Mining in my Backyard

The case study of the pipeline in Chad/Cameroon parallels a situation impacting my family in Wisconsin. Over twenty years ago my parents purchased land and built a vacation home on a serene lake in Northern Wisconsin that is naturally beautiful and home to various species of wildlife. In the past decade, an iron ore company out of Texas, which is owned by a friend of Vice President Cheney, has purchased thousands of acres along an iron ore vein that runs immediately behind my family's property. In the last two years, the mining company has held meetings with the adjacent towns and property owners along the impacted area promoting the idea of mining and all the wonderful benefits of this opportunity. RGGS Land and Minerals, Ltd. is proposing to mine the iron ore, which will take upwards of 25 years, but will significantly benefit the local economy by bringing jobs to the area. The downside will be pollution (both water and air), changing the landscape (imagine a huge hole 22 miles long), impacting wildlife, increased traffic and noise from the machinery. There is also a Native American reservation nearby and mining may affect their water supply. While the potential to mine a fifth of the iron in the United States sounds appealing, I would prefer that it did not occur “in my backyard.” How can natural beauty compare to profitability? Is the impact of mining the iron ore worth the impact to the environment which will never be returned to the previous state? While the prospect of job opportunities in a small town sounds ideal, the potential impact of the housing/land market could offset any economic gain? If mining does come to fruition, my parents will sell their property and I believe others would follow suit. Finally, since the mining company is holding meetings, citizens are being provided a one-sided viewpoint of mining. The Department of Natural Resources and other environmental groups should be providing information to ensure that citizens have a non-biased opinion and are not steamrolled into siding with big business.

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