More Treaty Troubles For The Proposed Iron Mine

The fast-tracked mining bill - - subject of a public 'hearing' tomorrow, but with the bill's vote and approval by the State Assembly already scheduled for next week - - could conflict with protected environmental status that an international agreement is about to confer on some of the waterways in the region, reports the Ashland Current:

In December, the deputy director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requested that the Kakagon and Bad River sloughs be designated as a wetland of international importance, or a Ramsar site.

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, also known as the Ramsar Convention, is a treaty that provides for international cooperation among 160 countries for the conservation and wise use of wetlands, according to a news release from the Bad River Band.

The Kakagon and Bad River sloughs complex is located in the downstream portion of the Bad River Watershed and comprises a large portion of  Lake Superior coastal wetlands.

Add that FUBAR to legal obstacles the plan could face due to treaties with the Chippewa, and water withdrawal restrictions in the Great Lakes Compact of 2008 signed by eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces, too.