 We're thrilled to announce that our Valentine's Day wish came true! On February 14, 2024 the Land Use Planning Commission formally voted to deny Wolfden Resources' application to re-zone land near Pickett Mountain Pond to allow for Polymetallic Sulfide Mining-- affirming the power of our love, respect and connection to the woods, waters, and traditional livelihoods of the region!! The ruling is a clear validation of our concerns, stating "[T]he Commission finds the proposed rezoning would have an undue adverse impact on water resources, fisheries, and aquatic life." (See The Maine Monitor's coverage here)
Until Wolfden brought the threat to our shores, we knew next to nothing about mining, but for better or for worse we have been forced to do a deep dive--learning more than we ever wanted to know. In our quest to understand the risks Wolfden posed, and ensure the protection of Pickett Mountain Pond and the headwaters of the Mattawamkeag River, we learned that polymetallic sulfide mining is an intrinsically toxic and water intensive process. Wolfden's plans called for using over 800,000 gallons of water and 2,000 pounds of cyanide everyday to concentrate the ore, not to mention the 295,000 gallons of water per day exposed to toxic contaminants in the unearthing process itself. This at a time when Poland Springs is permitted to export 1 billion gallons of groundwater from Maine every year, and National Geographic declares, "Underground water is being pumped so aggressively around the globe that land is sinking, civil wars are being waged, and agriculture is being transformed." The transition to a "Green Economy" cannot include or justify the industrial-scale desecration of fresh water and creation of widespread sacrifice zones that "modern mining" inherently entails. We celebrate the commitment and perseverance of those who joined us to protect Pickett Mountain Pond, sometimes at great personal expense, the love and respect that animated our collective effort, and the wisdom and fortitude of the LUPC to follow through on their mandate “To preserve public health, safety and general welfare,” “to prevent residential, recreational, commercial and industrial uses detrimental to the long-term health, use and value of these areas,” “to prevent the despoliation, pollution and detrimental uses of the water in these areas; and to conserve ecological and natural values.” (Title 12, Chapter 206-A: Sec681) in the face of great pressure from corporate lobbyists, financial speculators, and monied-interests. While we wish the threat had never come to us, we are grateful for the relationships that have been forged in the process of defending these woods and waters, and for the knowledge we have gained about mining that we intend to share with other communities facing similar threats. This is not, and never was, a "Not In My Backyard" campaign, but rather a not in anyone's backyard campaign. We want our victory to weaken the ability of Wolfden and other mining corporations to expand their reach and profit-margins through the wholesale destruction of ecosystems and communities, and we want to discourage other gold diggers from seeing Maine as sacrifice zone that is "open for business". We will continue to push our elected officials to close the loopholes in Maine's Chapter 200 Mining Regulations that explicitly allow the contamination of groundwater.
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 The following text is a partial transcript of the video coverage from today's Commission Meeting on WABI CBS 5. Click here to watch the whole video!
BREWER, Maine (WABI) - The Maine Land Use Planning Commission met Wednesday morning to discuss a controversial rezoning application for a potential mining project in northern Penobscot County. The deliberation went on in front of a full room at Jeff’s Catering in Brewer. The issue at hand is an application submitted by Wolfden Mount Chase, LLC asking to rezone 374 acres for the purposes of developing and operating a metallic mineral mine at Pickett Mountain. The commission has multiple criteria to consider for zone change applications. They include socioeconomic concerns for the region and potential impacts on the area’s natural resources. Many in attendance wore hats and stickers expressing their opposition to the project, and there was a protest outside after the meeting concluded. “We’re super concerned about the impacts that Wolfden’s proposed zinc mine would have on the Katahdin region as a whole, but especially the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument,” said Todd Martin, northeast senior program manager, National Parks Conservation Association. “Impacts to the dark skies of the region, impacts to the clean waters of the region, impacts to the endangered and threatened species who live in this area that Wolfden wants to rezone.” “I think everybody kind of shares those same concerns. What I might not agree with, though, is there was an extreme, at-length evaluation of those (concerns), natural resources, the economics of the project and all that sort of stuff. So, as you dig into the details, a lot of that is built into the petition,” said Jeremy Ouellette, vice president, product development, Wolfden Resources. We’re told the commission will write a staff recommendation based on today’s deliberation. The application will come to a vote during another meeting in the New Year. LUPC set to deliberate on fate of Pickett Mountain Pond - Wednesday, December 13th @ 10am in Brewer12/9/2023  On Wednesday the 13th the Land Use Planning Commission will deliberate on Wolfden's proposed polymetallic sulfide mine at Pickett Mountain in the headwaters of the Penobscot River near Baxter State Park. If approved, the mine would be the first metal mine in Maine in 45 years despite the fact that the last two continue to cost taxpayers millions of dollars in cleanup--leaching toxins into ground and surface waters rendering private wells useless and public fisheries forever closed to harvest. Join the movement to protect our future from what the EPA calls the most toxic industry in the USA and stand shoulder to shoulder with the Penobscot Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet, Maine Wilderness Guides Organization, Maine Council of Churches, Maine Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club, Native Fish Coalition, The Editorial Board of The Bangor Daily News, Atlantic Salmon Federation, Pickett Mountain Rod and Gun Club, Maine Rivers, Community Water Justice, Friends of Pickett Mountain Pond, Sunlight Media Collective, Maine Green Independent Party, Dark Sky International, Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters, National Parks Conservation Association, Mt. Chase Lodge, Resist Maine Mining, Friends of Baxter State Park, Island Falls Lakes Association, Bradford Camps, Red River Camps, Chandler Lakes Camps, CARMA, Friends of Cobscook Bay, The Editorial Board of the Portland Press Herald, Maine Audubon, Slingshot, Sierra Club Maine, Maine Lakes, and thousands of other Mainers like you! We hope to see you at the next LUPC Meeting to let the Commission know that if they open the door to toxic gold diggers and Wall Street grifters we'll work together to slam it shut. We won't let Maine become a sacrifice zone for corporate profits. 10am Wednesday, December 13th at Jeff's Catering, 15 Littlefield Rd, in Brewer. Or listen virtually here: https://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/attach.php?id=12146297&an=1   The final Public Hearing in the Wolfden Rezoning procedure closed with over 50 commenters--many representing large constituencies--opposed and only 6 in support of rezoning.
“This is not the answer to youth flight,” commented Sasha Spencer. “LUPC, it is clear you stand as the lock on the floodgates holding back a wave of predatory transnational entities Kinross, Altius, all chomping at the bit to suck the life out of these woods and waters for cash in their investors pockets.” We couldn't agree more. It's the LUPC's duty to ensure no undue adverse impacts occur in the territory, and passing the buck to the DEP is abdicating a mandated responsibility. Thanks to everyone who came out and spoke up in opposition to Wolfden's outlandish plan! Be sure to get your written comments in before the November 2nd deadline! Coverage from Bangor Daily News Coverage from Portland Press Herald Video Recording of the Proceedings Join us in Millinocket on October 16th to let the LUPC know that we can't trust the DEP to protect us from Wolfden's plan to mine for gold in the area between Pickett Mountain Pond, Grass Pond, Mud Lake, and Pleasant Lake. These are our favorite areas to hunt, fish, and forage, and Wolfden's proposal jeopardizes both our access, and the quality of the fisheries and forest. We can't stand by quietly and allow them to take more!  Pickett Mountain Pond and the entire Rockabema Lake watershed is at risk of contamination from a proposed Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead and Zinc mine. The Public Hearings regarding Wolfden's Rezoning Application to allow for mining are October 16th-18th in Millinocket, and October 23rd in Bangor. Sign up for Public Comments will be at 6pm on the 16th, 17th, and 23rd with Public Comment Sessions to begin subsequently at 6:30pm. Each person is limited to one 3-minute comment for the entirety of the hearings. Everyone is encouraged to send written comments to [email protected]. Thanks to the Friends of Pickett Mountain Pond for the factsheets below and for keeping us abreast of the situation.   |
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