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Our Home is Under Attack

July 8, 2013  By Ros Nelson and Allie Raven Everything that Northern Wisconsin holds dear is gravely threatened by Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) and from out-of-control legislation coming from Madison that is selling our precious natural resources, not to mention our democracy, to the highest bidder. The Penokee Hills would be blasted and excavated into oblivion, […]

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One Dish, One Spoon

July 7, 2013  By Nick Vander Puy “The idea of the harvest camp in the Penokees is to become all of what there is by being there.” Paul DeMain (Oneida) About ten miles east of Mellen, Wisconsin right off Highway 77 on Moore Park Rd four streamers (red, white, black and yellow) beckon the people […]

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Citizens Testify for Strong Mining Ordinance

July 5, 2013  By Rebecca Kemble On July 1, 2013, over a hundred people attended the Iron County Zoning Committee’s public hearing on a proposed mining ordinance in Hurley, Wisconsin. Twenty-three of the twenty-eight people who testified urged the Committee to develop an ordinance containing the strongest possible protections for public health, safety and shared […]

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Presence of Acid-Producing Rocks at Proposed Penokee Mine Site Confirmed

July 5, 2013  By Joseph Skulan A potential major environmental hazard of the iron mine Gogebic Taconite (GTac) claims it intends to open in the Penokee Hills is acidic runoff caused by the oxidation of sulfide minerals in rocks disturbed by mining operations. Sulfide minerals in the form of pyrite (ferrous sulfide) are known to […]

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Penokee Hills Education Project Takes Anti-Mining Message to Hurley

July 3, 2013  By Rebecca Kemble On Monday, July 1, 2013 members of the Penokee Hills Education Project and their supporters held a press conference in downtown Hurley, Wisconsin. The event was scheduled an hour and a half before the Iron County Zoning Committee’s public hearing on a proposed mining ordinance. It was slated to […]

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Ashland County Passes New Metallic Mining Zoning Ordinance 18 to 1; Iron County to Follow

June 20, 2013 by Barbara With Ashland County Board passed a strict new Metallic Mining Ordinance today on a vote of 18 to 1. Read a first draft of a new metallic mining zoning ordinance here. Board member Charles Ortman indicated that the new ordinance was a collaborative effort on the part of the board, […]

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Iron County Residents Concerned About Land Lease to Mining Company

June 6, 2013  by Rebecca Kemble The Iron County Citizens Forum held a public meeting at the Oma Town Hall last night to learn about County Forest Law and the Iron County option to lease contract with Gogebic Taconite (GTac), a newly formed company with plans for a large mountain top removal iron mine in […]

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Lac Courte Oreilles Open Harvest Camp in the Penokee Hills

May 6, 2013 by Barbara With According to Indian County TV, the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Tribe has opened a treaty harvest and educational camp on public lands in the Penokee Hills. The camp is located near the site of the proposed 22-mile mountaintop removal open pit iron mine (the largest in the world) that […]

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GTAC To Appear Before Joint Mining Impact Committees

May 5, 2013  by Barbara With On Wednesday, May 8, 2013, the Town of Morse will host a question and answer session with officials from Gogebic Taconite (GTac) concerning the four-phase, 22-mile open pit taconite mine they plan to develop in Iron and Ashland Counties. This will be a joint meeting of the Town of […]

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Mining Company Has No Answers for Iron County Residents

May 1, 2013  by Rebecca Kemble On Tuesday, April 23 the Iron County Board held a question and answer session with Gogebic Taconite (GTac) personnel concerning the four-phase, 22 mile long open pit taconite mine they plan to develop in Iron and Ashland Counties. Despite the requirement that questions from Iron County residents had to […]

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