Wisconsin cannot afford to buy land currently being petitioned for use by the Nicolet Minerals Co. near Crandon, George Lightbourn, Department of Administration secretary announced last week.
The state was looking to purchase the land using funds from its $241.8 million land stewardship fund that was created for recreational purchases, but cannot afford to buy land because it is too expensive.
Lightbourn said the state’s stewardship fund was designed for recreational and environmental land purchase for the next seven years. He deemed using the fund to purchase only one area impractical.
“I met with the representatives of the mining company and found that a transaction on terms acceptable to both parties is not possible,” Lightbourn said. “Two appraisals were obtained that estimated the value of the property, including mineral rights.”
When mineral rights are factored in, the price of the land would have been an over?commitment of funds, Lightbourn said.
If the state purchased the land, it would have been used for public recreational and conservation use. Considerations to purchase the area came after Native American tribes and environmental groups urged the state consider the purchase.
Environmentalists have claimed the company uses cyanide in extracting metallic minerals from the land. They also add that mining creates hazardous waste.
Gov. Scott McCallum has been harshly criticized for the reversal of his decision to purchase the land.
Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Jim Doyle said protecting this area is vital in protecting the state’s natural resources.
“Using cyanide in mining is both unsafe and unneeded,” Doyle said. “The technology is already in use that is much safer for the environment. Wisconsin should ensure that mining companies use the best?available, least?toxic technologies and that they have to treat their waste as the hazardous material that it is.”
Doyle said the mine is one of the most environmentally sensitive areas of the state and noted that it is surrounded by wetlands and lakes.
The Nicolet Minerals Co. has been, and plans to continue, seeking permits from the state Department of Natural Resources to mine zinc and copper in the area.
Doyle said the company’s proposal would treat Crandon as a landfill by dumping between five and 13 million pounds of cyanide over the next 30 years. The contaminated area would cover the equivalent of 200 football fields.
But McCallum defends the decision, claiming the purchase would deplete the stewardship fund and that the area needs mining jobs.
“I believe this decision reflects the sentiment of many Crandon residents who have serious reservations about the possible loss of jobs if the state were to acquire the Nicolet property,” McCallum said. “Mining is an important economic driver in the Crandon area, and the concerns of the citizens definitely played a role in our decision to stop negotiations.”
Green Party gubernatorial candidate Jim Young said the land and mineral rights should be acquired by the state, but the stewardship fund should not be used in the purchase.
Young said the mine will not create a sustainable economy for the area, and taxpayers will be forced to clean up the damage to the land for years.
