WE Energies Announce Massive Land Sale - An Overview
This article is an overview of the proposed 11,000 acre sale of WE Energies lands in the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin (some acreage is just across the MI/WI border). NWR supports the acquistion of this land by public agencies to preserve wildlife habitat and recreation opportunities. We encourage our readers to contact legislators on this important issue, and will be publishing an Action Alert soon with contact information and talking points.
In August 2006, WE Energies, a subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corporation, announced its intentions to sell 11,000 acres of waterfront property in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. WE claims the river lands are no longer needed for its hydroelectric operations. The company owns approximately 40,000 acres in the UP and Wisconsin.
Through the Wilderness Shores Settlement Agreement, WE will be offering to sell all or some of the lands to state and federal resource agencies and conservation groups first. WE says it hopes to find a single buyer from the private sector to purchase the remaining acreage.WE states that the sale is different from the controversial UPPCO (Upper Peninsula Power Co.) land sale to developer Naterra Lands in the western and central Upper Peninsula, in January 2006. WE claims there are no hydroelectric project lands adjacent to the properties for sale and that these properties have never been used as part of the company’s utility business. However, the maps below contradict WE's claim, and at least some of these lands are adjacent to WE hydroelectric project lands. In the case of the Sturgeon River sale in Dickinson County, all current information on this land lists it as "project lands" for the recently removed Sturgeon River hydroelectric project. The land for sale holds tremendous wildlife value in its present, undeveloped state. WE land along the Menominee River is widely recognized by wildlife agencies as an important movement corridor for birds and large mammals.
Lands included in the sale are 2,000 acres in the Ottawa National Forest’s Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness, and the 2,600-acre Tibbets Falls parcel upstream in the Copper Country State Forest, just north of the town of Covington, MI. The Sturgeon Gorge property was acquired by the company many years ago as a potential dam site that was never developed.
Sturgeon River Gorge & Tibbets Falls Tracts
(all maps in this article were created from the original WE maps)
The remaining 6,400 acres are found along the Menominee River system and its tributaries – the Paint, Brule, Michigamme, and Sturgeon Rivers. The 1,800 acre Sturgeon River tract is located a few miles northeast of Norway, MI. An 80-year old dam was recently removed here, and is the result of the Wilderness Shores Settlement Agreement.
Dickinson County's Sturgeon River & Quiver Falls Tracts
Just a few miles south is approximately 170 acres and three-quarters of a mile frontage, on both sides of the Menominee River near Quiver Falls. This small piece is of extremely important conservation value because it is adjacent to the Menominee River Natural Resource Area, a 4450 acre tract, situated along 5 miles of river on the Michigan - Wisconsin border. The Natural Resource Area was purchased from Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (Upper Peninsula Power Co.'s parent company) by Mellon Foundation in 1997, and placed in public ownership, and is now managed by Michigan and Wisconsin's DNR.
Chalk Hill - White Rapids Tract
(gray area is WE hydroelectric project lands)
Farther south on the Menominee River is the Chalk Hill - White Rapids tract. This 1200 acres border WE project lands around impoundments behind Chalk Hill and White Rapids dams. This largely undeveloped stretch of the Menominee River is about 20 miles southeast of Kingsford/ Iron Mountain/ Norway, and about 40 miles northwest of Menominee, MI/ Marinette, WI. River frontage below White Rapids Dam, and all the way to Lake Michigan, is mostly private. The few remaining undeveloped parcels on private land here are under heavy pressure for home development.
Paint River Tracts
The Paint River is the northwestern branch of the Menominee River. WE Energies own approximately 320 acres, containing nearly 1 1/2 miles of river frontage and two small lakes. The North and South Branches of the Paint River are in the federal Wild & Scenic River system a short distance upstream from here.
Michigamme River/Way Dam
(gray area is WE hydroelectric project lands)
Approximately 640 acres, and at least 2 1/2 miles of river frontage is located below the Way Dam, which impounds the massive Michigamme Reservoir, at the lower end of the Michigamme River system.
Brule, Paint & Michigamme River Confluence Tracts
(gray area is WE hydroelectric project lands)
The Brule, Paint, and Michigamme Rivers come together to form the Menominee River, just north of the Wisconsin-Michigan border, in Iron County. There are 4 hydroelectric dams here. WE wants to sell approximately 1400 acres of lands bordering its project lands. There is over 3 1/2 miles river frontage in this area.
Iron Mountain/ Kingsford Parcels
(gray area is WE hydroelectric project lands)
There is approximately 760 acres of land for sale in the Kingsford/ Iron Mountain area. This land borders hydroelectric project lands and has less than a mile of water frontage. The hydroelectric projects here form an important wildlife corridor through an otherwise populated urban area.