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Hello Mr. Zenanko,
As noted in my prior email, I'm working on a project to engage anglers and hunters in the campaign to see that the Rainy River Drainage Basin is not negatively impacted by the risks posed by proposed mining projects in the headwaters area. The American Sportfishing Association as well as brand leaders like Rapala and St. Croix Rods have joined in support of this effort. It would be extremely powerful to have a list of hall of fame caliber anglers show support for keeping the Rainy watershed protected. I am soliciting support from the ranks of Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame members and Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame members. Please take a look at the simple statement below, and let me know if you would lend your name to it. We're off to a good start, as Randy and Todd Amenrud, and Ted Takasaki are the first signers. Please let me know if you'd be willing to lend your name, and if you know of others you feel would sign on. I have a solid list of prospects, but don't have contact details for a lot of them. The Rainy River Drainage Basin is home to some of the finest freshwater fishing in all of North America. As anglers, we are extremely concerned about proposals to develop sulfide-ore copper mines in the headwaters that feed the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Voyageurs National Park, and Rainy Lake watershed. The type of mining proposed has not been proven to be done elsewhere without negative impacts to water resources. In a region as valuable as the Rainy Lake watershed, we feel that the risks are simply too great, and that its unique clean water and fishery resources must be protected. Randy Amenrud Todd Amenrud Ted Takasaki Thanks very much, and please let me know if you have any questions! Scott Hed Sporting Outreach Coordinator Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters 605-351-1646 The Minnesota Man with a Brain Responds Scott, Thanks for your email. I too, love to fish the waters in the area you mention. And, I would not support any mining project that posed a threat to those waters. I do know that the MDNR has very strict rules concerning the way mining is done in this state. If, during the permitting process, it becomes clear that the design of the mining plan is not adequately protective of the environment, I would be one of the first to register my opposition. With environmental protection as #1, I also recognize that our society requires these metals, and they do have to come from somewhere. In my view, with Minnesota having some of the toughest mining rules in the world, I see the environmental benefit in having those metals come from the most regulated places on earth, even if it is "in my backyard". As you know, much of copper we use daily comes from Peru, Chili, and Indonesia, where environmental rules are almost non-existent. I can't do much about that, except when a well-designed mine and properly permitted and operated mine comes along in my backyard, I think its the environmental-minded thing to do to support it. I've seen some of the worst mines from century's past in my fishing travels, and if that's how they were planning on doing it, I'd be totally opposed. But I've also seen that copper mine over there by Ladysmith, Wisconsin - right next to the river, where they mined all that copper in the 90's for years and now today you'd never know a mine was ever there. Lots of us were concerned when that one went it, but sure enough, it worked out, and all the terrible predictions of how it would ruin the river were not borne out. If you saw it, you would be as shocked as I was to drive right up to the mine to ever know it was there. It wasn't noisy or dusty or anything - just like a big gravel pit is all. So sign me up for one who feels strongly that the permitting process should be fair and thorough, and if they can engineer it to meet the standards, then I would support it. If not, then I would not support it. I plan to enjoy fishing the boundary water for the rest of my life Sincerely Tom Zenanko MN Resident and Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame Angler
1 Comment
Robert Dale
1/14/2017 12:56:10 pm
I would like to stand behind your comment Tom. Along with being an outdoorsman myself and being a miner and construction electrician, I realize the need for responsible stewardship of our global resources. We need to be the leaders and set the global standard for environmentally friendly processes. If we shrug our shoulders and say that it simply cannot be done (when it has been) we still turn a blind eye to the damage done in other countries that will continue to process these different materials that is being done without any of the regulations that we have which puts their citizens at risk for the products that we use every day like cell phones. Demanding a global standard would start the change needed to not only improve global conditions but also level the playing field that our domestic industries face in a marketplace that is flooded with products manufactured with little or no environmental regulation. Thank you, Tom, for mentioning Ladysmith, WI because that is one of many that have done it the right way. There is a push for big names and donors to shut it all down and the biggest opponents are not from the area but from the metro that do not want to see their playground disappear or have a business that is not dependent on summer tourism to northeast Minnesota. The rest of us here rely on year round jobs that pay well enough to support our families. The folks that are fighting against damaging our environment up here so that it remains nice for the few times they come up here in a year, if that, are given more of a voice with their fat wallets, high profile names (as they are trying to gather with the previous post), and are backed by groups like the Sierra Club and Friends of the Boundary Waters instead of everyday people like myself that try to scratch out a living in an area that has two main industries-mining and logging. When either of them take a hit our area feels the loss. I would urge all of the professional sport fishermen and Rapala to hit up some local guides all around the range and check out the fisheries that are all that remain of previous mining operations. Those fisheries have a story behind each of them that is not being told. Some of those places would still be swamps or woodlands. Industry that exists in the metro has not spread way up here because it is not cost effective to ship materials up here to ship back down at all and remain competitive so we make do with what we have. Iron Rangers are some of the most resilient people in this state. We feel the pain every time the economy slows down in the wood products or steel industry or with contract negotiations that sometimes stall. We find some other way to make it through layoff periods when the same politicians that fight against the expansion of mining with the help from environmental lobbyists also deny unemployment extensions. Those that can and are able to leave their families behind or uproot their families completely find work elsewhere to keep their families fed. It is a hard living up here with a very high level of depression and with the ups and downs wr face it is not hard to understand why.We love the same water and woods that everyone else does and enjoy the environment on our days off all of the time until the next layoff. We do not need to see high profile names of fishermen and everyone else to be one more added obstacle to a living that we need to have some stability in our lives so they have a place to fish or hunt. Fishing and hunting is not just a sport for us, but food on our tables as well, especially during layoffs that you may or may not be directly involved in by supporting the environmental groups that see success as stopping industry rather than ensuring environmentally responsible industry. There is a big difference in between the two. Their goal is to stop it all. If you want to make a difference, take a few minutes to reflect on the items in your life that use the very same materials that PolyMet and Twin Metals ate trying to get permitted to mine. Those materials are already being mined in other countries without regulation. We can do it here cleanly. Not supporting the clean alternative is just saying that pollution is only meaningful to you if the consequences do not affect your next vacation plan in northeast Minnesota, otherwise called the Iron Range for obvious reasons. Please support clean mining, PolyMet, and Twin Metals. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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