Michelle Halley of National Wildlife Federation to give keynote address at annual FOLK meeting Oct. 24

HANCOCK -- FOLK (Friends of the Land of Keweenaw) will hold its Annual Meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012, at the Orpheum Theater at 426 Quincy St. in Hancock.  The public is invited.

Michelle Halley of the National Wildlife Federation will speak on the topic "Metallic sulfide mining laws and regulations in Michigan and the Upper Great Lakes: Do they protect our environment and our health and well-being?"

Ms. Halley is an attorney and the Lake Superior Project Manager for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). She has represented NWF and other clients in litigation at Michigan appellate courts and the Supreme Court. Recently, she was involved in the complex litigation regarding the Rio Tinto/Kennecott Eagle Mine. She also provided oversight of the important NWF study "Sulfide Mining Regulation in the Great Lakes: A Comparative Analysis of Sulfide Mining Regulation in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ontario."*

The Program is as follows:
6 p.m. -- Gathering and Refreshments
6:30 p.m. -- Keynote Address by Michelle Halley
7:45 p.m. -- Membership Meeting.

FOLK, founded in 1989, helped our citizens carry out a grassroots campaign that blocked the construction of a pulp mill on Keweenaw Bay. 

FOLK, in response to the potentially large scale resumption of new mining in the western U.P., has now organized the FOLK Mining Education and Empowerment Campaign. 

The two purposes of the Campaign are to (1) ensure that new mining in the western Upper Peninsula will not place at risk the environmental, economic, and human health of the region, and (2) to empower our citizens to participate knowledgeably and effectively in the exploration and permitting process for new mines.

FOLK has available on its recently inaugurated mining education website (folkminingeducation.info) a report on the relationship of mineral rights to property rights. The report is of great value to property owners. Also available is an extensive collection of other information responding to the concerns our citizens have about the possible resumption of mining in our region.

For more information, contact Scott Rutherford at hancockscott@charter.net.

* Editor's Note: Click here to read this NWF report.