| While the Oneida County Board discusses a resolution opposing the Pelican River Forest project, another local government passed a resolution in support of it.The Pelican River Forest is a 70,000-acre conservation project that would secure easements on land in Oneida, Forest, and Langlade County for public recreation, timber harvesting, and the protection of natural resources.
“We always forget about the things out in the natural resources that can’t talk for themselves like the trees and the turtles and the animals right down to the little critters. We think our life is more important than theirs. For us, this is just an opportunity to support something to benefit all of the living beings,” said Sokaogon Chippewa Community Environmental Director Tina Van Zile.
While the land the Pelican River Forest would protect if easements are secured don’t encroach on the Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa land in Forest County, it’s not too far.
But more importantly according to the tribe, it would protect natural resources the Sokaogon Chippewa Community and other Ojibwe Tribes have relied on like wild rice, medicinal plants, and subsistence hunting. The entirety of the Pelican River Forest falls within ceded territory.
Listen to or read the full story here. |
