Yellow Dog Watershed’s Annual Meeting

Posted on August 24, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Message From the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve:

This year our annual meeting will be quite different from past years. On August 28, 2010, we will be joining up with Drew Nelson, a singer/songwriter from Michigan who is touring internationally and nationally, for an evening of fantastic music and fun. Our 15th annual meeting is co-sponsored by the Peter White Public Library and features a songwriting workshop for teens and adults at 3-5pm in the Community Room of the Peter White Library. Drew will assist participants in creating their own lyrical vision and offer encouragement. At 6pm, the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve staff and Board of Directors will meet to have their annual review of successes and outline of future work. YDWP members are encouraged to come and participate. There will be refreshments and a vote for new members of the Board. At 7:30pm, both Mike Waite and Drew Nelson will play for us for the rest of the evening and talk about how the people, community, and groups like ours can come together to solve larger problems. Donations are accepted at the door and the event is open to all. If you have questions, please call 906-345-9223 or email ydwp@yellowdogwatershed.org.

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Posted in Public Land