WRPC website address: http://www.wrpc.net/index.html

May 20, 2002

Dear WRPC/WATER Network Member,

Despite our best efforts, including 15,000 signatures on the ban cyanide petitions and the impressive media campaign by the Forest County Potawatomi Community, the bill to ban cyanide in mining (AB 95) and the no-special treatment bill (AB 547) failed to make it out of Rep. Neal Kedzie's (R-Elkhorn) Assembly Environmental Resources Committee. Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison) attempted to remove the bills from Kedzie's committee but the Republicans voted as a block to prevent the bills from coming out of committee.

However, this is not the end of the issue. The Wisconsin Campaign to Ban Cyanide in Mining has educated a broad segment of the public about the dangers of cyanide to the point where three out of the four Democratic candidates for governor (Doyle, Falk and Barrett), as well as Jim Young of the Wisconsin Greens, have called for a ban on the use of cyanide in mining. Regardless of your political preference for governor, we need to keep this issue in the spotlight of political debate during and after the November election. Please keep circulating the cyanide petitions and keep writing letters to the editor for a ban on cyanide in mining and No Special Treatment for mines!

This coming June will provide two important occasions to reflect on how far we have come in this historic mine battle and where we need to go in the future. The first event is the North American Indigenous Mining Summit at Mole Lake, from June 12-15, 2002 (see flyer).  This outdoor conference is co-sponsored by the Sokaogon Chippewa Community and the Indigenous Mining Campaign Project (of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and Project Underground). Unlike the previous IEN national conference at Mole Lake in 1994, this summit is focused only on mining issues. The goal is to develop strategies to empower Indigenous communities to form and create alliances and networks with each other and with our allies. For further details, log on to either: www.treatyland.com or www.ienearth.org

The second event is the Protect the Earth Community Gathering at Mole Lake, from June 29-30, 2002. Many years ago, the late Red Cliff Chippewa leader Walt Bresette began holding community gatherings to bring people together to help protect the earth. This year's gathering is held in Walter's honor and to continue his work after his passing into the spirit world. There will be many Native and non-Native American speakers throughout the weekend, music performances by Ojibwe folk singer Bobby "Bullet" St. Germaine and Skip Jones and an 86th Birthday celebration for Roscoe Churchill (grandfather of the anti-mining movement in Wisconsin and president of WRPC).
For more information, log on to: www.protecttheearth.com

As we prepare ourselves for the next stage in this mine battle, keep in mind that BHP Billiton has just reported a 33% drop in profits for the third quarter (Dec.-Feb.). Weak copper prices pushed earnings from its base metals divison down by more than a half compared to the same period a year earlier. 

Stay tuned,

Al Gedicks, Exec. Sec.
info@wrpc.net
www.wrpc.net