Latest Blog Posts

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• Booth at the F3T Fly Fishing Film Festival
  The Coalition will have a booth at the F3T Fly Fishing Film Festival, Meyer Theater, Green Bay, Wi. February 23, 2022, at 7:30 pm. The Coalition […]
• 2022 Fly Fishing Tour
  The Coalition to Save the Menominee River is proud to support the 2022 Fly Fishing Film tour (F3T).  It has supported F3T events since 2018. The […]
• Menominee River Water Celebration!
  A FREE event, open to the public, to protect our water and sacred sites from the threat posed by the Back Forty Mine project. Come join […]
• Water Celebration
  “ WATER CELEBRATION “ – FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 STEPHENSON ISLAND, WISCONSIN 12:00 Noon:  Event Opening: Bring Your Lawn Chairs1:30 pm:  Special Guest Speaker: Dr. Al […]
• PROTECT YOUR STATE LANDS NOW !!!
  History Lesson: The very same man who drilled multiple test holes along the Menominee River in Lake Township in 2002 has now applied for a Mineral […]
• Local Environmental Group Receives International Award for their efforts
  March 24, 2021 For Immediate Release: A local environmental group was honored this week with an international award for their efforts to protect the Menominee River. […]
• Get your masks here!
  Send a $15.00 check and mask request to:  Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River, Inc.  P.O. Box 475 Marinette WI  54143 Be sure to include your […]
• Videos for the River
  Sulfide Mining Basics Menominee River Fish Passage Gary Besaw, Menominee Nation Tim Landwehr, Tight Lines Fly Fishing Co.
• Worst-Case Scenarios Mining Disasters Videos
  Mount Polley Mine Tailings Breach Brazil Mine Dam collapse 1/27/19 Vale Brazil mine disaster collapse 2015
• Our Great Menominee River, Amen Video
• Song: Our Great Menominee River, Amen
  During the Stay-At-Home pandemic, Lea Jane and Dale Burie of ‘Tater Patch Recording Studio in Wausaukee, Wisconsin, have released their new river awareness song called “Our […]
• Fly Fishing Film Tour 2020
  Coalition to Save the Menominee River Locations and Dates Ann Arbor, Michigan (Michigan Theater) on February 28 Michigan Theater 603 E. Liberty St Ann Arbor, MI […]
• Aquila Permit Update 11/23/19
  BACK FORTY PROJECT – IS IT A DONE DEAL? NO! November 23, 2019 NOTE:  AQUILA DOES NOT HAVE ALL NECESSARY BACK FORTY PERMITS.               As of […]
• Letter to “The Mining Journal”
  Mine isn’t done deal To the Journal editor: The Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River Inc. filed suit in Michigan state court contesting the signing of […]
• Talking points to use when following up from the public hearing
  TOP FIVE TALKING POINTS The Back Forty Mine site will be located within a landscape that features significant ancient Menominee Tribal cultural resources, including tribal burial […]
• Use the power of the pen!
  Action Needed on Back Forty Mine! CITIZENS AGAINST THE BACK FORTY MINE·THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2019 (From our friends at River Alliance of Wisconsin) More than 300 […]
• Federal lawsuit regarding the wetlands permit
  PRESS RELEASE On November 13, 2018, the Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River, Inc. filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking review of the federal government’s […]
• Monthly meeting change of venue
  Our monthly meetings will be held at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 1600 University Drive, Marinette. First Thursday of the month 6:30 p.m. Hope to see you […]
• THANK YOU!
  Thank you to everyone who helped make the Menominee River Rally & Guitar Show on August 19, 2018, a huge success! We especially thank our attorney, […]
• We’ve taken action in a big way!
  The Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River, Inc. has filed a Petition For Contested Case Hearing in the state of Michigan, challenging the Michigan Department of […]

Our mission is to work together to stop the Back Forty Mine.

The Menominee River was mentioned in the TV series, Das Boat. The entire episode is below. In the video below where it starts at 16:32, you can listen to when they mention our cause.

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GOOD NEWS FOR OUR CAUSE!

Today American Rivers of Washington, D.C. announced that the Menominee River has been chosen as one of the Top Ten in their listing of “America’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2020!”

Menominee River named among America’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2020

Mining threatens cities’ water supplies and Menominee Tribe sacred sites

April 14, 2020

Contact:
Shanyn Viars, American Rivers, (607) 426-8283, sviars@americanrivers.org

Dale and Lea Jane Burie, Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River (615) 512-3506, jointherivercoalition@gmail.com

Dr. Al Gedicks, Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, (608) 784-4399, agedicks@eagle.uwlax.edu

Allison Werner, River Alliance of WI, (608) 257-2424 x113, awerner@wisconsinrivers.org

Washington, D.C. – For the second time in four years, American Rivers named the Menominee River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers®, citing the threat of a proposed metallic sulfide mine to drinking water supplies and sacred tribal sites. American Rivers and its partners called on Michigan’s Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (MEGLE) agency to deny the permit for this mining project and protect local communities and the cultural significance of the Menominee River.

“America’s Most Endangered Rivers is a call to action. This mine poses an unacceptable risk to the Menominee River and Lake Michigan,” said Shanyn Viars with American Rivers. “We cannot allow mine tailings to demolish Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin’s sacred sites or send toxic waste into drinking water supplies, potentially risking millions of people.”

A Canadian exploration company, Aquila Resources, Inc., seeks permits for a metallic sulfide mine on the banks of the Menominee River, near Stephenson, Michigan. Known as the Back Forty Project, the proposed mine and tailings dam would encompass 1,087 acres — the size of 1,435 football fields. If toxic acid mine drainage spilled out of the Back Forty tailings dam, it would send heavy metals linked to cancer, respiratory failure, and diseases of the nervous system, brain, heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys into ancient tribal ceremonial sites, the Menominee River and ultimately Lake Michigan. Currently, it is unclear if a contingency plan has been defined by MEGLE.

The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, the Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River, Inc., along with communities and other organizations in Wisconsin and Michigan, are fighting for their right to a clean river,  joined in opposition to the exploration company, Aquila Resources, Inc. American Rivers also called on Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to oppose this harmful project.

“After many years of metallic sulfide mining, with every mine proven to have polluted nearby water and contaminated the environment, we should recognize these ingredients as a recipe for disaster,” said Dale Burie, President, Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River, Inc.

“The potential for a catastrophic failure of Aquila’s proposed tailings dam threatens the Menominee River, the largest watershed in the Upper Peninsula, downstream Lake Michigan, and decades of clean water efforts. In addition, the sacred sites of Native Americans should be ‘no-go areas, protected from destructive mining projects,” said Al Gedicks, Executive Secretary, Wisconsin Resources Protection Council.

“The risks to our waters are too high for this project to go forward. It’s not a matter of if pollution will occur, it is a question of when it will occur. Long-term protection of drinking water, cultural resources, fisheries, and economies are far more important than this short-term project,” said Allison Werner, Policy and Advocacy Director,  River Alliance of Wisconsin.

A world-class smallmouth bass fishery, the Menominee River supplies drinking water for 24,000 people in Marinette, Wisconsin, and Menominee, Michigan. Winding through sacred tribal lands, the river is especially meaningful to the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, whose 10,000 years of history, culture, and heritage began where the river spills into Lake Michigan. Today, the tribe plays an active role in land management and river stewardship.

The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations, and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.

Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in past years include the Boundary Waters (2018), Mississippi River (2020, 2019), Kinnickinic River (2018), and the St. Louis River (2016).

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS®

#1 Upper Mississippi River (Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin)
Threat:  Climate change, poor flood management

#2 Lower Missouri River (Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas)
Threat:  Climate change, poor flood management

#3 Big Sunflower River (Mississippi)
Threat:  Yazoo pumps project

#4: Puyallup River (Washington)
Threat:  Electron Dam

#5: South Fork Salmon River (Idaho)
Threat:  Gold mine

#6: Menominee River (Michigan, Wisconsin)
Threat:  Open-pit sulfide mining

#7: Rapid Creek (South Dakota)
Threat:  Gold mining

#8: Okefenokee Swamp (Georgia, Florida)
Threat:  Titanium mining

#9: Ocklawaha River (Florida)
Threat:  Rodman Dam

#10: Lower Youghiogheny River (Pennsylvania)
Threat:  Natural gas development

River of the Year: Delaware River (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland)

Honored as a national success story for restoration and a model for equitable and innovative clean water solutions.

ABOUT AMERICAN RIVERS

American Rivers believes every community in our country should have clean water and a healthy river. Since 1973, we have been protecting wild rivers, restoring damaged rivers, and conserving clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and offices across the country, we are the most effective river conservation organization in the United States, delivering solutions that will last for generations to come. Find your connections at PDF of press release.

When asked to point to a mine that has never polluted, Joe Maki of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) confessed, “I cannot.”

What is all the fuss about? 

What is the Back Forty Mine?

The Back Forty Mine is a proposal by Aquila Resources, a Canadian mining company, to extract copper, gold, and zinc from a site in Stephenson, Michigan. They intend to create an open-pit metallic sulfide mine.

The mine is estimated to cover 83 acres and be 750 feet deep (that’s the depth of two Statues of Liberty). It would be located only 50 yards from the edge of the Menominee River, which flows into Lake Michigan.

What’s the big deal about a hole in the ground?

It is the process of extracting the ore that contaminates local waters and soils. It produces sulfuric acid (the same caustic substance used in car batteries). This sulfuric acid dissolves rock and leaches out toxic heavy metals. Though the mines are lined below a certain level, this acid and metal seep out along the pit walls into rivers and aquifers (well water).

Also, cyanide will be used on-site because of the low grade of the ore. Because it is highly poisonous, cyanide has been banned from many countries and states, including Wisconsin.

Any contamination at the headwaters of the Menominee River is going to affect people who depend upon the fishing industry or the tourism industry— or for that matter, the clean water downstream.

Al Gedicks, Executive Secretary, Wisconsin Resources Protection Council.

Has there ever been a safe sulfide mine?

No. The Flambeau Mine operated near Ladysmith, Wisconsin, in the 1990s. Some point to it as a success, but the evidence of environmental contamination is overwhelming.

Let’s compare the two projects:

Parameter	Flambeau	Back Forty
Size of the mine pit	32 acres Max depth: 225 ft	83 acres Max depth: 750 ft
Ore production	1.9 million tons	12.5 million tons
Waste rock production	8.6 million tons	54 million tons
Tailings generated from on-site processing of ore	0 There was no on-site processing of ore at Flambeau. It was all shipped to Canada for smelting.	11.8 million tons over the seven-year life of mine
Use of an underground cutoff wall to impede groundwater flow between mine pit and neighboring river	Yes (the Flambeau Mine pit was 140 feet from the Flambeau River)	Yes, BUT the top of the bedrock where the cut-off wall will be keyed in, is weathered, fractured, and permeable.
Environmental footprint	181 acres	865 acres (4.5 times the Flambeau Mine)

Read a detailed report by Dr. Al Gedicks, Executive Secretary, Wisconsin Resources Protection Council.

How can I help fight this?

WE INVITE YOU TO ATTEND OUR MONTHLY MEETINGS

Since the Covid 19 Pandemic, we have also been conducting our monthly meetings using ZOOM for our virtual meetings on the computer. Simply send us your permission to jointherivercoalition@gmail.com to enter your email address into the Coalition’s roster.

Or you can visit us on the first Thursday of each month at Northeast  Wisconsin Technical College 1601 University Drive Marinette, WI 54143. Volunteer meetings at 6:30 pm CST.

You will be sent an invitation with the “Link” to join us at our monthly meetings. The notices and the agenda will be sent out prior to the meeting as we meet every 1st Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm. CST.

Thank you for being on our team !!
Dale Burie, Corporate Resource Officer
Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River, Inc.

Read a detailed report by Dr. Al Gedicks, Executive Secretary, Wisconsin Resources Protection Council.