Save our Beautiful PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS!
Time sensitive, take action to protect the wilderness.
Did you know this pristine wilderness area, The Porcupine Mountains, is in danger of being ruined by a mine? A mine that would create a huge disruption to the forest, create a lot of noise and light pollution, and could possibly pollute the largest supply of fresh water, Lake Superior?
What is the most photographed place in Michigan? Lake of the Clouds in the Porcupine Mountains state park.
Did you know Michigan had mountains? Yes, the Upper Peninsula has the Porcupine mountains.
Where can you find over 35,000 acres of old growth forest, over 90 waterfalls and over 90 miles of wilderness hiking trails? In the largest state park in Michigan, The Porcupine Mountains State Park.
Did you know there is something very simple for you to do to help prevent this?
It only takes one person to make a difference and that one person can be you. It will only take a minute of your time.
Here are the details:
The actual mining company that wants to build the mine is called Highland Copper. This specific mining project (for some reason) is called Copperwood. They are a company that is from Canada and have already started clear cutting and re-routing waterways in the area before they even have the funding to create the mine.
The body of my blog is text I copied and pasted from the website, Protect the Porkies. Go to the website and see all the pictures, the videos, the maps and read for yourself how important it is to stop this mining project.
https://protecttheporkies.com/home
TIME SESITIVE! Please act now!
It will only take a minute of your time.
Sign the petition to stop the mine from destroying our precious wilderness:
https://protecttheporkies.com/take-action-1
You do not have to live in Michigan to take action. The Porcupine Mountains State Park is one of the most visited places tourists go to enjoy the outdoors and the rugged beauty of the untamed wilderness.
On Tuesday, March 26 at 9 AM (ET), the Michigan Strategic Fund voted to give a $50M grant to the Copperwood Mine. Here is what Protect the Porkies have in response to that:
“The outcome was certainly not ideal — they voted to approve the grant — BUT the grant text has been altered significantly, and the company will not be awarded even a single copper penny until they have raised $150 million. Their deadline to raise the money is December 31st, 2025— so that’s our deadline to stop them. The plan remains unchanged: keep building momentum until investors see this thing like the Titanic it is.
Let’s be clear: this movement is just getting started.”
https://protecttheporkies.com/home
PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO! This explains it all and tells you how our tax dollars (grant money) could be given to this shady company to destroy our states most beautiful park. (19 minutes long.)
Why should you care?
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness: "The most beautiful State Park in the country."
Video (6 minutes long) taken of the proposed site of the mine, they do not have funds yet and they are clear cutting the area.
Let's be clear: the Porkies are not just any park. Last year, it was ranked by Yelp.com and TripAdvisor as "the most beautiful State Park in the country." It is the largest State Park in Michigan and one of the only State Parks in the country which has a designated Wilderness Area. Most importantly, the Porkies hold the largest tract of mixed old growth forest remaining in the Midwest.
Another video (3 minutes long) taken from the same person of the same area 2 weeks later. It is devastating to see what has been done and it is right next to the Ottawa National Forest.
Because the State Park does not own its mineral rights, Highland Copper plans to drill directly beneath "Section 5" on Park property. Eventually, they may even drill beneath the Presque Isle River to access satellite deposits beneath old growth forest.
Because Copperwood's ore grade is only 1.5%, nearly all of what comes out of the ground will be stored as on-site waste, forever, in a Tailings Disposal Facility measuring 244 football fields in area and 171 feet in height — 20 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. Highland Copper admits that this massive structure will even be visible from the Lake of the Clouds Overlook.
Adjacent to both the North Country Trail and Porcupine Mountains State Park, Copperwood would be the closest sulfide mine to Lake Superior in history.
The historic North Country Trail — just recently incorporated into the National Parks Service — would be a literal stone's throw from sewage lagoons, explosives plants, exhaust systems, rerouted streams, and a 323-acre tailings disposal facility.
Impact on Indigenous Rights
Copperwood is located firmly in 1842 Treaty Territory
The development and operation of the mine will pose a real and significant threat to multiple Anishinaabe / Ojibwe resources including fisheries, water, and wildlife.
Right next door, the Copperwood Mine risks desecrating this area with noise pollution, light pollution, air pollution, subterranean blasting, non-stop industrial traffic, and more.
On the bluffs overlooking Lake Superior, the Presque Isle Campground at Porcupine Mountains State Park is one of the most popular in the Midwest. As a rustic campground, there is no electricity and no sewage dump. In just a short walk, visitors may reach three stunning waterfalls on the Presque Isle River or go fishing or swimming at the lakeshore.
Unfortunately, the Chopperwood Mine — in addition to subjecting the area to subterranean blasts, air pollution, and noise pollution — would be lit up like a casino all night long, effectively eliminating a clear view of the starry sky not just for the Presque Isle Area, but for miles around, potentially as far as Black River Harbor, another area of outstanding beauty.
Already Highland Copper has clearcut hundreds of acres of so-called "secondary" forest in preparation for the Chopperwood Mine. But there's nothing secondary about the importance of such woods— in addition to existing for their own sake and providing homes for countless organisms, forest which is allowed to mature becomes a barrier against wildfires. As trees grow old, they develop thick fire-resistant bark and shed their lower limbs, thus creating a diverse canopy which is difficult to burn. In the dense shade below, mosses, lichens, and liverworts move in, and the ground grows into a moist sponge.
This is most dear to my heart.
I love the state I live in, Michigan. I am the third generation born here in this beautiful state. I especially love the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I have been going there since I was a baby in my mom’s arms. I have a long history of family that lived in the U.P. (what Michiganders call the Upper Peninsula of Michigan). I will not go into my long love affair of the U.P. in this blog. I will just say that it is my favorite place to be, I go there as often as I can, and there is nothing more important than to preserve the incredible peaceful wilderness that is located up there.
I have been to the Porcupine Mountains many times. I have hiked the trails there, visited the waterfalls, enjoyed the park programs and camped there a few times. The most recent time I was there was in 2020. I went with my sister while on vacation in the U.P. I will share some of my pictures here from that trip. (The older pictures I have from years ago of camping there I do not have in a digital form to share here in the blog.)
Lake of the Clouds, as you hike along the Escarpment Trail.
This is where everyone takes the picture of the Lake of the Clouds, the most Photographed place in the state of Michigan.
Nonesuch, small waterfall and river in the park. One of my favorite places to go while I am there.
Along Lake Superior as the sun is setting.
The sun setting over the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and the third largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh water, Lake Superior.
Thank you for taking the time to learn about what is happening at the Porcupine Mountain State Park. Please make a difference and fill out the form: ‘Tell the Michigan Strategic Funding Board: No Money for Sulfide Mining on Lake Superior!’ It only takes a minute to fill out the form.
Cooking Classes:
Red Sauce - No Tomatoes - Spaghetti Cooking Class
Thursday, Feb. 29 - 6:30 to 8:00 PM (ET)
Longer hour and a half class - Virtual $36.00
Tomatoes are nightshade vegetables that can cause joint pain and make arthritis worse. This class is for anyone who suffers with arthritis pain. Learn how to make a Red Sauce that tastes just like tomato sauce but with no tomatoes. Plus you will learn how to make Spaghetti using the Red Sauce.
Get in the Kitchen and Cook Healthy!
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Correction in my blog: The actual mining company that wants to build the mine is called Highland Copper. This specific mining project (for some reason) is called Copperwood.
Wow, this us very sad. I signed the petition, so now I have a link that I can share on social media too.