# Campers Return to the Yellow Dog Plains



## itchn2fish

August 5, 2010
Charlotte Loonsfoot, 906-236-9107
From Charlotte:
On Sunday, after the walk to Eagle Rock we set up camp on the Yellow Dog Plains. It is a new camp to bring awareness to the world of how Sulfide Mining in the Great Lakes is going to pollute our fish, wildlife, and people...
...By having this camp we are continuing our presence in opposition of the Kennecott Mine. We will not give up fighting to protect our water. Come join us to help preserve the health and safety of our future.

*All are welcome to camp or visit at the new location: AAA Road 1/2 mile east of the mine entrance on the south side of AAA, there is blue flagging tape on the tree. *
http://www.savethewildup.org/blog/campers-return-to-the-yellow-dog-plains/
For more information, read  http://stoptoxinsandotherpollutants.wordpress.com/


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## itchn2fish

October 12, 2010  5:50 pm
Over 200 people attended a public hearing hosted by the Marquette County Road Commission last Thursday (10/7). The MCRC took public comment on Kennecotts mining haul road proposal to be built somewhere between Triple A road and US 41, two miles either side of County Road FY.
Good testimony was given in opposition to the project ranging from wetland destruction to fugitive dust problems. The proposed location of the road is similar to the route that the EPA rejected back in May of this year. Kennecott has since then convinced Marquette County to develop the road instead.
The MCRC will announce its DECISION on whether to pursue the development of this new county road on Monday. Public comment will be taken.
MCRC Regular Board Meeting
October 18th  6:30 pm
Ishpeming Township Hall
*Public comment can be sent to the Marquette County Road Commission via email, phone or mail:*
1610 N. Second Street
Ishpeming, MI 49849
Phone: (906) 486-4491
Fax: (906) 486-4493
Email: [email protected]
Commission Chairperson: Darryll Sundberg, [email protected]
Vice Chairperson: Russell Williams  [email protected]
Commissioners:
Joseph Valente [email protected] 
David Hall [email protected] 
Neil Anderson [email protected]
General Manager: Jim Iwaniki [email protected]
_Notes from Cynthia Pryor:_
Jim Iwaniki from the commission indicated that this will be a long process and he has not yet determined a final route and there will be many alternatives. I asked for a forum for public participation as this was a community discussion not a Kennecott discussion if the county was to take this project on.
Things that struck me:
1. I cannot imagine why these guys would want the grief this obviously contentious (comments were 1/2 and 1/2) debate on their table every inch of the way. Kennecott has virtually passed on all of their troubles of building, permitting and maintaining a haul road to the County of Marquette.
2. How can a public commission be hired as a vendor for a private developer  one county official called it a unique partnership. Yes, very unique. The road commission manager cited other roads they had developed for developers  the Lowe access road 1/16th mile and the Target 1/2 mile loop around. This enters a whole new dimension. Kennecott carrying the freight. The Commission will carry the onus of selecting it, designing it, engineering it, permitting it, building it and maintaining it  but Kennecott will pay for it. Will they be paying Commission employees also? Conflict of Interest or what?
3. THE COST. It was to be a $50 million dollar road when Kennecott was building it, partially paved  mostly gravel. This road will be a fully paved roadway  the costs will be astronomical. The costs of public funding for maintaining it will also be astronomical. This road goes through some serious terrain  some of the highest in the region  where snowfall amounts are easily triple what the city of Marquette is used to.
Get your comments into the road commission  even if you are far away. Those close by  stick with it! We thank you.
Cynthia Pryor
Read John Pepins article in the Mining Journal:
http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/549451.html?nav=5006
For in depth coverage of the road issue, click here http://keweenawnow.blogspot.com/2010/10/concerned-citizens-question-erosion.html

Here are a couple of more links to some of the latest happenings.....
http://londonminingnetwork.org/2010/10/rio-tinto-subsidiary-slammed-for-unsafe-mine-design-in-us/

http://www.savethewildup.org/510_pet/


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## itchn2fish

*http://www.yellowdogwatershed.org/blog/tag/sulfide-mining/*

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment received a request from Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company to amend their mining permit to reflect changes in their plan to supply power to their facilities. As stated in the original permit, the company planned to use diesel generations to power the operation. Since then, KEMC changed course, working with Alger Delta Electric Cooperative to run an underground cable through a previously unpowered area. The new line, which is in the process of being built, branches from County Road 550, up County Road 510, then up County Road AAA.
Groups such as the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve have expressed disappointment in the fact that a mining permit amendment was deemed unneccessary for running the underground cable before now, even though KEMC is paying for the cable and will be the only user. These activities were considered outside of the mining operation by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment. According to them, a permit amendment is required, however, to finishing running the underground cable from the AAA road to the compound, a distance of perhaps 200 feet or less.
A hearing was be held on December 7, 2010 at 7pm in the Westwood High School Auditorium in Ishpeming to determine whether the amendment will be granted.
To view the letter requesting the amendment, click here: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/Power-Amendment-Letter-2010-11-15_338498_7.pdf
To view the MDNRE response, click here: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/Public-_Meeting-2010-11-17_338793_7.pdf


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## Lizette

Good to know these activities were considered outside of the mining operation by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment.​


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## GVDocHoliday

How many jobs is this mine bringing to the area?


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## itchn2fish

GVDocHoliday said:


> How many jobs is this mine bringing to the area?


 That was my first thought also years ago when this was just being proposed, as any new jobs are badly needed in this area. The fact is that not many new jobs will be created, and many of the workers will be coming in from out of the area. I'll try and find the specific details and post them here.
Here is a link for the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve. The Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve is an environmental organization comprised of grassroots individuals who take environmental ethics to heart. We focus on informing the public about the watershed, conducting sound science, and protecting the resources from threats like sulfide mining. We have many strong programs to help us, such as the Yellow Dog Riverkeeper ® program, and more. There are many pressures on the rivers and forests and we strive to balance the need for wild places with the necessities of humankind. This truly is one of the last unspoiled wilderness areas in the eastern United States.

http://www.yellowdogwatershed.org/blog/about/


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## Nick Adams

itchn2fish said:


> This truly is one of the last unspoiled wilderness areas in the eastern United States.


The Yellowdog Plains? Most of it's private property. It has a county road running right through the middle of it.

While it is a nice area, I can think of a whole bunch of other places that better meet the definition of "unspoiled wilderness areas in the eastern United States". I wouldn't characterize it as an unspoiled wilderness, much less one of the last of them.

-na


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## JackieTreeHorn

I don't know.. I've camped and hunted in that exact area.. some of the most pristine and beautiful land I've seen to date, and I hope to relive those fond memories in that same place some day. It would be a damn shame if it were spoiled.


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## itchn2fish

*January 18, 2011  By JOHN PEPIN Journal Staff Writer*
http://www.miningjournal.net/?page=mscontent.saveContentMsg&showlayout=0&id=557898&nav=5006
ISHPEMING  After investing more than $8 million and nearly five years into developing a north-south haul route from its Eagle Mine, the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. has announced it will scuttle that effort and instead put money toward upgrading existing county roads for trucking ore to a processing facility in Humboldt Township.
Read more here:
http://www.savethewildup.org/blog/kennecott-changes-ore-hauling-plan/
*Peshekee Road: A cautionary tale gives perspective*
http://www.savethewildup.org/blog/opinion-kennecott-trucking/


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## itchn2fish

Kennecott/Rio Tinto is building a nickel mine in Big Bay, MI without having a sound transportation plan to move their ore. This map is similar to a path a pig would take, rooting around aimlessly until finding the cheapest and most productive passage.
http://www.savethewildup.org/blog/kennecott-and-feral-pigs/


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## Nick Adams

JackieTreeHorn said:


> I don't know.. I've camped and hunted in that exact area.. some of the most pristine and beautiful land I've seen to date, and I hope to relive those fond memories in that same place some day. It would be a damn shame if it were spoiled.


The majority of the Yellow Dog Plains is Red and Jack Pine plantations. That may seem unspolied to you, but to me it doesn't hold a candle to something like the Forest Service's McCormick Tract, 15 or so miles to the SW.

-na


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## WAUB-MUKWA

itchn2fish said:


> Kennecott/Rio Tinto is building a nickel mine in Big Bay, MI without having a sound transportation plan to move their ore. This map is similar to a path a pig would take, rooting around aimlessly until finding the &#8216;cheapest&#8217; and most productive passage.
> http://www.savethewildup.org/blog/kennecott-and-feral-pigs/


The do gooders complained about the County road, then they complained about going thru marquette. What do you want them to do, helo the ore out?  27 acres of swamp over 22 miles of woodland road is just crazy.

Jack pines are just tall pine weeds.


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## U.P.Nate

80 ore truck trips a day spreading acid dust on roadsides sounds awsome glad I live on cr550, Also glad I got to fish the salmon trout for the past years before a bunch of money hungry foreigners dig a mine under the river. I dont know what you guys that dont live in the area are chimeing in about, cause its right in my back yard not yours. If you don't live in the area butt out. There gona hire as many people as the wallmart in Marquette. Wow realy gona boost the economy, Its not even a U.S based company. I mean yeah the Yellowdog might not be " perstiene alaskan wilderness" but its a beautiful place to live next to, hunt in, fish in, camp. Im shure these rich pricks or even you guys would throw a hissy if this was going to happen in your back yard.


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## U.P.Nate

Nick Adams said:


> The majority of the Yellow Dog Plains is Red and Jack Pine plantations. That may seem unspolied to you, but to me it doesn't hold a candle to something like the Forest Service's McCormick Tract, 15 or so miles to the SW.
> 
> -na


 Maby if were lucky well get a nice SW wind to blow all the acid rain that way.


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## Nick Adams

U.P.Nate said:


> Maby if were lucky well get a nice SW wind to blow all the acid rain that way.


I don't object to a rational discussion of the costs and benefits of a mine on the Yellow Dog Plains (YDP). You are only hurting your cause by injecting hyperbole into the discussion.

The plan is to dig a hole in the YDP, not build a coal fired power plant or a smelter there. If you are seriously concerned about acid rain you should be protesting the Presque Isle power plant (generating something like 90% of the electrical power in the UP), not an open pit mine on YDP. For that matter, recreational snowmobiling and people from downstate driving up to enjoy the UP pump more sulpher dioxide into the air than the proposed mine will.

Negaunee and Ishpeming owe their continued economic existence to Cleveland Cliffs and the Tilden/Empire mines. To a lesser extent, this is also true of the city of Marquette. The Empire/Tilden operations occupy a huge footprint on the land, and CCI annually ships far more ore through the City of Marquette to the ore docks at Presque Isle than the YDP mine will. Yet no one is protesting those operations and large numbers of people still consider rural Marquette county to be unspoiled wilderness and a wonderful place for outdoor recreation.

Any discussion of the proposed mine on YDP, or of the Orvana mine north of Wakefield, needs to consider a balance of both environmental and economic impacts. I consider both of those proposals to be in my back yard. I place a high value on the environmental quality that exists in the UP. I consider maintaining the economic viability of local communities to be an important consideration as well. I think both can be achieved with appropriate planning and regulation.

-na


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## U.P.Nate

So your pritty much saying "oh my car makes pollution, so in that case why don't I just start changeing my oil wail parked in a river" And I think that is a ignorant comment that to manny people have. 1 pile of dog **** in the yard is way better that a truck load of **** in the yard. 

I feel that as an out doorsmem we should do our part to protect the enviorment. And make our carbon foot print as small as possible, because it is obviously nearly impossible to get rid of it all together. The power plant is all ready there and yeah it supplys 90% of the u.p's power, so great, leave it there. but just because it's already there doesnt mean that we should countinue to **** on the area. 

I personaly don't live up here for the pay, I live up here for the fact that there is a woods in wich I can dissapear in. 

You say oh people need jobs, but there takeing food off my table and all other outdoorsmens table every time we loose a hunting or fishing spot to devolopement. Maby these people would be able to feed their families if they were more worried about hunting and fishing and less about a fat paycheck and 3 carts full of communist food from wallmart.

Maby you guys like working in a ****** ass hole in the ground, Id rather sit high in a tree stand and feed my family that way. I support all the local buisness I can. Not some pricks from canada, and britten. The empire and tilden mine is great for the economy, and the'll be open for years, employing plenty of people. great, but that doesnt mean we need another mine in mqt county. 

Im not a tree hugger, or a hippie, personaly I hope that vegiterians start dieing off so theres more woods for me to hunt.


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## U.P.Nate

If you think about it. once they pollute the yellowdog that flows into lake independance it will kill off the last 3 fish in the lake, then knowone will go up there to get skunked icefishing, and then the lumberjack will losse most of its buisness(cept the ***** sled heads), and they will be forced to close. how could you want that?

Na - Do you live in Marquette County?


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## Nick Adams

U.P.Nate said:


> Na - Do you live in Marquette County?


No. It is one of the counties in which I work. Specifically, Powell and Michigamme Townships.

-na


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## U.P.Nate

Nick Adams said:


> No. It is one of the counties in which I work. Specifically, Powell and Michigamme Townships.
> 
> -na


 Oh, So it might be safe to say that your not really concerned about the day to day living quality in this particular area, your just concered about makeing a dollar here and then going back to the area where you live day to day. Wich is not Northeast Marquette county.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't have a job here either. Im glad that your employed in Marquette county, I am currently unemployed and looking for a job. But if I were personaly offered a job at this mine by the president of kennekott himself id tell him to piss off. And then I'd ask him how he feels about once owning the most pollutant mine in alaskan history.


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## itchn2fish

Glad to this this topic debated with such intense heart and mind.


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