Letters and phone calls needed now to withdraw Wisconsin’s Chequamegon-Nicolet Forest from metallic sulfide mining
Members of the House Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources are working on legislation to withdraw portions of the forests and wilderness areas in states they represent from potential mining activity. The forests and wilderness areas in Wisconsin are not included in any of the eight or more Bills going through Congress – they should be.
The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest covers more than 1.5 million acres of Wisconsin's Northwoods. The Chequamegon side of the forest covers 858,400 acres in Ashland, Bayfield, Sawyer, Price, Taylor and Vilas counties, while the Nicolet side of the forest covers nearly 661,400 acres in Florence, Forest, Langlade, Oconto, Oneida and Vilas counties. Contained within the forest boundaries are more than 2000 miles of stream (nearly 1400 miles are classified as trout water), more than 600 lakes greater than ten acres in size, over 400 spring ponds, and 324,000 acres of wetland.
There are known metallic mineral deposits located throughout the forest and mining activities are becoming more frequent. The Secretary of the Interior has the authority to deny or allow exploration and mining development in the National Forest. Within the Department of the Interior are the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). They too play a deciding role in what is permitted in the forest. However, the top decision maker is the Secretary of the Interior. This week Deb Haaland was confirmed as the new Secretary of the Interior.
It is time that Secretary Haaland and the Wisconsin Legislators hear from the citizens of Wisconsin that we want the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest withdrawn from the federal lands available for mining activity.
The below letters were mailed this week. Use any portion of them you wish to make your voice be heard. The mailing addresses and contact information of Wisconsin Legislators that can push to introduce Bills are included below. Governor Evers can also be contacted to help with the issue. A simple phone call stating “please withdrawal Wisconsin’s National Forests from all mining activity” will only take a few minutes and go a long way. Use all forms of communication you are comfortable with.
Example letters included below.
Secretary Deb Haaland
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington D.C. 20240
Phone (202) 208-3100 ex 3
https://www.doi.gov/secretary-deb-haaland
Members of Congress have multiple office locations. You can go to their websites and find contact information for all locations.
Senator Tammy Baldwin
709 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-5653
https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/
Representative Ron Kind
1502 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-5739
Representative Gwen Moore
2252 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-4572
Representative Mark Pocan
1421 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-2906
Governor Tony Evers
PO Box 7863
Madison, WI 53707
(608) 266-1212
https://evers.wi.gov/Pages/Home.aspx
House Natural Resources Committee link:
https://naturalresources.house.gov/about/our-members
Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources link:
https://www.energy.senate.gov/members
Sent by Ron of Langlade County