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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Tyler attacks hard-working local business people

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In a letter in the May 1 edition, Gerald Tyler et al highlight the National Park and Wilderness Waters Protection Act (HR 1796) and the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters.

HR 1796 is a step toward protecting the waters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park from pollution by the deadly acid mine drainage that would result if sulfide-ore copper mining were allowed to occur in the Minnesota portion of the Rainy River Basin. The Boundary Waters, the Superior National Forest as a whole (including underlying federal mineral rights), and Voyageurs belong to the people of the United States. As a Congressional Representative of owners of these priceless lands, Betty McCollum has performed a great service for all of us by introducing this legislation to withdraw federal mineral rights in the Boundary Waters and Voyageurs watersheds from leasing for mining.

The Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters is a national endeavor led by Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness and Ely-area residents. In the two years since American Rivers designated the South Kawishiwi as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers, the Ely-area citizens leading the Campaign have gathered support from dozens of organizations and tens of thousands of people across the United States who recognize the importance of clean water and a healthy landscape for the economy and for the well-being of humans, fish, and wildlife. Volunteer campaign leaders include the owners of resorts, lodges, and other businesses; outfitters; guides; and Ely-area property owners. These people, whom the Tyler letter labels “radical environmentalists,” are determined to protect their businesses, jobs, and property values from the major damage that would be inflicted by sulfide-ore copper mining near the Boundary Waters. The Twin Metals mine and its infrastructure alone would destroy thousands of acres of land, much of it in the heart of many millions of dollars worth of real estate (homes, cabins, and outdoor recreation businesses and organizations) along Birch Lake and the South Kawishiwi. A Twin Metals mine would be in sulfide-bearing ore and would generate more than 99 percent waste. Acid drainage from the mines, the waste, and the tailings would pollute waters that flow into the most popular wilderness area in the United States and on to the Quetico and Voyageurs.

Mr. Tyler et al claim that HR 1796 and the campaign constitute “a dagger directed at economic development and job growth,” but the fact is that the regressive thinking reflected in their letter is the real threat to the economic well-being of the Ely area.

Aaron Brown noted in his Minnesota Brown blog on May 3 that “the Iron Range lost 40 percent of its population, 50 percent of its student population and two-thirds of its mining jobs since the 1980 census...” Mr. Tyler et al are apparently blind to irony in their current state of enthrallment to Chilean mining company Antofagasta; they note that 1,300 to 1,400 more taconite workers will soon be laid off. A decrease in global demand, a long-term relentless decline in mining employment because of ongoing advances in worker-replacement technology, and the availability of richer ore in other places at lower production costs are harsh realities affecting both taconite and copper. Demand may bounce back at some point, but the second two factors will not change in our lifetimes. And yet Mr. Tyler et al assert that Northeastern Minnesota will be devastated unless we permit a Chilean company to destroy land and pollute water in a boom-and-bust copper mining venture.

Mr. Tyler et al not only display complete disrespect for people who have invested their lives and money to help build a sustainable economy in this community, but also they display apparent ignorance with respect to mineral ownership. Contrary to their assertion, federal mineral royalties are not paid into the Minnesota Permanent School Fund.

Finally, if Mr. Tyler et al actually cared about the provenance and authorship of HR 1796, they could call Rep. McCollum’s office and ask, instead of offering supposition. I suspect that they have not done that because they fear that the truth will be inconsistent with their talking points.

Reid Carron

Morse Twp., Minn.