Michigan Advance's Katie O'Brien Kelley reports…
The Keweenaw Land Association has requested metallic mineral lease rights to about 10,631 acres across Baraga, Dickinson, Iron, Marquette and Menominee counties. At a Wednesday virtual public meeting held by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), residents of these counties, members of environmental groups and other community members expressed concerns about the lease request and called for the DNR to deny it.
Tom Grotewohl, a U.P. resident, said he thinks that approving a mineral rights lease of this scale would be “entirely contradictory” to the DNR’s mission of protecting and managing natural resources. […] Grotewohl also said he was “very alarmed” that there were no in-person hearings being held by the DNR to discuss this lease. […] “Virtual meetings are a new technology, which still has not been embraced by many among older generations, which may include adjacent land wonders who have the right to know of the potential for mining to lower their property values,” he said.
This concern was reiterated by other speakers throughout the meeting, as several people were not able to unmute their microphones to give their public comments. […] Anna Bunting from Freshwater Future rejoined the webinar via phone because of this issue. […] “This is a woefully inadequate public participation process for such a huge lease request,” Bunting said. “There needs to be, and I certainly request, an in-person public hearing.”
Don't forget, kids: it's just not the same telling someone to go jump in the lake in a Zoom meeting. And by the way…
The DNR said that it will be accepting further questions or comments regarding the lease application. Comments can be submitted to the DNR via email. […] A post-meeting summary, which will respond to questions people had during Wednesday’s meeting, will also be posted on the DNR’s website.