DEQ hearing on Back 40 wetlands permit attracts nearly 500; Menominee Tribe lawsuit seeks federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction

By Michele Bourdieu

The large gym at Stephenson High School was filled with about 500 people attending the four-hour Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality Hearing Jan. 23, 2018, on Aquila Resources' Back 40 mining project application for wetlands permitting. (Photo © and courtesy Emilio Amador Reyes)

STEPHENSON, Mich. -- Nearly 100 concerned citizens, both Native and non-Native, spoke during the Jan. 23, 2018, Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) public hearing on the wetlands permit for the Back 40, Aquila Resources' projected open-pit sulfide mine, for gold and other metals, near the Menominee River, which forms the border between Michigan and Wisconsin, not far from Lake Michigan.

Many speakers were from the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, who have opposed the Back 40 project for years and who filed a lawsuit on Jan. 22, one day before the hearing. The lawsuit is a complaint against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for failing to follow the Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting regulations by delegating wetlands permitting to the State of Michigan.*

While a few speakers defended the mining company's application, the majority spoke -- many with passion -- in opposition to the wetlands permit application and the mining project itself, citing harmful impacts not only to the river and adjacent wetlands but also to historical and cultural resources, including archaeological sites in or near the proposed mine site.

Regina Chaltry and her daughter, Grace, spoke from the heart against the mine and for the water. Regina asked DEQ to deny the permit. She said she opposes the project because Aquila has applied for only an open pit mine while promising investors an underground mine, which underscores all calculations of waste rock, discharge water and tailings.

Regina Chaltry speaks at the hearing against the Back 40 mining project. (Photo © and courtesy Marisa VanZile);

"Our family has had a cabin on the river for more than 70 years in the current location and spend a lot of time of the river," Regina said.

Grace captured the hearts of the audience with her brief statement:

Young Grace Chaltry speaks out for the water. (Video © and courtesy Mark Doremus)

Two members of the Menominee Tribe who spoke at the beginning of the hearing were Ada Deer, former Menominee tribal chair, and Guy Reiter, Menominee tribal organizer. Here are some brief excerpts from their speeches:

Ada Deer, former Menominee tribal chair, speaks in opposition to Aquila's Back 40 project, comparing it to resource extraction from indigenous lands worldwide. (Video © and courtesy Emilio Amador Reyes)

Guy Reiter asked the people wearing blue shirts for solidarity in protecting the water to stand. He expressed the Menominee people's resolve to resist exploitation and asked the DEQ to apply environmental justice to tribal interests. Reiter also said he brought more than 200 letters, many from Menominee youth, to deliver to the DEQ.

"Our will will not be broken," Reiter said. "We'll stand on the shoulders of our ancestors that are in the ground that Aquila wants to dig up out of the ground."

Guy Reiter, after joking about the meaning of his name, states the tribe's determination not to give up. (Video © and courtesy Emilio Amador Reyes)

Crystal Chapman Chevalier, a Menominee tribal legislator, said her comments were as an individual tribal member. She addressed the DEQ's past failures to protect Michigan's environment:

Crystal Chapman Chevalier challenges the DEQ to do their job of protecting "Pure Michigan." (Video © and courtesy Mark Doremus)

Kathleen Heideman of Marquette, Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC) board member, offered an example of fundamental problems with the Aquila’s feasibility analysis. UPEC, through their Mining Action Group, had hired two independent technical reviewers to study the wetland permit application.

One reviewer, the Center for Science in Public Participation, stated the following in their report: "The mining permit and wetland permit are inextricably linked. The location and size of proposed mine site facilities as presented in the November 2017 Wetland Permit Application are different from those presented in the Mining Permit Application, and pose risks to wetlands that have not been analyzed."**

Kathleen Heideman of UPEC cites an example of technical problems with the wetlands permit found by an independent reviewer. She also asks DEQ to deny the permit and submits reports by two independent technical reviewers.**(Video © and courtesy Mark Doremus)

Al Gedicks, executive secretary of the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, spoke about methylmercury, noting its absence in the 2,650-page application. He explained how Aquila's project as proposed would add to bioaccumulation of methylmercury, a neurotoxin, which would impact fish, wildlife and human health.

Al Gedicks, executive secretary of the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, points out some of the harmful effects of methylmercury, noting the absence of any mention of the neurotoxin in Aquila's proposal. (Video © and courtesy Mark Doremus)

Raj Shukla, executive director of River Alliance of Wisconsin, a water advocacy group, pointed out the inconsistencies and unknowns in Aquila's proposal

Raj Shukla, executive director of River Alliance of Wisconsin notes inconsistencies in Aquila's wetland permit application. He says the true size and scope of the project is not clear. Shukla says his organization joins with those opposing both the wetlands permit and the project itself. (Video © and courtesy Mark Doremus)

While most of the speakers at the hearing opposed the permit, a few did speak in support of it.

Tony Retaskie of the Upper Peninsula Construction Council asked the DEQ to permit Aquila to go forward with the mine because of the need for "family sustaining jobs."

Lois Ellis, Dickinson Area Economic Development Alliance director of economic development, said the Alliance urges approval of Aquila's latest project application and they expect DEQ to do a careful review of the application.

Steve Casey, DEQ Water Resources Division Upper Peninsula District supervisor, who conducted the hearing, asked the crowd to be respectful of all speakers.

"I was very pleased that the crowd was respectful," Casey told Keweenaw Now.

He said 88 people spoke with a three-minute limit, but there was not enough time to hear from 45 others who had filled out cards with their intention to speak. He noted the frequent applause, mostly for those opposing the project, took time from those who didn't have a chance to speak before the hearing ended at 10 p.m.

"It may have intimidated some with different viewpoints," Casey said.

He noted some speakers handed in their comments and there may have been others who handed in written comments even though they did not speak.

Today, Feb. 2, 2018, is the deadline for written comments on the Aquila application for the permit that includes Part 303 Wetlands and Part 301 Inland Lakes and Streams.

Casey was assisted at the front table by Jarrod Nelson, DEQ environmental analyst, and Kristi Wilson, DEQ environmental quality specialist.

Ginny Pennala, DEQ Water Resources Division supervisor of the Resource Unit for the Upper Peninsula, attended the hearing but was not seated at the front table.

Pennala said DEQ encourages people to submit written comments on the MI Waters Web link here. Note that the link probably will not be available after today, Feb. 2.

Kristi Wilson is the main DEQ reviewer of this application since she has been studying it for some time, Pennala explained, noting the review would be a team effort.***

However, this application requires oversight by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) section 404 of the Clean Water Act.

"On a project of this magnitude the EPA has mandatory oversight," Pennala told Keweenaw Now this week.

The EPA also relies on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in this review under the Clean Water Act requirements.
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Menominee Tribe files lawsuit against EPA, Army Corps

On Jan. 22, the day before the hearing, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit to address the failure of the EPA and the Army Corps to comply with Clean Water Act requirements concerning jurisdiction and permitting for dredged or fill material in waters of the United States.

Michigan is one of two states (the other is New Jersey) where the EPA delegates regulation of wetlands to the state except in the case of projects that come under certain categories of the Clean Water Act (such as this one) that require mandatory federal oversight.

However, the position of the Menominee Tribe is that the federal agencies should not merely review the project but should take control of the permitting process for the Clean Water Act 404 permit.

During the Jan. 23 hearing, Gary Besaw, chairman of the Menominee Nation, referred to the recent lawsuit against the EPA and the Army Corps.

"The Menominee believe that under the Clean Water Act the State of Michigan cannot assume Clean Water Act permitting authority for the Menominee River or its wetlands. The way  DEQ is proceeding in the permit application is contrary to the public's interest, and in this entire process should be placed on hold pending the outcome of the federal litigation filed by the Menominee yesterday."

Janette Brimmer of Earth Justice, one of the attorneys representing the Menominee Tribe in their lawsuit, told Keweenaw Now that this litigation deals only with the federal Clean Water Act Section 404 permit. Under the Clean Water Act, certain waters cannot be delegated to a state because of interest beyond a certain state.

"If the state has a separate permit," Brimmer said, "it can exercise its state-level jurisdiction on state law matters, but it doesn't invoke the same regulations and legal requirements as if the (Army) Corps and the EPA were in control of the process."

One difference between the state permit and the federal Clean Water Act 404 permit is that the National Historic Preservation Act would be invoked, she explained. It requires a formal consultation process with the tribe.

As the Menominee Tribe states in the lawsuit (paragraph 11), "Since time immemorial the Menominee Tribe has lived, hunted, fished, gathered, farmed and otherwise occupied and used the ceded lands, including the lands around the Menominee River. The Menominee Tribe has also practiced cultural and religious ceremonies in reservation lands, ceded lands, and included lands around the Menominee River. The Menominee Tribe’s connection to the Menominee River is existential as the Menominee Tribe’s origin story takes place at the mouth of the Menominee River."*

Brimmer also noted that the Army Corps of Engineers said in 1979 that the Menominee River was a water used in interstate commerce.

Paragraph 55 of the lawsuit states the following: "While the Clean Water Act allows for EPA to approve the delegation of some Section 404 permitting to a state, 33 U.S.C. § 1344(g), permitting in waters and their adjacent wetlands that are used, or could be used, in their natural condition or with reasonable improvement for transport in interstate commerce is not and cannot be delegated to a state."*

Interstate commerce can include fishing, recreation, industrial uses, etc., for more than one state. The Menominee River forms a boundary between Wisconsin and Michigan.

"The 404 (federal permit) is necessary to finalize the applicant's current proposal," Brimmer added.

According to the lawsuit, based on the Clean Water Act, the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers are supposed to take control  of the permitting process for wetlands and the river.

Keweenaw Now has contacted the EPA, but so far they have not replied to our questions. Watch for a possible update.

Editor's Notes:

More videos of individual speakers testifying at the Jan. 23 hearing can be found on the Back Forty Film Facebook page, for those who have a Facebook account. Many thanks to our contributors -- Emilio Amador Reyes for his photos and videos, Marisa Van Zile for photos and information, and Mark Doremus for uploading videos we requested to YouTube for our readers' access.

* Click here to access the lawsuit filed on Jan. 22, 2018.

** Click here for the independent report from the Center for Science in Public Participation. A second technical review, by Dr. Tom Myers, independent hydrologist, concerned impacts to the wetlands in Aquila's project area. The report on his review states, "Dr. Myers’ analysis involved an assessment of the predicted drawdown on wetlands and a review of the groundwater modeling of those impacts. One concern includes how the modeling conceptualized the wetlands, meaning the level of connectivity with surface water. Another concern includes the prediction of the extent of the drawdown, as modeled." Click here for Dr. Myers' technical review.

*** On Jan. 19, 2018, DEQ's Kristi Wilson sent a letter to Aquila requesting clarification of certain discrepancies in their groundwater technical information. You can access this letter and other documents related to the application on the DEQ's MIWaters site. Click here and then click on Documents. Select the document (listed by date) to download. Warning: You may need WinZip to open the document. Links to some documents can also be found here.

Nearly 500 Copper Country residents march across Lift Bridge in anniversary Sister March: videos, photos

By Michele Bourdieu

An estimated 400-500 participants in the Jan. 21, 2018, Copper Country Sister March cross the Portage Lift Bridge carrying signs about their concerns, from voting power to women's rights as human rights to DACA and immigration -- and more. The theme of this year's women's marches -- held in many U.S. cities -- was "Power to the Polls." (Photos by Keweenaw Now unless otherwise indicated.)

HOUGHTON -- Despite a very icy sidewalk on the Portage Lift Bridge, a large crowd of women, men and children walked from Houghton across the bridge to Hancock and back on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018, to demonstrate, for the second year in a row, their solidarity with Sister Marches held across the country -- on the anniversary of the Sister Marches held a year ago in solidarity with the huge 2017 Women's March on Washington, DC. This year the many signs carried in the march reflected continued concerns for women's rights and equality for all, with an added theme of "Power to the Polls," encouraging women to vote.

As she did last year, Susan Burack of Hancock again instigated the Sister March in Houghton by signing up with the national march. This year the Women's March: Power to the Polls, began with a large rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 21, kicking off a national voter registration tour intended to elect more women and progressive candidates to office.

As participants gather in Houghton to line up for the Jan. 21, 2018, Sister March, Susan Burack of Hancock addresses the marchers about Power to the Polls -- registering to vote, voting, and making a difference locally by getting involved in the local community. Click on photos for larger versions.

Burack said the Houghton County Democratic Party and the League of Women Voters helped her spread the word about the march.

"The variety of the signs was wonderful," Burack said. "We sure have a lot of issues to march about. And the range of ages from babies to seniors and everyone in between. If it was 400-500 people it is a terrific representation of our population!"

Preparing to march to the Portage Lift Bridge, participants line up near the Houghton waterfront.

As she walked gingerly up the icy hill to Shelden Avenue Ellen Seidel, retired Michigan Tech librarian, commented on why the sister marches are important to her.

"The whole future's at stake," Seidel said, "from the planet to the children."

Several women who participated in the 2017 Women's March on Washington, DC, led the Sister March in Houghton this year. One of those was René Johnson, Finlandia University Servant Leadership director and assistant professor of religion.*

"Last year I may have been responding to my distress over the hateful, divisive rhetoric in the air and my angst over possible policy changes that would take America in a terrible direction away from the higher values of compassion, generosity, and kindness," Johnson said. "Going to the march in DC, surrounded by the most vibrant display of positive humanity (in both size and volume) that I'd ever experienced, was both a comfort to my distress and a confirmation that a powerful movement was afoot. I participated in Sunday's local Sister March because I choose to persist in supporting and promoting this movement (which I hope continues to resist bigotry and thin democracy even after this current administration), because I believe in the power of the people, and because I have a voice."
Inset photo: René Johnson of Hancock wears her message on an original sign during last year's Women's March in DC. (File photo © P.J. Besonen of Covington, Mich., and courtesy René Johnson)

Led by several local women who participated in the 2017 Women's March on Washington, DC, participants in the Jan. 21, 2018, Sister March head up the hill to Shelden Avenue on their way to the Portage Lift Bridge in Houghton. Click on YouTube icon for larger video screen. (Videos by Keweenaw Now)

Commenting on this year's Sister March in Houghton, Valorie Troesch of the Houghton Dems, who has led workshops on running for local office, echoed the theme of power in voting.

"There's a old maxim that the world is run by those who show up," Troesch told Keweenaw Now. "We need to show up -- run for office, vote, work for those who are running for office, speaking up."

Displaying a variety of signs with their concerns, marchers form a long line up Shelden Avenue and across the Portage Lift Bridge. (Photo by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now)

Lorraine Weirauch of Tamarack City, a retired educator, said she participated in the Sister March because of several issues that are important to her.

Lorraine Weirauch of Tamarack City pauses on the bridge to comment on her participation in the march.

"I wanted to support the women, Planned Parenthood, DACA (so important!), indigenous women, fairness, justice -- a more thoughtful government," Weirauch told Keweenaw Now.

More videos:

After crossing the bridge to Hancock, marchers return to Houghton, most walking slowly and carefully on the ice-covered sidewalk of the bridge.

After walking up the east side of the bridge to Hancock, the large crowd divides in two groups to return on both sides of the bridge. Parents guide their children while some senior citizens hold onto the railings or walk slowly and carefully on the ice.

In the midst of the hundreds of marchers with signs calling for change, a few young men march in the opposite direction calling out the name of the US President. It was not clear what their purpose was, but the march remained peaceful.

Linda and Jim Belote of Hancock comment justifiably on the iciness of the bridge sidewalk. No injuries were reported, as far as we know. Marchers remain cheerful on the last part of the trek.

At the end of the Houghton Sister March, signs along the street remind passers-by of some of the issues of concern to the marchers. (Photo by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now)

Facebook friends share photos ...

Keweenaw Now appreciates the Facebook friends we contacted for permission to use the following photos they posted of their Sister March participation:

The Vendlinski family of Houghton display their individual signs as they prepare to join the 2018 Sister March to the Portage Lift Bridge. Pictured, from left, are Andi, Jim, Lewis and Catherine. (Photo courtesy Andi Vendlinski)

Andi Vendlinski also participated in the 2017 Women's March on Washington.

"I was very fortunate to be able to march in Washington last year and am glad that one year later we are still fighting, even in smaller cities like Houghton," Andi said. "It’s amazing to see how passionate people can be, and I am so proud of my family for standing up and taking part in this fight with me."

Artists Joyce Koskenmaki, left, and Bonnie Peterson, both grandmothers, display their list of issues of concern to "Grannies." Click on photo for larger version. (Photo courtesy Bonnie Peterson)

Katie Maki and daughter Daphne march in Marquette:

Katie Maki of Houghton still has great memories of her trip to Washington, DC, for the 2017 Women's March on Washington. On that long bus trip she and her daughter Daphne made new friends from Marquette; therefore, this year Katie and Daphne decided to re-unite with them by participating in the Jan. 21 Sister March in Marquette.

Katie Maki, left, her daughter Daphne, center, and Daphne's friend Mya Johnson, right, display their colorful signs during the Sister March in Marquette on Jan.21, 2018. (Photo courtesy Katie Maki)

Katie said it was difficult to compare the Marquette Sister March with last year's huge march in DC, though she found both "amazing."

"Obviously there was massive anticipation for the DC march including a three-hour car ride followed by an 18-hour bus ride!" she said. "Getting off that bus into a sea of women and pink was intense. We have never been a part of something that large and powerful. It was life altering. We met these ladies (and another woman who couldn’t be at the Marquette march) on the bus and decided to stick together at the march. What an amazing experience. Marquette was amazing too -- more people than I imagined. I don’t know numbers but it felt like 1000. The speakers were amazing, including the little girl who spoke at the end."
Inset photo: Katie Maki, right, in green jacket, and Daphne at the 2017 Women's March on Washington. (File photo courtesy Katie Maki)*

On Jan. 21, 2018, Katie and Daphne Maki join Marquette area friends they met in DC last year for the Sister March in Marquette. Pictured here, from left, are Jackie Stark of Marquette, Daphne Maki of Houghton, Judy Krause of Ishpeming, Katie Maki of Houghton and Mary Stone of Negaunee. (Photo courtesy Katie Maki)

Marquette marchers enjoy some sunshine during their Jan. 21, 2018, Sister March. (Photo courtesy Katie Maki)

A large sign at the Marquette Sister March reflects the emphasis on "Power to the Polls" in this year's women's marches. (Photo courtesy Katie Maki)

Community support for the Sister March in Marquette. (Photo courtesy Katie Maki)

More photos in new slide show:

Click here to see more photos in our new slide show: Sister March: Jan. 21, 2018. Click on the first photo. Click the info icon for the caption and follow arrows to the right for the slide show.

* Editor's Note: See our Feb. 3, 2017, article, "Local mothers, daughters, friends inspired by joining Jan. 21 Women's March in D.C."

EPA task force to hold public meeting on saving Buffalo Reef Jan. 30 in Lake Linden

This map shows the area of the potential 2018 stamp sands project for additional stamp sand removal and containment near Gay on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior. The project's main purpose is to save the trout and whitefish spawning areas on Buffalo Reef (center of map). Click on map for larger version. (Map courtesy Michigan DNR)

[Note: This Department of Natural Resources (DNR) news release is being issued in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.]

A cooperative multi-entity task force created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is reminding the public about a public meeting set for Tuesday, Jan. 30, in Lake Linden, on efforts to save the important lake trout and whitefish spawning areas on Buffalo Reef.

The underwater reef is threatened by shifting stamp sands, a by-product of copper milling done in the community of Gay, beginning in the early 1900s and lasting roughly 30 years.

The public meeting will be held from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, at the Lake Linden-Hubbell High School Auditorium, 601 Calumet Street in Lake Linden. A session previously scheduled for Dec. 5 was postponed due to inclement weather.

In addition to the Jan. 30 public meeting, an invitation-only Wednesday, Jan. 31, meeting on Buffalo Reef for EPA task force members and scientists has also been set. That session was previously scheduled for Dec. 6, but was canceled because of blizzard conditions.

The EPA formed the task force to develop a long-term plan over the next couple of years to contain and potentially reuse the stamp sands. The group will gather input from many stakeholders, including the public.

"We will be soliciting public input on what issues the plan needs to address and looking for volunteers to help us understand and resolve those issues," said Steve Casey, a task force member representing the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

Editor's Note: For background on this issue see our Nov. 21, 2017, article, "DNR stamp sand dredging buys time; EPA provides $3.1 million for Army Corps dredging to protect Buffalo Reef fish spawning habitat."

Heikinpäivä 2018 is underway!

The bears that "roll over" in mid-winter sometimes lead the Heikinpäivä Parade on Quincy Street in Hancock. At 11 a.m. this Saturday, Jan. 27, the 2018 Heikinpäivä Parade will also feature KARHUN PEIJÄISET (The Bear Spiral) on Quincy Green, led by Ralph and Jaana Tuttila and the Bears. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

HANCOCK -- Heikinpäivä 2018 celebrates Mid-Winter, when, according to Finnish tradition, "the bear rolls over." This year the annual festival, created in 1999 by the City of Hancock's Finnish Theme Committee, again offers a variety of activities for the whole family. Heikinpäivä themes are taken from the Finnish folk saying associated with the name day for Heikki (Henrik’s day, Jan. 19).

Each year the Finnish Theme Committee selects a Hankookin Heikki (The Heikki of Hancock), who then presides over the Heikinpäivä festivities. Chosen because of his/her contributions to the preservation and enhancement of Finnish-American cultural life in Michigan’s Copper Country, Hankookin Heikki’s main event task is to ride what is the arguably the world’s largest kick sled, a crowd favorite at Heikinpäivä, donning the traditional Hankooki Heikki robes and crown, and waving the copper scepter in the festival’s mid-winter parade.

The 2018 Hankookin Heikki is filmmaker Kristin Ojaniemi, a lifelong resident of Bruce Crossing. Ojaniemi recently created the documentary film Co-operatively Yours, telling the story of the Finnish cooperative movement in North America through the lens of the Settlers Co-op in Bruce Crossing, which celebrated its centennial in 2017. Ojaniemi traveled to Finland to conduct research and interviews for the film, and through this project she has gained a stronger appreciation and understanding of her Finnish roots and those of her home community. (Inset photo: Filmmaker Kristin Ojaniemi. (Photo courtesy Finnish Theme Committee)

While enrichment events have been happening since Jan. 10 (see our right-hand column for the the music events this week), Saturday, Jan. 27, offers free activities for all and a Tori (market) with homemade and Finnish-related crafts for sale.

Here is the schedule beginning with Saturday, Jan. 27:

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. -- Tori Market, Finnish American Heritage Center (FAHC)
 
HEIKINPÄIVÄ 2018 -- TORI MUSIC MAKERS in FAHC

10 - 11 a.m. -- Finn Aire (Roger Juntunen-Hewlett)
11 -11:30 a.m. -- PARADE and KARHUN PEIJÄISET (The Bear Spiral) on Quincy Green, led by Ralph and Jaana Tuttila and the Bears.
11:30 a.m. - Noon -- Lautala Boys (Pasi Lautala)
Noon -  1 p.m. - Jonathan Rundman
1 - 2 p.m. -- Laulun Aika (Ralph Tuttila)
2 -  2:30 p.m. -- Jouhikko Kombo (Alice, Matt and Clare)
2:30 - 3:00 p.m. -- Tanja Stanaway

Fun outside on Quincy Green:

Kids enjoy a ride on the vipukelkka (whipsled) during Heikinpäivä in Hancock. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

10 a.m. - 2 p.m.  -- Vipukelkka (Whipsled), kicksleds, and plenty of outdoor fun! Quincy Green.

11 a.m. - PARADE, downtown Hancock. Line up at La Cantina restaurant at 10:30 a.m. Prizes.

Following parade -- Wife-carrying contest and kicksled races, Quincy Green. Prizes.

No lingering at the café! Couldn't tell what the "wife" was yelling here, for lack of translation, but she managed to stay on hubby's back through the "Finnish" line. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

More activities Saturday:

11 a.m.  -- Author talk and book signing by Karl Bohnak, author of SunBurns to Snowstorms, North Wind Books, Hancock.

1 p,.m.  -- Author talk and book signing by Kate Remlinger, author of Yooper Talk, Finnish American Historical Archive.

3 p.m. -- Polar Bear Dive, Hancock waterfront. Sponsored by Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.

7 p.m. -- Heikinpäivä iltamat (hors d’oeuvres, dance), Finnish American Heritage Center. $12.00 -- with old-time Finnish dances, such as jenkka, raatikkoon, polkka and waltzes.

Sunday, January 28:
 
2 p.m. -- Finnish Hymn Sing and Concert, Zion Lutheran Church, Hancock. Open to the public.

Friday, February 2:
 
6:30-8:30 p.m. -- Family Fun Night, Finnish American Heritage Center. $5 per family. For information, call (906) 523-6271.

Red-Flag Review finds big holes in Back 40 Mine’s Wetland Permit application; DEQ Public Hearing to be Jan. 23, 2018

Information from UPEC's Mining Action Group, Front 40 and Menominee Tribe 

Sixty Islands section of the Menominee River, riparian wetlands located approximately 200 feet from the proposed Project Boundary of the Aquila Back Forty Mine site. (Jan. 9, 2018, photo by Kathleen Heideman, Mining Action Group.)

STEPHENSON, Mich. -- The Front 40 Environmental Group and the Mining Action Group (MAG) of the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC), working with regional environmental allies and fishing organizations, have secured an independent red flag review of Aquila Resources’ Back Forty Wetland permit application. The Back 40 is an open-pit sulfide mine for gold, zinc and other metals, proposed for the bank of the Menominee River, 10 miles west of the town of Stephenson, Mich. The review was provided by the Center for Science in Public Participation (CSP2) which analyzes mining applications and provides objective research and technical advice to communities impacted by mining.

A Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Public Hearing for the Back Forty’s Wetlands, Lakes and Streams permit application will be held at 6 p.m. (Central Time) on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018, at Stephenson High School, located at W526 Division Street, Stephenson, MI 49887. Note: due to public interest, the hearing has been moved to the school’s large gym. In addition, the hearing will be live-streamed by the IndianCountryTV Livestream studio, beginning at 6 p.m. (CT) and running until the hearing ends. The deadline for submitting written comment is Feb. 2, 2018.*

A youth-led Water Walk at 3 p.m. (CT) to Stephenson High School and a Press Conference at 4:30 p.m. (CT) will precede the hearing.

Poster announcing Jan. 23, 2018, Public Hearing and related activities in Stephenson, Mich. Click on poster for larger version. (Poster courtesy Paul DeMain)

The Wetland application includes technical information regarding wetland hydrology, direct and indirect impacts to wetlands from the proposed sulfide mine and the on-site milling operation, a compensatory wetland and stream mitigation proposal, and more.  CSP2’s technical review was completed by Dr. Kendra Zamzow (Ph.D., Environmental Geochemistry) and Dr. David Chambers (Ph.D., Geophysics).**

CSP2’s report flags significant omissions in Aquila’s permit application, especially concerns related to the Feasible and Prudent (Least Environmentally Damaging Practicable) Alternatives analysis, the fundamental test of any wetland permit, as follows:

• "An environmental analysis needs to be conducted comparing the new proposed facility siting impacts on wetlands with the siting approved in the mining permit. The proposed single mine waste storage area is now two areas, and is much larger. The description of what is to be contained in each is inadequate and there is no description of the protections to be put in place."


• "The former site plan was discarded in part because waste would be 'less dense' than anticipated. There is no explanation for what is behind the anticipated change in waste material density that drove the need for the greater area required for waste disposal...."

• "Given the terrain, direction of water flow, and proximity of valley wetlands and the River, this poses risks to wetlands -- and aquatic resources in the River -- that have not been analyzed."

• "Although there is no formal proposal for underground mining, it is reasonable and foreseeable. Therefore the full potential life of the mine should be considered when evaluating feasible and prudent alternatives that are the least damaging to wetlands."


• "An economic analysis needs to be conducted to determine the feasibility of moving the mill out of wetland areas."

• "It appears that most of the stream and wetland impacts might be avoided if the mine facilities could be moved further upland to a dryland site, possibly on other state lands."

Under Michigan regulations, Aquila bears the burden of demonstrating that either (a) the proposed activity is primarily dependent upon being located in the wetland, or (b) there are no feasible and prudent alternatives, and they must show they are using all practical means to minimize impacts to wetlands. According to CSP2’s review, "The mining permit and wetland permit are inextricably linked. The location and size of proposed mine site facilities as presented in the November 2017 Wetland Permit Application are different from those presented in the Mining Permit Application, and pose risks to wetlands that have not been analyzed."

MAG member Kathleen Heideman said, "This red flag review underscores our existing concerns. Aquila's Wetland permit application is shoddy. It is mired in untested assumptions about wetland hydrology, and the whole scheme hinges on a facility design which nobody has reviewed, much less approved."

Heideman noted wetlands are protected by both state and federal laws. In order for a permit to be granted, the Michigan DEQ must find that the proposed activities described in the Public Notice meet certain criteria set by Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, Part 303 Wetlands Protection, and Part 31, Water Resources Protection of Act 451.***

"Before wetlands can be destroyed, the company needs to demonstrate that wetland impacts are unavoidable," Heideman added. "They’ve failed that test. I don’t see how this permit will pass muster with environmental regulators."

A large crowd, with many people standing along the walls, attended the Oct. 6, 2016, public hearing at Stephenson High School on mining, wastewater and air quality permits for the Back 40 mining project. Despite much opposition, DEQ granted those three permits. The remaining permit for Wetlands, Inland Lakes and Streams will be the subject of the Jan. 23, 2018, public hearing. (Keweenaw Now file photo courtesy Horst Schmidt)

Horst Schmidt, president of the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition, said, "This mine threatens cultural and natural resources of the Menominee people, and the Shakey Lakes Savanna, a globally unique habitat. The Menominee River is the worst possible place for an open-pit sulfide mine. Aquila’s plan for on-site milling is especially dangerous, and needlessly destroys wetlands."

Front 40 and the Mining Action Group will deliver CSP2’s review to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) at the Public Hearing on Jan. 23rd, and ask that key findings and recommendations be incorporated into the Wetland Permit review process.

"As soon as we saw the extent of the facility modifications, we asked the DEQ’s Office of Oil, Gas and Minerals to immediately require Aquila to apply for an amendment of the Back Forty Mine permit, or review the facility changes along with the Wetland permit -- but they’ve refused to consider these questions until after the Wetland permit review is done," Heideman explained. "Aquila seeks to destroy 28.4 acres of wetlands in order to build a sulfide mine on the bank of the Menominee River. It is an alarming proposal, given the proximity of wetlands to the river, and concerns about the company’s plan to follow the orebody deeper underground. This site is complex, hydrologically, with wetlands on all sides, flowing in different directions. And the total wetland impacts may be significantly underestimated, since additional years of underground mining would greatly increase the groundwater drawdown."*

MAG member Steve Garske asked, "How many wetlands will be destroyed or impaired by the Back Forty? These wetlands are just in the way -- Aquila will mine them out, or fill them in, or the surface water will be diverted, or they’ll be buried under mine waste tailings and waste rock storage areas. Are all of these wetland losses unavoidable? That’s the big question."

Nathan Frischkorn, a Fellow with the Mining Action Group, added, "Our goal is to identify errors and inconsistencies between data and Aquila’s predicted impacts to wetlands. We want to ensure that concerned citizens, stakeholders and environmental regulators are fully informed as to the true impacts of this permit."

Ron Henriksen is a spokesman for the Menominee River Front 40 -- an environmental group in Menominee County, Mich., dedicated to ensuring that metallic sulfide mining operations are not allowed to adversely impact rivers, lakes, groundwater and lands. The Front 40 name is in direct response to the "Back Forty" venture that was created by the mining interests.

"Local residents are very frustrated, understandably," Henriksen said. "Aquila is using a bait-and-switch strategy. Since the facility’s impacts on wetlands are at the heart of the review, it would have made more sense to scrutinize all the proposed changes to the design first, before submitting the Wetland permit application. Aquila does everything backwards."

A broad coalition of fishing groups, residents, tribal members and environmental groups are united in their opposition to the Aquila Back Forty project. Downstream communities are concerned about potential impacts to drinking water and tourism, and have passed resolutions against the project. Marinette County unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Back Forty; additional resolutions have been passed by the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, the Oneida Nation, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes, Amberg, Peshtigo, Porterfield, Sister Bay, Wagner, the City of Marinette, Door County, Oconto County, Outagamie County, Shawano County, Menominee County, and Brown County, which includes the city of Green Bay. After concerned citizens levied significant pressure on local officials, Menominee County became the first county in Michigan to pass a resolution opposed to the Back Forty mine.

For the Menominee Indian Tribe, the area near the Menominee River, including the mine site, is their sacred place of origin and includes sacred sites and burial grounds. In addition to cultural reasons, the tribe opposes the proposed Back 40 project because of their commitment to protect the water, as they state on their Web site: "Much like our brothers and sister in the NODAPL movement we also know that water is essential to life. The Menominee River is, in fact, the very origin of life for the Menominee people. It also provides life to Michigan and Wisconsin residents and the natural wildlife within the Great Lakes ecosystem. The harmful threats to this area and all who depend on it far outweigh the corporate interests of a Canadian exploratory company and justify the denial of the necessary permits for the proposed mine."****

This ancestral burial mound is among the archaeological sites that could be impacted by the proposed Back 40 mine. (September 2017 Keweenaw Now file photo)  

"The Menominee River is my friend," said Dick Dragiewicz, an avid fisherman. "It gives me and my fishing friends a lot of excitement when those bass, especially the big ones, are seen and when they strike at our flies. The Menominee is a valuable resource that shouldn’t be damaged or destroyed, which is why I’m working to protect it from the problems the proposed Back Forty mine would cause. I don’t want to lose the river to a polluting metallic sulfide mine."

Scenic view of the Menominee River, not far from the proposed Back 40 mine site. (September 2017 Keweenaw Now file photo)

If fully permitted, the Back Forty will be a large open-pit sulfide mine on the bank of the Menominee River, the largest watershed in the wild Upper Peninsula of Michigan, only 100 feet from the water. Milling, using cyanide and other chemicals, and mine waste will be stored at the mine site, with some tailings waste remaining permanently. Most of the rock will be "reactive" or capable of producing acid mine drainage (AMD) when exposed to air and water. AMD devastates watersheds: it is difficult and expensive to remediate, and may continue leaching from the tailings for hundreds or thousands of years. American Rivers named the Menominee River to their list of "America’s Most Endangered Rivers" in 2017.

Fundamental objections to the Aquila Back Forty project remain unresolved, and two contested case petitions have been filed: one by an adjacent landowner, and another by the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. The Back Forty Wetland application is currently under review by the public, tribal stakeholders, environmental groups, Michigan DEQ, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Independent review of the Aquila Back Forty Wetland permit is made possible by the generous support of groups and individuals concerned about the future health of the Menominee River. Working collaboratively, the Mining Action Group of the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition and the Front 40 secured small grants and donations from Freshwater Future, Superior Watershed Partnership, the Western Mining Action Network, DuPage Rivers Fly Tyers (DRiFT), Northern Illinois Fly Tyers (NIFT), Badger Fly Fishers, M and M Great Lakes Sport Fisherman, Wisconsin Smallmouth Alliance, Fly Fishers International, Great Lakes Council of Fly Fishers International, the Emerick Family Fund, and individual fishing enthusiasts throughout the Great Lakes area.

Notes:

* Written comments may be submitted to Upper Peninsula District Office, Re: Back Forty Comments, 1504 West Washington Street, Marquette, MI, 49855. You can also submit written comments here.

** (Updated) Here are direct links to the Wetland permit documents:
 Sections 1-4:  1 R-Wetland Permit Application Nov 2017 reduced Sections 1-4 rev Dec 2017.pdf

Sections 5-7:  2 R-Wetland Permit Application Nov 2017 reduced Sections 5-7 rev Dec 2017.pdf

Section 8: 3 R-Wetland Permit Application Nov 2017 reduced Section 8A.pdf

                4 R-Wetland Permit Application Nov 2017 reduced Section 8B.pdf

                5 R-Wetland Permit Application Nov 2017 reduced Section 8C.pdf

Appendix A1:  6 R-Wetland Permit Application Nov 2017 reduced App A1 rev Dec 2017.pdf

Appendix A2:  7 R-Wetland Permit Application Nov 2017 reduced App A2 (1).pdf

Appendix B:   8 R-Wetland Permit Application Nov 2017 reduced App B.pdf

*** Click here for the DEQ Public Hearing statement.

**** Visit the Menominee Tribe Web site for more info on their opposition to the Back 40 project.

SAUNA: DIVINE COMEDY exhibit by Onni Nordman opens at Finlandia University Gallery Jan. 18

The exhibit SAUNA: DIVINE COMEDY, by artist Onni Nordman, opens with a reception at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, at the Finlandia University Gallery in the Finnish American Heritage Center, Hancock. (Photos courtesy Finlandia University)

HANCOCK -- Finlandia University Gallery will present a series of artwork by Finnish-Canadian artist Onni Nordman. His exhibit titled SAUNA: DIVINE COMEDY will be on display at the Finlandia University Gallery, located in the Finnish American Heritage Center, Hancock, from Jan. 18 to Feb. 17, 2018.

An opening reception for the public will take place at the gallery from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 18, with an artist talk beginning at 7:20 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Onni Nordman’s Sauna: Divine Comedy is a series of paintings that set Dante’s Commedia, the 14th century Italian narrative poem, in the sauna.

Finnish-Canadian artist Onni Nordman.

"The Commedia, for all its world-building, is also an interior drama," notes Nordman. "The sauna is a pressurized space coequally infernal, purgatorial, and paradisiacal, built on three levels, housing figures who are naked and vulnerable, as well as serene and exalted. The Sauna: Divine Comedy series has emerged as a continuing response to the possibilities of splicing together fertile ideas."

Dante’s Divine Comedy describes the poet’s travels through the nine circles of hell, seven terraces of Purgatory and journey to paradise. Rather than illustrate the Commedia poem, Nordman’s paintings use it as a matrix to tell a story with a cast of figures, all set in the heat of the sauna.

Sauna: Divine Comedy, Purgatorio No. 2.

Nordman’s creative process is fluid, moving quickly to manipulate the painted surface while the paint is still wet, but any given work can be the product of months of strategy. Colorful, textured and dynamic, Nordman’s paintings speak both on the surface and below the surface.

"My job as a painter is to find a pattern, to create abstract loveliness and order, to find a design with which to create a dynamic, satisfying flatness," says Nordman.

But his fluid working method is not without risk: "Failure is necessary. If you don’t fail, you’re not doing something organic. I’m sitting on a mountain of failures," Nordman says, almost impatiently, before adding, "But the good stuff I’m willing to stand with."

Onni Nordman currently lives on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada. His home and studio are on the cliffs of South Bar, overlooking the mouth of Sydney Harbour, the watery highway to the Cabot Strait and Newfoundland.

Onni is the only child of Finnish immigrants Aulis and Toini Nordman. Aulis was born in Nuoramoinen, Sysmä, Toini in Sortavala, Rauta-Lahti. They came to Canada in 1951, were located to Cape Breton, the only Finnish speakers on the island. Onni’s first language was Finnish and says he and his parents learned English together. The Nordmans adapted to their new country while maintaining strong ties to family in Finland, proud of their heritage. Nordman’s exhibit at Finlandia is an extension of this pride.

"I am very interested in showing my work at Finlandia University as it represents the heart of Finnish culture in North America," says Nordman.

The Finlandia University Gallery is in the Finnish American Heritage Center, 435 Quincy Street, Hancock. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Thursdays 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays noon to 4 p.m. For more information, call 906-487-7500.

L.A. Theatre Works to present THE MOUNTAINTOP Jan. 23 at Rozsa Center; Michigan Tech commemorates Martin Luther King Jr. with banquet, discussion, more

Michigan Tech invites the public to commemorate 50 years since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in their 29th year of celebrating his legacy of social justice and inclusion. (Poster courtesy Michigan Tech University)

HOUGHTON -- This year, in conjunction with Michigan Tech’s 29th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, and the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Martin Luther King Jr., the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts and Michigan Tech’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion are proud to present L.A. Theatre Works' brand new production of Katori Hall's play, The Mountaintop.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated outside room 306 of The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. What happened inside room 306 the night before the killing is a mystery. In her internationally acclaimed play, playwright Katori Hall imagines what may have transpired in the overnight hours between the legendary civil rights leader and a seemingly inconsequential hotel maid.

See The Mountaintop at 7:30 p.m. at the Rozsa Center on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Immediately following the play, join a panel discussion and Q and A with student members of Michigan Tech’s National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), L.A. Theatre Works' The Mountaintop cast, and staff from the Center for Diversity and Inclusion in the Rozsa Lobby, with beverages and dessert served.

According to L.A. Theatre Works, "Beginning January 12, L.A. Theatre Works commemorates the anniversary with a touring production of the internationally acclaimed play, The Mountaintop, written by Katori Hall, directed by multiple award-winner Shirley Jo Finney and starring Gilbert Glenn Brown (CBS TV’s The Inspectors, upcoming feature film The Best of Enemies) and Karen Malina White (The Cosby Show, A Different World, Malcolm and Eddie). The production will travel to 38 cities across the United States."

Recipient of London’s 2010 Olivier Award for Best New Play, Hall’s gripping re-imagining of events is rife with humanity and humor as the celebrated Reverend reveals his hopes, regrets and fears to a seemingly inconsequential hotel maid.

"It was really important for me to show the human side of King," said playwright Hall. "During this time, he was dealing with the heightened threat of violence, he was tackling issues beyond civil rights -- economic issues -- and was denouncing the Vietnam War. So I wanted to explore the emotional toll and the stress of that. King changed the world, but he was not a deity. He was a man, a human being like me and you. So it was important to show him as such: vulnerable."

The Mountaintop received its world premiere in London at Theatre 503 before transferring to Trafalgar Studios in the West End. The 2011 Broadway production starred Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett.

This performance is supported in part through funding from the Arts Midwest Touring Fund, a program of Arts Midwest, generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts with additional contributions from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Crane Group. It is also sponsored by WGGL, Minnesota Public Radio, and Michigan Tech’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion.

Tickets are on sale now: $22 - Adult, $10 - Youth. No Charge for Michigan Tech Students with the Experience Tech Fee. To purchase tickets in advance, please call (906) 487-2073, go online at mtu.edu/rozsa, or visit Ticketing Operations at Michigan Tech’s Student Development Complex (SDC). Tickets will also be available at the Rozsa Box office the evening of the performance. The Rozsa Box Office opens two hours before event times.

29th Annual MLK Banquet to precede L.A. Theatre Works performance

In Michigan Tech's 29th year of MLK celebrations, the university invites the public to reflect on Dr. King's vision of inclusion. 2018 marks 50 years since we lost one of the most influential visionaries and impactful social justice advocates of United States history. The public is invited to celebrate Dr. King by attending a free, reserved banquet at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 23, in the Rozsa Lobby preceding the L.A. Theatre Works performance of The Mountaintop. Please arrive at 5 p.m. CLICK HERE to reserve your space.

More MLK Week events:

Monday, Jan. 15: Michigan Tech students, faculty and staff will volunteer time reading books about Dr. King's life and legacy to students in local schools. Participating schools include Houghton Elementary, Barkell Elementary and Dollar Bay School.

Tuesday, Jan. 16: BSA Poetry Slam, 7 p.m. in DHH Ballroom. Join BSA (Black Student Association) for a night of entertaining, emotional, intellectual and thought provoking pieces performed.

Thursday, Jan. 18: NSBE Rap Game Night, 7 p.m. in DHH Ballroom. Do you like to rap? Wanna showcase your skills? Come join NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) and compete in the MLK Rap Game Night. Winner will get a prize.

Nancy Langston, environmental historian, to present her new book, "Sustaining Lake Superior," Jan. 14 at KUUF Forum; presentations book signings offer book preview

By Michele Bourdieu

Nancy Langston, MichiganTech University professor of environmental history, signs copies of her new book, Sustaining Lake Superior: An Extraordinary Lake in a Changing World, for two Michigan Tech colleagues -- Erik Lilleskov, left, of the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, and Casey Huckins of Biological Sciences -- following her presentation during the book launch event at Michigan Tech's Great Lakes Research Center on Nov. 1, 2017. (Photos by Keweenaw Now)

HOUGHTON -- Environmental historian and kayaker Nancy Langston's love for Lake Superior led her to write a book about the history of the big lake's recovery from polluting industries -- from deforestation and paper mills to invasive species, mining and chemical industries -- and the present and future environmental challenges mobilizing with climate change.

Langston, who has been at Michigan Tech since 2013 as professor of environmental history in the Department of Social Sciences, the Great Lakes Research Center, and the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, recently published Sustaining Lake Superior: An Extraordinary Lake in a Changing World (Yale University Press: October 2017) and has been speaking about her book, involving local community members in discussions on Lake Superior, and donating some of the proceeds from the sale of the book to educational environmental causes.

Her next presentation and book signing will be at the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (KUUF) Sunday Forum at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14. Langston will lead a conversation on what we can learn from the past to help sustain Lake Superior. The Forum is held at BHK Campus, 700 Park Ave., Houghton (enter on Waterworks Street).

Langston has written four books and more than 50 scientific papers on environmental change, and she has won fellowships and awards from the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Philosophical Society, the National Humanities Center, the National Science Foundation, and the American Society for Environmental Historians. During 2012-2013, Nancy was the King Carl XVI Gustaf Professor of Environmental Science at Umeå University in Sweden, where she was a recipient of an honorary doctorate. She served as a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 18 years with appointments in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology. Former president of the American Society for Environmental Historians and editor of Environmental History, she is now writing a book on climate change and wildlife in the north. Langston is presently active in the Keweenaw Climate Community and the local Citizens' Climate Lobby group.

Some of the facts Langston presents in Sustaining Lake Superior include the following:

• Lake Superior is the largest lake in the world (by surface area) and contains 12 percent of the world's freshwater, a resource of enormous importance.
• Lake Superior is big enough to contain all the other Great Lakes "with a couple of additional lake Eries tossed in." The lake is big enough to create its own storm systems.
• The lake is so vast that a drop of water stays in the lake for an average of 191 years.
• Lake trout, once nearly extinct, now thrive -- one of conservation's great success stories.
• From the other side of the globe, China exerts a strong influence over the lake. Atmospheric currents bring chemicals, and pressures to mine iron ore are driven by China's steel boom. These global influences have profoundly local effects.
• Global warming is now changing Lake Superior rapidly, remobilizing contaminants that were thought to have vanished.

The book has been praised by many knowledgeable authors for its careful research, scientific and historical detail, passion and insight, engaging writing and concern for future generations.

"Langston has written nothing less than the definitive biography of the Greatest Lake, from its birth right up to its current encounter with climate change," writes James Gustave Speth, former dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. "It is a wonderful, moving story, and as she eloquently describes, a new and challenging chapter must now be written."

Langston speaks at Keweenaw Climate Community event

More than 100 local community members, educators and students attended the Oct. 5, 2017, Keweenaw Climate Community (KCC) event that preceded the official publication of Sustaining Lake Superior. Langston presented "Lake Superior Impacts" and involved the audience in a discussion on how climate change is affecting Lake Superior and what the lake could look like in the future.

Michigan Tech University Professor Nancy Langston, author of the 2017 book Sustaining Lake Superior, speaks about Lake Superior and climate change during a meeting of the Keweenaw Climate Community on Oct. 5, 2017, at the Orpheum Theater in Hancock. (Videos by Keweenaw Now)

When some members of the audience commented on recent intense weather changes, Langston noted that climate change could mean more intense wind and more intense lake effect snow events in the Keweenaw's future:

During the Oct. 5, 2017, Keweenaw Climate Community climate change discussion, Michigan Tech Professor Nancy Langston replies to audience comments on changes in snowfall and wind events in the Keweenaw because of climate change.

Asked for their opinion on Langston's KCC presentation, students had positive reactions.

Emily Prehoda, Michigan Tech Ph.D. student in environmental and energy policy, who took a course on Global Environmental History from Langston, was enthusiastic: "She's great! She's always captivating," Prehoda said.

In response to Langston's mention of the Citizens' Climate Lobby and their efforts to include lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, Will Lytle, Michigan Tech Ph.D. candidate and student leader, said, "I thought it was nice to hear about the bipartisan solutions beginning -- and local discussions and successes (such as Rep. Jack Bergman joining the House Climate Solutions Caucus)."

Emily Prehoda, left, Lydia Lytle and Will Lytle enjoy Nancy Langston's presentation and discussion at the Keweenaw Climate Community event on Oct. 5, 2017.

Lucille Zelazny of Michigan Tech's Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences Institute (EPSSI) said she could relate to some of the climate changes Langston mentioned in the discussion.

"I've lived here a long time, and I have a house on the Portage," Zelazny said. "I see changes in plants."

During one of the small-group discussions at the Oct. 5 Keweenaw Climate Community event, Lucille Zelazny, second from right, discusses climate changes with, from left, Craig Waddell, Michigan Tech professor in Humanities; Charles Kerfoot, Michigan Tech professor in Biological Sciences and director of the Lake Superior Ecosystem Research Center (and Zelazny's husband); and John Soyring, a retired senior IBM executive of Austin, Texas, who is on the PAVLIS board at Michigan Tech and is interested in climate and environmental research.

Book launch at Great Lakes Research Center

Michigan Tech's Great Lakes Research Center was the scene of a book launch and reception for Sustaining Lake Superior on Nov. 1, 2017, shortly after the official publication of the book by Yale University Press. Author Langston gave a short reading from the book and a presentation, followed by a question and answer session with the audience and a book signing.

At the Nov. 1, 2017, book launch for Sustaining Lake Superior at Michigan Tech's Great Lakes Research Center, author Nancy Langston reads some of the important facts about Lake Superior and the challenges to the lake presented by the impacts of climate change.

Questions from the audience included concerns about Lake Superior's future and what to do about the present pollution challenges.

Following her Nov. 1 reading and presentation from Sustaining Lake Superior, Nancy Langston replies to a question on citizen science from Bill Rose, Michigan Tech research professor in Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, and a question on monitoring pollutants from Marshall Plumer, retired Isle Royale district ranger.

Dawn Plumer, who teaches in the Houghton-Portage Township schools, said she found Langston's presentation informative.

"We need to start now (protecting Lake Superior)," Dawn said. "I don't want it to go backwards."

A question from Craig Waddell, Michigan Tech professor in Humanities, led to Langston's account of how she decided to write a book about Lake Superior.

In reply to Prof. Craig Waddell's question on how she came to write Sustaining Lake Superior, Nancy Langston speaks about her kayaking, her love of the lake -- and her experience with Wisconsin's Mining Moratorium and the Bad River Band of Anishinaabe, struggling to stop a proposed open-pit taconite mine in Wisconsin in order to protect the water and their wild rice crop.

In Chapter 6 of her book, "Mining, Toxics, and Environmental Justice for the Anishinaabe," Langston recounts struggles by the Mole Lake Sokaogon to defeat the proposed Crandon Mine that threatened to pollute their water and the Bad River Band's efforts to protect their wild rice from Gogebic Taconite's proposed open-pit mine, both in Wisconsin. As she mentioned in the above video clip, the Anishinaabe determination to protect water from mining pollution inspired her to write Sustaining Lake Superior -- a book that challenges citizens to think about the environment, as Native Americans do, in terms of future generations.

Patty Loew of the Bad River Anishinaabe expresses her appreciation of the philosophy behind Langston's book: "This insightful environmental history is a cautionary story about the true cost of the unenlightened commodification of Lake Superior. Like the Anishinaabe whose stewardship Nancy Langston chronicles, she invokes Seventh Generation thinking: make wise decisions today based on the best interests of future generations."

Langston speaks at FOLK Annual Meeting

Nancy Langston also spoke about Sustaining Lake Superior at the Nov. 9, 2017, annual meeting of FOLK (Friends of the Land of Keweenaw), a local environmental group formed in 1989 to oppose the siting of a bleach kraft pulp paper mill on the shores of Lake Superior's Keweenaw Bay. A year later after a lot of public outcry and a law suit against the State of Michigan for misappropriation of State funds, James River Corporation withdrew their proposal. FOLK’s mission is to protect and preserve the ecological integrity of the Lake Superior Watershed through education and citizen involvement. FOLK’S most current issue is monitoring the L’Anse Warden Electric Plant, located near Keweenaw Bay, to help ensure that it is properly permitted and in compliance with its permits.

Linda Rulison, FOLK president, in her report on the meeting, commented on how Langston's book is related to FOLK's mission: "[Langston's] new book explores the environmental and social history of the Lake Superior basin and what that history can teach us about why it is important to protect Lake Superior," Rulison writes. "Conventional wisdom surrounding pollution which was primarily from pulp mills in the early days was that 'dilution was the solution' to dealing with industrial waste. It was thought that Lake Superior is so large that the pollution will be mixing with the large body of water and will not hurt our drinking water or the fish. What we did not count on was the fact that pollution is not only local but also global. It knows no boundaries. Through air deposition toxins end up in the Great Lakes and that pollution often stays close to shore where it can bioaccumulate in fish. Mercury and PCB bioaccumlates in large enough quantities to be toxic to humans who eat the fish. It was noted that people around the Great Lakes eat twice as much fish as those who don’t live around the Great Lakes. Therefore, it behooves all of us to love and protect the 'greatest' of all of the Great Lakes, Lake Superior. FOLK will continue to be an advocate for Lake Superior helping to protect the health of the Lake and its people."

To learn more about Nancy Langston, her three previous books and other publications, and her present projects, visit her Web site, nancylangston.net.

Inset photo: Nancy Langston. (Photo courtesy Nancy Langston)