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(MADISON) Chairman Gus Frank of the Forest County Potawatomi Community said he is honored to receive the Gathering Waters Land Conservation Leadership Award here tonight from Gathering Waters, a coalition of Wisconsin land trusts.
“The constant appreciation our tribe has received for our purchase of the proposed Crandon mine site is a reminder that protecting our natural resources is not just a priority for the Potawatomi – it’s a priority for people around Wisconsin. All of Wisconsin should celebrate the victory in stopping the destruction of this pristine site at the headwaters of the Wolf River.”
Gathering Waters says its annual awards ceremony is an opportunity to recognize and thank people who protect the places that make Wisconsin special. Chairman Frank, along with Chairwoman Sandra Rachal of the Sokaogon Chippewa Community, are being honored for their tribes’ purchase of the proposed metallic mine site. That purchase, using Indian gaming dollars, provided an innovative and dramatic end to a controversy that had continued for decades. The tribes purchased the mine site and mining company on October 23, 2003 for $16.5 million and then withdrew the mining permit applications.
The natural resources of the mine site are vital to the culture and traditions of the Potawatomi people, Chairman Frank said. “Our tribe and the state of Wisconsin are losing more of these places every year. We must protect the natural areas we have left for our children,” he said.
Chairman Frank said without gaming revenues from its casinos, his tribe could not have afforded the technical experts, attorneys and public affairs it needed to successfully end the threat of the proposed mine. “Indian gaming gave us the resources to prove the dangers of the proposed mine and to share that knowledge with regulators and the public,” he said.
But the tribal leader also said the victory would not have been possible without a broad coalition of mine opponents. Potawatomi, Sokaogon Chippewa and Menominee opponents were joined by hunters, anglers, business owners, tourists, local residents, environmentalists and political leaders in the lengthy fight against the mining proposal. “Many people share our belief in protecting the environment. This award is an honor to many people who never gave up during the long years of struggle. This is a victory for us to share together.”
The possibility of mining at the site had created controversy since 1969, when Exxon began mineral exploration south of Crandon. An application to mine at the site was filed by Exxon in 1980 but withdrawn in 1986. A new proposal to mine zinc and copper at the site was filed in 1994 and substantially revised in 1998. However, the applicant had not yet submitted enough technical information to the DNR for the application to be deemed complete at the time of the purchase by the tribes. Permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were also needed to mine.
In April of 2003, Northern Wisconsin Resources Group had become the sixth owner of the mining project when it bought it from BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company. But the new owner quickly learned about the many environmental and technical problems raised by the Potawatomi, government regulators and others. The owner sold the project and nearly 6,000 acres to the two tribes in October for $16.5 million.
“The proposed mine would have destroyed wetlands, streams, rice beds and forests and left toxic wastes in dumps that would eventually fail. It was a terrible proposal for a beautiful place. As the new owners, we can now protect that place for future generations to experience,” Chairman Frank said.
The Potawatomi say the mine, as well as 16 million tons of wastes in a waste dump, would have been never-ending sources of groundwater contamination. The transportation, use and disposal of hundreds of thousands of tons of hazardous substances, including cyanide, would have also caused significant risks of surface and groundwater contamination. Devastating flooding, dehydration and other impacts to hundreds of acres of wetlands would have been cause by the mine, and tens of thousands of tons of sediments would have been dumped into the now-pristine wetlands and streams at the site.
