Published April 10, 2024, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Reprinted here in part with permission
GOGEBIC COUNTY, Mich. -- The Presque Isle River carves through the southwest tip of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, leaving dozens of waterfalls in its wake before meeting the shore of Lake Superior.
The Midwest's largest tract of old-growth forest, undisturbed for generations, looms on either side of the river's final miles. It’s one of only a few places in the region to escape into the wild.
People from nearby cities, like Milwaukee, Madison, Chicago and the Twin Cities, venture to the rugged area to see the dark night sky, hear the sounds of the forest, and take in the vastness of Lake Superior.
Environmentalists say that a proposed mine -- slated to extract copper as close as 100 feet from the lake -- is putting all that at risk.
If it goes as planned, the Copperwood Mine will become the closest metallic sulfide mine to Lake Superior to date.
The mine will sit less than 30 miles east of the Wisconsin- Michigan border, and just west of Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, one of the few state parks in the country with wilderness status. The mine will also hug the North Country Trail, which extends roughly 4,800 miles from North Dakota to Vermont.
Highland Copper, the Canadian company behind the mine, has leased the mineral rights to a 3.5 square mile area where it estimates it will extract nearly 65 million pounds of copper over the course of 11 to 14 years. According to the latest feasibility study, the start of construction is slated for later this year.
The controversy over the Copperwood Mine ramped up last year as the company began site preparations, clearing a swath of forest, filling wetlands and permanently rerouting streams next to the North Country Trail.
What worries mine opponents is that, while the Quebec-based company is up to date on its permits, it still has hoops to get through in securing final permits before it can begin operation. The company also hasn’t made it clear where it will draw water from to operate the mine, although the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, or EGLE, said the company intends to look at groundwater as an option. According to a 2018 environmental assessment, the mine will need roughly 430,000 gallons of water per day.
"We’re already seeing an applicant trying to essentially assert control over the world we live in," said Noah Saperstein, environmental justice specialist with the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s Treaty Natural Resources Department.... CLICK HERE to read the rest of this article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel online.
