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Perspectives on sulfide
mining
“The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management,
use and enjoyment of the state’s natural resources for the current
and future generations.”
This is a very good motto to operate under. I have a hard time seeing
how making a mine under an aquifer is called conservation when Michigan
is the state known throughout the United States and the world as the
state with pure clear water. Water is a most valuable resource. At this
location, the mine will ruin this area for miles around and the area
will never recover.
The ecosystem here is delicate and balanced; rare species of plants
and animals thrive here and the water that flows to Lake Superior is
clear. The whole aquifer is like a wonderful sponge, straining the water
in underground spring systems and in many streams above carrying their
purified water down to the Lake Superior many hundreds of feet below.
It is a place that must be protected, a resource for current and future
generations to enjoy.
As population in urban cities swells, it is important that Michigan
preserves these areas where there is so much wildlife for Michigan citizens
and visiting tourists to enjoy. Keep these areas free from mine development.
Tourism does not thrive in an area of trucks carrying ore, with the
inevitable spills and road pollution; nor does tourism thrive in areas
of mining where the noise of mines and contaminated air makes one sick.
Tourists avoid areas of a mine that make a huge area of blight, a blight
that extends itself for miles around, but right in the center of all
the wonderful plants and animals that nature has created for us.
We enjoy clean air and wonderful backwoods roads through scenic areas
where seeing a deer, moose or a bear is possible. This is what the DNR
is supposed to protect for Michigan citizens and visitors to our wonderful
state.
Marquette County, as well as the whole Upper Peninsula, creates many
more jobs related to tourism than the small number of short-term jobs
the mine may create. Tourism is long-term and growing as the need for
quiet wilderness is increasing.
The Natural Resource Commission can deny the permits to mine in the
Upper Peninsula. The health of Michigan citizens is far more important
to our state than a mine. Let us enjoy fully the valuable resources
we now have—safe water to drink and water our gardens with, for
the safety of the food we grow. The disturbance of the underground water
flows far beyond the boundaries of the mine itself. So it is the same
with the air we breathe, the higher the stack, the further will be the
air flow to the surrounding countryside.
The sulfide dust blows far out of the boundaries of the mine property.
Today we have safe air of which we can breathe deeply. We can enjoy
the safety of our roads to travel to our favorite woods.
I cannot understand how the DNR had the right to lease so many acres
of land belonging to the citizens of the State of Michigan for such
a small fee, a fee much smaller than Kennecott was paying to private
individuals, and without a hearing or a word to the neighbors adjoining
this land. This is never done in any other community, and this right
must be taken away from the DNR.
A mine affects a neighborhood very deeply. The citizens adjoining the
mine property must be considered in such action as leasing rights for
a mine.
“A man’s wealth is measured by how much he can afford to leave
alone.” This goes for the State of Michigan also.
—Fred and June Rydholm, Marquette
The most beautiful place in the world isn’t far from my house—it’s
the magical Yellow Dog Plains. Wilderness settings like Silver Lake
and pristine rivers such as the Salmon-Trout, Cedar, Big Pup, Voelker’s
(named after Upper Michigan’s famous author John Voelker) and the
incomparable Yellow Dog flow from cold springs in this remote country.
They are unpolluted benchmark rivers—fragile trout streams of the
highest caliber, nestled in nearly 600,000 acres of Michigan’s
last wilderness. In this river country, I have caught brook trout more
than twenty inches long.
The gateway to all this is the historic Old Iron Bridge on CR-510 near
Marquette. Placed there in 1921, the narrow bridge has a load limit
of forty tons, which allows those interested in a wilderness experience
to cross, while holding back the heavy haulers—those bent on exploitation.
The Marquette County Road Commission has big plans for progress by planning
a huge multimillion-dollar bridge next to the old one to serve the “motoring
public.” They are telling me I must sell them my land for the new
bridge and that I am the last holdout. They had four plans to choose
from for bridge construction and location, but chose the one that crosses
my land. They have begun eminent domain proceeding against me to take
it from me.
In the thirty-two years I have lived nearby, I have never once seen
anyone paint, maintain or repair the bridge.
Besides the beautiful mature hardwood and pine forests, the rivers and
the lakes in the Plains, there are elongated masses of high-grade nickel,
called “magma pipes” by geologists. They originate deep in
the earth, are mixed with sulfides and project upward close to the surface.
When mined and wet, the sulfides have the potential of causing severe
environmental damage, as they have elsewhere.
Nickel is among the world’s fastest growing commodities, now selling
for $50,000 per ton (Northern Life.ca Sudbury; Bloomberg). Somehow,
foreign mining companies have been able to purchase long-term leases
on the mineral rights for very little money and are preparing to mine
the ore. Their service vehicles and massive ore haulers likely will
either cross the new CR-510 bridge or travel through quiet Marquette
to the east.
I believe much of the nickel is destined for China (Interfax China Commodities
Daily). China has a voracious appetite for nickel because when properly
combined with steel, it becomes high-quality stainless steel. In fact,
China’s crude steel capacity has surpassed that of Japan, the United
States, the Republic of Korea and Russia combined (ChinaAsiastocks.com)
Seventy percent of global nickel goes to make stainless steel (Northern
Life.ca Sudbury). Stainless steel is used in their “Building New
Countryside” program and in their military. The material is used
to make submarines, missiles and tanks. China has the world’s largest
standing army at 2.5 million strong that is poised to keep Taiwan from
becoming an independent nation (BBCNews).
Nickel was so important to our military in 1942 that it was taken from
our five-cent piece and a silver substitute was added. Because concentrations
of nickel close to the earth’s surface are quite rare, there are
no dedicated nickel mines in the United States. That’s right—we
are 100-percent dependent on foreign countries. Perhaps we should bank
the nickel and leave it in the ground, or at least until the technology
advances and it can be done safely.
Most of the land in the Yellow Dog Plains is open to the public. It
took an eternity to create this river country, but it could be lost
in less than a generation.
—Dennis Mapes, Negaunee Township
Notes from the North Country
The idea arose out of an excess of affection: A plan to hike the narrow
waist of the Upper Peninsula, from Rapid River on Lake Michigan, all
the way to Lake Superior at Munising. Lovers’ enthusiasms typically
run to excess and we felt the need to embrace—in a single summer
season—this superior peninsula from lake to shining lake.
To accomplish our mission, a dozen Upper Peninsulaphiles would follow
the Bay de Noc-Grand Island Trail, an historic pathway on lands mostly
within the Hiawatha National Forest.
The Noquet Indians traveled the trail regularly to spend summers on
Grand Island in Lake Superior, and returned to Little Bay de Noc on
Lake Michigan to winter further south. French voyageurs used the path
to transport furs to Green Bay.
The Bay de Noc—Grand Island trail has two major access points:
in the south, two miles north of Rapid River on CR-509 in Delta County;
in the north near Ackerman Lake, off M-94 in Alger County. The route
then follows a connector trail past small ponds and over ridges to join
the blue-blazed path of the North Country Trail, winding through Valley
Spur Ski/Bike Center and on to Lake Superior in Munising.
Our dedicated dozen elected to saunter northward and end at Lake Superior.
We planned to complete two segments (about eight to ten miles per section)
each month from June to August. A baton, adorned with one gull feather
(symbolizing water) and a raven feather (representing land) was dipped
into Lake Michigan at the start of the walk and into Lake Superior when
we finished.
Trail Magic is a term often used by hikers on the Appalachian and other
long distance trails to describe the special, unexpected happenings
that arise when out in the wild. There was magic for us along the Bay
de Noc-Grand Island Trail.
• The discovery that despite a few road crossings and some
scattered camps there is an astonishing amount of wild country along
the trail, due to its location within the National Forest.
• Several small brooks—Bill’s, Ten Dollar, Haymeadow,
Cherry—bubbling and shining in the morning sun.
• A bench appearing at just the right place for tired hikers
to sit and look over long, lovely vistas of the Whitefish River Valley
coming into spring green.
• Rarely visited lakes—Lower 18 Mile, Davie and 17 Mile—with
no human development. Bettie and Lynn vowed to return to the wild raspberry
patches we found near one lake.
• A pond just off the trail, with a mosquito-clearing wind,
which we found at 11:30 one morning. A perfect bug-free lunch spot.
When one hiker looked at his watch and said, “It’s not time
for lunch yet,” Rob said quietly, “We’re on Trail Time
out here,” and lunch was on.
• Remnants of old logging camps and crumbling foundations
where the CCC men lived and worked.
• A magnificent stand of old growth pine, which Helen immediately
dubbed The Magic Forest. Weeks later, we realized that we had adopted
this name for the beautiful grove when a puzzled local resident came
to us, map in hand, and said, “I’ve looked and looked and
I can’t find the Magic Forest anywhere on this map!”
• A happy uproar when the women walking ahead along the trail
spied the forty-mile trail marker as we approached Ackerman Lake.
In mid-August, our stalwart group of happy hikers dipped the baton in
Munising Bay and repaired to the nearby pavilion for a pizza celebration.
Although a bit sad to reach the end of our quest, we also were proud
and pleased with our summer saga. We had seen another part of the peninsula
intimately and made it ours without disturbing it or changing it for
the next person— perhaps you—to pass that way.
If hiking the entire length of the trail is not for you, walking short
segments can give access to many historic and scenic treasures of the
trail. One tip from vivid experience: unless you are extremely fond
of wood ticks, don’t hike the southern segments in June.
To find out more about the Bay de Noc-Grand Island trail, call or visit
the Forest Service in Munising at 387-2512 or Rapid River/Manistique
at 474-6442. Ask for a copy of a free recreational opportunity guide,
with trail description and map.
—Lon & Lynn Emerick
Editor’s Note: Comments and suggestions are welcomed at Marquette
Monthly, 810 North Third Street in Marquette or via e-mail at marquettemonthly@charter.net
The Emericks’ books include The Superior Peninsula, Going Back
to Central, Lumberjack—Inside an Era, Sharing the Journey and You
Wouldn’t Like it Here. All are available at book/gift stores or
www.northcountrypublishing.com
St. Rocco’s celebrates local
Italian culture
Ishpeming will be celebrating Italian heritage on July 28 at the St.
Rocco’s Festival at Al Quaal recreation area in Ishpeming. It’s
a chance for families to enjoy Italian delicacies, play games and listen
to some great music.
The festival has its roots in Italy, but actually honors a French saint.
In 1340, Saint Rocco was born to a noble family in Montpellier (France).
His childhood was steeped in religion, and he was even born with a birthmark
in the shape of a red cross on his chest. When he was a young adult,
St. Rocco took a vow of poverty and gave all his worldly possessions
to the poor, freeing himself for a pilgrimage to Rome.
During this same time, Italy was suffering from a deadly plague. On
his journey, St. Rocco was able to cure many people with prayer, but
sadly fell victim to the plague himself. He has been known since as
a protector from plagues and contagious diseases, and his festival is
celebrated every summer around the world.
Ishpeming’s celebration will include Italian and American food
booths, including Ralph’s Deli and Lawry’s. No doubt, the
highlight will be an authentic taste of Italy, served by the Valela
sisters Teresa Valela-Bertucci, Catherine Carlson, Clara Joseph and
Mary Jacobson. They’ve been serving at the fest for the last eight
years with traditional favorites such lasagna, gnocchi and cudighi.
Family member Jim Bertucci said everyone pitches in when it comes to
cooking. Siblings, parents, aunts and cousins get together in one kitchen
and help with the work, which will end up serving a crowd of almost
3,000.
“We’ll have spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread and salad this
year,” Bertucci said. “Last year, we prepared food for a week
before the fest and we were still sold out by 4:00 p.m.”
Bertucci is serving his tenth year as chairman of the Italian American
Mutual Aid Society of St. Rocco & St. Anthony (St. Rocco’s
Society), which got its start in 1942, but actually was formed from
groups dating back to 1899.
“The society started for people who came to this country and couldn’t
speak English,” Bertucci said. “They joined the club to be
close to others from their hometowns. And everyone had to pay their
dues. That money helped to cover costs, like insurance, for taking care
of each other and the families of people who needed help.”
Bertucci’s family will be there to keep up the tradition of caring
for others with their homemade sauce, meatballs and pasta. Their dishes
always are crowd pleasers.
Musical guests include Ray and Dan Adamini from noon to 1:30 p.m, the
Jimmy Allen Trio from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m., the Ishpeming Blue Notes from
4:30 to 5:00 p.m. and Chicago’s Diamanti Band from 5:00 to 7:00
p.m.
Everyone is welcome to enjoy bingo, free children’s games and activities,
pony rides, an inflatable slide and arts and crafts vendors.
Admission is free to this all-day picnic. It’s enough to make anyone
an honorary Italian for the day.
—Jamie Lafreniere
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