The Maine Land Use Planning Commission and the Department of Environmental Protection are currently considering a proposal from Wolfden Resources that would open up Pickett Mountain for resource extraction mining, primarily for zinc. It must be rejected.

Wolfden Resources is an out-of-state, multi-billion dollar corporation with a reprehensible track record. Lokotah Sanborn, a Penobscot community organizer and a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, testified that the company’s CEO “did not seem to care about the brutalization and devastation of children forced to work in his mine in Burkina Faso or the environmental impacts there. I don’t believe Wolfden cares about the local economy. They only care about making a quick buck, extracting the resources from Maine, and then footing Maine taxpayers with the bill cleaning up the mess that will inevitably occur due to this mine.”

It is clear and obvious that the Pickett Mine, if approved, would have a devastating environmental impact for Maine and its people. As Sunlight Media Collective reported, “The proposed mine would be in close proximity to numerous critical water bodies, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Baxter State Park and a number of Tribal Trust Lands. Its operation threatens devastating acid mine drainage pollution that could irreversibly impact water, fish and Wabanaki culture.”

In addition to the environmental impacts, this is an issue of racism and indigenous sovereignty.

As Maulian Bryant, the Penobscot Nation Tribal ambassador, recently wrote in the Bangor Daily News, “The Penobscot Nation continues to stand in firm opposition to this unproven mining company’s proposal. We call upon the Land Use Planning Commission to reject the rezoning proposal and help protect the lands and waters that are so precious to both our tribal citizens and all Mainers.” The Penobscot Nation maintains treaty reserved sustenance fishing rights in the Penobscot River. The fish and wildlife that would be directly impacted by this mine are an important cultural resource for the Penobscot nation.

Meanwhile, Wolfden Resources bragged that “There are no Indigenous rights in the state of Maine and so this really streamlines the permitting process.”  Clearly, this issue demonstrates oppressive disrespect of indigenous sovereignty and reflects the racist character of Maine’s capitalist political system. Voting for this mine would be an assault on the Penobscot Nation and provides a clear example of placing profit over people. Voting for this mine clearly shows who has real power in Maine’s government— out-of-state corporations, not Mainers. 

Sign this petition to stand against the Pickett Mountain Maine and with the Penobscot Nation!