Far left activists have successfully blocked a proposed mining project in remote Township 6, Range 6 (T6R6) that would have brought 270 jobs and the related economic development to rural northern Maine.
The Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) voted against Wolfden Resource’s proposed Pickett Mountain mine weeks after Democratic lawmakers, spurred on by the Natural Resources Council of Maine and the Conservation Law Foundation, successfully hijacked what would otherwise have been a run-of-the-mill process for filling a vacancy on the commission.
Because Democratic lawmakers on the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee (AFC) took unprecedented steps to block one of Maine’s most rural and conservative counties from having LUPC representation, the sitting members had the votes they needed to kill off the proposal from Wolfden Resources.
At a LUPC meeting on Wednesday, without representation from Franklin County, the Democrat-backed members of the commission blocked Wolfden’s request to re-zone land that it owns to allow for the construction of a the so-called Pickett Mountain Mine.
“I think it worked just the way they wanted it to work,” said Franklin County Commissioner Bob Carlton in an interview with The Maine Wire “It was politics at its worst.”
Carlton believed that the vote was “absolutely” unfair to Franklin County, and that the LUPC intentionally voted without Franklin County’s representative because they believed that he would support the mine.
In January, Maine’s AFC committee held an unprecedented confirmation hearing in which Tom Dubois, the LUPC nominee for Franklin County, was denied confirmation for his refusal to preemptively recuse himself from the vote on the controversial mine.
Dubois’ nomination was reconsidered on Wednesday, where he was confirmed unanimously by members of the ACF, except for Sen. Craig Hickman (D-Kennebec), who was absent from the hearing.
Dubois’ confirmation, however, did not come in time for him to participate in the vote on the Pickett Mountain mine, which was held on the same day as his confirmation.
The LUPC meeting was scheduled to consider petitions from the Franklin County Commissioners and Wolfden Resources to delay the vote on Wolfden’s mine until Franklin County was represented on the LUPC.
“This action is required to maintain the independence and integrity of the Commission and allow all relevant Counties to participate in the deliberations and ultimate decision,” said Juliet Browne, a lawyer for Wolfden Resources.
Wolfden, a company based in Canada, also argued that Franklin County should have a say in the decision because the vote on their mine would establish a precedent on how mining proposals will be treated under Maine’s new environmental regulations.
The LUPC voted to deny the requests, with one member of the commission, Perry Ellsworth, saying that he could adequately represent Franklin County, as he had experience living in unorganized territories, which make up much of Franklin County.
Although the LUPC was originally scheduled to vote on the mine on February 24, they moved to take final action on Wednesday, after denying the requests for a delay.
The Commission voted overwhelmingly to deny Wolfden’s request to re-zone 374 acres of land to allow for a metal mine, which Wolfden, and many residents near the mine, believed would support the local economy.
Greg Smallwood, a business owner living near the proposed mine, believed that it would bring economic prosperity and jobs to the area, allowing locals to support their families without leaving their hometowns.
“I think most of the local towns are for it. Most of the people that are against it moved in here from away,” said Smallwood.
Before LUPC members cast their votes, they were given a lengthy presentation on the possible downsides of the mine, and given a recommendation not to approve Wolfden’s proposal.
Wednesday’s vote was the second time that the LUPC denied Wolfden’s proposal to establish their mine, under Maine’s strictest-in-the-nation environmental policy on mining.
Ironically, many of the metals that would have been mined from Pickett Mountain — zinc, copper, and silver — are also required to manufacture and operate solar panels and wind turbines, which the environmentalists who lobbied against the proposal support.
Read More: Pickett Mountain Mine: Unbridled Hypocrisy (Again) on Display in Augusta
Your article title is incorrect. I live in Patten Maine, and own a property in Mount Chase. I am considered a “far-right” Christian pastor, and I have stood against Wolfden ever since I heard about their plans, many years ago. I know of other conservative neighbors in the area, that also opposed the mine. The “locals” that were for the mine, were those who would profit from it personally. I thank my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, that this mine was stopped!
Democrats…..gotta love ’em, they destroy everything that they touch.
This article is bizarre, I own land within 5 miles of the site and I’m completely against this foreign owned company and the mockery they made it of the state with the way they handled their application process. I’m right wing and conservative. This article is an example of obviously biased “from the gut” miscarriage of the actual happenings about the proceedings. The company furnish zero proof about its ability to not contaminate our watershed.
Are you kidding? This company “shafted” itself. We don’t have to wheel and deal with every grifter company from out of state that wants to expropriate resources. Their labor force was highly unlikely to include area people.
I’ve been a dedicated reader for years but now I’m casting my doubts on continuing to stick with the Maine Wire after this article. You’re not doing truth a service if you’re just propagating misinformation and politicizing it this way denies that good Christian households were against this plan the moment we saw what the company was saying and doing.
But they would have lost the vote even with a Franklin vote no matter what it was. Did you even read the application? The mining company says they had technology that doesn’t even exist yet. We don’t like being lied to up here by companies especially those with zero experience. Respectfully I disagree with your article this is exactly how the vote SHOULD have went
why turn this into left vs right? nobody in my town wants to drink toxic water. the jobs wolfden promised would the sadness of cleaning up the toxic mess, not anything else. I have been at many of the public hearings and the company couldn’t sell ice to an eskimo and had 3+ years to get the basics to LUPC and still failed. nobody I want to invite in to my watershed!!!!!