About
WRPC Mission Statement
Established in 1982, the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council was created to help counter the lack of information about the effects of large-scale metallic sulfide mining on our state’s precious water supplies, on the tourism and dairy industries, and upon the many Native American communities that are located near potential mine sites.
Members of WRPC share a common goal: to educate the public about the consequences of allowing international mining corporations to develop a new mining district in northern Wisconsin under the present legal and regulatory framework. The repeal of Wisconsin’s landmark “Prove It First” Mining Moratorium Law in 2017 leaves our communities at risk of unacceptable damage to the environment, human health, treaty rights and sustainable economies.
WRPC has always emphasized the integral connection between the threat to our clean waters from metallic sulfide mining and the cultural threat to the Native American Nations who depend on the water for the continuation of their lifestyles. Whether it is the threat to the Mole Lake Sokaogon Chippewa’s wild rice lake or the threat to the Menominee River and the homeland of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, we have tried to build understanding and mutual support between Native and non-Native communities who depend upon a shared resource.
In 1996, WRPC released its documentary film, Keepers of the Water, about the threat to the Wolf River from Exxon’s proposed underground metallic sulfide mine. The documentary won the Best Environmental Film award at the Red Earth American Indian Film Festival in Oklahoma City in 1997.
Some notable successes of WRPC’s alliance building in defense of clean water include:
- The defeat of Exxon’s proposed Crandon metallic sulfide mine at the headwaters of the Wolf River in 2003. The proposed mine site is now a conservation area jointly managed by the Mole Lake Sokaogon Chippewa and the Forest County Potawatomi Tribes.
- The grassroots legislative campaign to enact Wisconsin’s “Prove It First” Mining Moratorium Law in 1988.
- The 2012 successful Clean Water Act lawsuit against the Flambeau Mining Corporation (FMC) for pollution of the Flambeau River from FMC’s sulfide mine in Ladysmith, WI. In 2013 the Federal Appeals Court in Chicago overturned Judge Barbara Crabb’s 2012 decision but did not dispute WRPC’s claim that FMC had discharged contaminated water to the Flambeau River at the mine site.
- The 2015 defeat of Gogebic Taconite’s proposed iron mine next to Lake Superior by an Indian, environmental and grassroots citizen alliance.
WRPC is proud to join with the Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River in their efforts to protect the Menominee River from a metallic sulfide mine 150 feet from the river. The proposed Back Forty Mine on the Menominee River contaminates our air, waters, and soils. Contamination kills. The Coalition to Save the Menominee River believes an organized approach is the best way to save our waters, wildlife, property values, sacred lands, the tourism industry, and our people.
https://jointherivercoalition.
The Wisconsin Resources Protection Council operates on a small budget and without paid staff of any kind. Our entire budget comes from membership contributions; we do not receive grants of any kind. You can be certain that every dollar you send will go directly to further our legal expenses and our public education efforts about the effects of large-scale metallic sulfide and uranium mining in the Lake Superior region. WRPC is a non-profit but not tax-exempt, environmental organization. Donations are not tax-deductible.
For updates on WRPC activities, check out current and back issues of our newsletter. To receive information about WRPC membership, contact us at:
WRPC
P.O. Box 263
Tomahawk, WI 54487
