As we looked out the windows of the council chambers and watched the Hispanic men reroofing the Sustainable Ely Building, I knew what the first question was going to be. “I wonder what part of Ely those guys are from?” And I could have almost predicted the second question. “How can those people (Sustainable Ely) keep saying that Ely has a ‘vibrant and sustainable economy’? With all of our empty store fronts, the nursing home on the verge, the high school under 200 kids, and on and on, how can they believe that?”

My answer was the same as all of the other times I’ve been asked that…. They don’t believe it, it’s a hoax. A hoax designed to make people from outside this area think that we don’t need any new jobs up on the east range, that in fact, copper/nickel mining would hurt the local economy.

It’s like the canoe with the signatures on its way to Washington, D.C. It’s designed to convey the message that our quiet little tourist town is making a plea to Washington to not let foreign mining conglomerates ruin our community and local economy. It’s also a hoax.

It’s a hoax because the Sustainable Ely canoers will be conveying a message contrary to the fact that every local government within 50 miles of Ely has unanimously passed resolutions supporting copper/nickel mining. Those canoers and the rest of Sustainable Ely are trying to get political support to stop copper/nickel mining instead of letting it go thru the stringent state procedures that will determine if it is environmentally safe to have this type of mining in our area.

I think it’s time we sent our own representatives out to Washington, D.C. to tell the EPA and the Forest Service and our elected officials, that the majority of folks who live in this area want copper/nickel to be able to go thru the permitting process without interference from Washington, D.C. or politicians in general. We want to know if it can be done safely in our area, and we want it decided by someone with a little more expertise than Bob Tammen or Reid Carron.

And additionally, I think we should step out of our usual Minnesota super nice and call the Sustainable Ely concept what it really is. It’s a bald-faced lie, designed to bring about a political action that’s contrary to the will of the majority of the local people.

Ross Petersen

Ely, Minn.