Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative: Iron County (Wis.) residents concerned about land lease to mining company

By Rebecca Kemble

Posted June 6, 2013, on Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative

Reprinted in part with permission.

IRON COUNTY, WIS. -- The Iron County Citizens Forum held a public meeting at the Oma Town Hall on June 5 to receive information on County Forest Law and the Iron County option to lease contract with Gogebic Taconite, a newly formed company with plans for a large mountain top removal iron mine in the region.

This map shows the proposed first phase of the mine and the Iron County lease area. Click here for larger version. Map by Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) courtesy Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative.

The meeting was organized by Terry Daulton, who called the first gathering of the citizens forum in April, 2013, to "provide Iron County citizens with a venue for learning, discussion and participation leading to activities and events that affect Iron County residents in a significant way, with a special emphasis on natural and cultural resources and sustainable development."

The initiative was stimulated by the passage of an iron mining bill earlier in the year that eases the way for a 22-mile long mountain top removal project proposed by Gogebic Taconite in the Penokee Hills near the shores of Lake Superior. The first 4-mile phase of the mine would be located primarily in Iron County. ...

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See also: " (Wis.) DNR grants early permit for exploratory drilling in the Penokee Hills," posted May 31, 2013, on Midwest Environmental Advocates Web site.