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Tessman’s revoked support on the Copperwood Mine

The Lake of the Clouds at the Porcupine Mountains, less than 10 miles away from the proposed Copperwood Mine site.
The Lake of the Clouds at the Porcupine Mountains, less than 10 miles away from the proposed Copperwood Mine site.
Antonio Anderson

A few years ago, on behalf of NMU and its students, Brock Tessman wrote a letter of support on the Copperwood Mine. However, just a few months ago, he revoked that support. Tessman is known for his commitment to nature, a value that NMU prides itself on, especially through initiatives like the Green Fund. Yet, with this reversal, the Editorial Board questions if Tessman can be trusted to uphold NMU’s ideals of sustainability.

The Copperwood Mine is set to be adjacent to the Porcupine Mountains State Park, with the potential to lease mineral rights and expand into the park. If the Copperwood Mine takes form it will damage the surrounding land, one of the most beautiful landscapes in the Upper Peninsula.

However, the mine does not exclusively offer negative outcomes. It could offer significant jobs and industry to the region. That was the main argument of outraged Michigan Sen. John Damoose, who strongly criticized Tessman’s decision to withdraw support, accusing NMU of betraying the heritage of Yoopers.

A lot of Yoopers have some connection to mining, as it is what put the Upper Peninsula on the map. The open mines still offer a great many jobs that support families all around. The Upper Peninsula used to be filled end to end with mines, but once the ore veins dried up, it was end to end with ghost towns. For those that grew up in Ishpeming, they were told stories of the “good ole days” when the mine was thriving, and movies were filmed in town. Those days, however, are long gone.

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Yoopers are a tenacious folk and most attribute it to the cold, but it’s due to the ability to wait out the hard times and make something good from it. From Ishpeming’s shuttered mines to KI Sawyer’s closed Air Force base, to Negaunee’s relocation after mining tunnels kept collapsing houses, communities across the Upper Peninsula have fought to become more than what they were left as by mining corporations that took off after draining their resources.

Now, a new mine seeks to drink the veins of a prominent tourist destination – one that is cherished by many across the Upper Peninsula. To think that so many representing the Upper Peninsula cannot see the devastation that occurs when a mine dries, not to mention the harmful effects on the land around it is disheartening. Even more so, it’s troubling to see the face of one’s own university at one point supported such a thing.

Click here to see the Highland Copper website. 

Click here to see the Save the Wild UP website. 

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