Sustainable Communities
Network Case StudiesSustainable Communities
Network Case Studies
Contact: Craig Waddell
College of Science and Arts
Department of Humanities
Michigan Technological University
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49931
Tel: (906) 487-3277
Fax: (906) 487-3559
Scope: Rural
Project type: Natural resource management and small business development
The Keweenaw, the western region of Michigan's Upper Peninsula region, bordering
Lake Superior on the north and the state of Wisconsin on the south, is one
of the last pristine natural environments in the Midwest. A strong sense
of community pervades the region, led by the belief that the quality of
the environment is synonymous with the quality of life - living close to
nature is the unifying force among many Keweenaw residents. The region is
unique in the sense that people from all walks of life and all income levels
are on relatively equal social footing. Someone who doesn't have a great
deal of money can still afford to live on 40 acres of land, though property
values are rapidly changing. A working person from Detroit, living on a
modest fixed income, can hope to retire here. The public has access to vast
areas of the local Great Lakes shoreline, which hasn't been developed into
high-priced condominiums, hotels and housing developments as have other
pristine areas throughout the country.
The amount of remaining natural assets in the region is surprising considering
the fact that Keweenaw's economic history is perhaps one of the best examples
of unsustained development in the United States. Cycles of economic activity
have been boom and bust, with resource depletion and profit exportation.
The world's richest copper deposit was extensively mined to depletion, leaving
towns full of unemployed workers and most of the profits with investors
out of the region. One of America's finest hardwood forests was overharvested
- an action which has greatly reduced the forest's timber productivity for
years into the future. Many believe these days of resource depletion are
past, but overharvesting of timber lands is still a common practice today.
Another threat to the Keweenaw, which arose in 1988, was the proposed lowering
of the state water quality standards in order to attract the construction
of a $1.2 billion bleached kraft pulp and paper mill on an untouched part
of Lake Superior. Construction of this mill would have brought clear-cutting
of the forests, dioxin, and landfill problems, among many others. This threat
inspired a grassroots group of citizens concerned about the future of their
region to unite and began to plan the steps they would need to take to travel
down a different economic path in the future.
In the summer of 1989, FOLK, Friends of the Land of Keweenaw, was formed
by this initial group of concerned citizens to provide an effective forum
in which to voice concerns about the environmental soundness of regional
plans for economic development. Though promoters of the pulp mill promised
hundreds of new jobs in a region with 10-13% unemployment, over 2,000 residents
signed a petition opposing the mill. These people, firmly committed to conserving
the many environmental resources in the Keweenaw, recognized that the much
needed economic development in the area could not be incompatible with long-term
environmental protection or it would destroy the very reason for living
in the Keweenaw. Eventually the proposal was withdrawn, and even Michigan's
Governor advocated joining together to oppose development of such polluting
industries in the Lake Superior Basin.
In April, 1990, FOLK generated a 42 page report which emphasized the need
for and ways in which the Keweenaw could progress towards sustainable development
- expanding job opportunities and employment security in small-to-medium
sized businesses, improving energy and resource efficiency, and maintaining
ecosystem health.
FOLK devised a three-step process for sustainable development in the area:
(1) Stop the needless outflows of money and talent, (2) support existing
businesses and local control of business, and (3) encourage responsible
enterprise and recruit appropriate new businesses. A number of serious realities
contributed to the three-steps designed by FOLK. For example, a common complaint
among residents in the Keweenaw was that the region's most promising young
people got "exported" and that there was little match-up of skills
and business needs.
Suggestions on how to address these goals ranged from in-depth strategies
to more simple, immediately-impacting approaches. A "Keweenaw Reunion"
business development program, run by local entrepreneurs who had previously
left the area for better paying jobs or more development opportunities would
encourage locals to return to the area and hire new local graduates to curb
the "brain drain." Local businesses who had gone outside of the
Keweenaw area for hiring could be surveyed to discover what skills were
needed that were not available within the community. Subsequently, training
programs to give locals the skills for working with area businesses could
be devised. Along these lines, FOLK decided that more than just better technical
or entrepreneurial courses were needed for residents of the Keweenaw. Courses
in environmental education and business ethics would be extremely valuable
in providing local people with an understanding of the interdependence of
economic and environmental actions, and would work to create a sense of
social responsibility.
Other strategies for achieving the first step (to stop the needless outflows
of money and talent) were more direct, such as working for "buy local"
programs by having local governments give preference to local firms when
bidding on contracts, or, if local firms aren't adequately qualified, by
encouraging them to become viable suppliers. Arrangements such as this would
not only cut freight costs, but would further encourage the entrepreneurial
creativity that would improve the economic situation. In taking such an
approach, strategies to build and maintain a skill-matched workforce, connect
local businesses to local suppliers, and reduce infrastructure costs could
be employed.
FOLK also recognized that economic problems have been traditionally tackled
by looking for a "100% solution," whereas employing 50 "2%
solutions" is an approach that stresses local, participatory, and bottom-up
activity. A 1988 survey of new businesses in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
demonstrated that the 2% approach has proven extremely successful in the
region. FOLK's release of its report spurned on many discussions among the
community members.
These regional discussions initially were focused around seeking funding
for projects that would create environmentally sustainable economic development
through job creation. However, it was then decided that working toward an
interactive-generative approach to regional planning would better set the
base for broad participation in sustainability initiatives. FOLK produced
a proposal to establish a Regional Center for Sustainable Development, with
the goal of developing and promoting a regional model for a sustainable
relationship between human economic activity and the environment. The Center
would generate a definition and plan for regional sustainability in interaction
with the community itself.
Thirty representatives of the environmental, business and academic communities
in the Keweenaw met on July 13, 1993 to build consensus around the proposed
Center. It was decided that the staff of this Center would be charged with:
reaching out to the larger community, including business, media, environmental
groups, schools, Native American communities, religious leaders, governments,
youth groups, labor organizations, public health officials, and the general
public, to work towards developing and promoting the regional sustainability
model.
The discussion quickly broadened to include members of over seventy organizations,
from local, grassroots organizations to government agencies. The method
that was used for dialogue and communication among the diverse voices is
called the Social Constructionist Model. This model involves the free and
interactive exchange of both technical information and values and emotions
between "experts" in specific areas and the "general public."
In this manner, everyone has a say in the topic being discussed and everyone's
opinion is valued and accounted for, making decisions truly representative
of the people they will affect and not merely imposed on the many by a few
"expert."
As discussions progressed around the work of the Center and what sustainability
means for the Keweenaw, the group identified a number of criteria that needed
to be met for sustainability. They noted:
1. We must respect and protect biodiversity.
2. We must consider the effects of continued, exponential human population
growth on the environment, and we must accept responsibility for controlling
our own numbers.
3. We must recognize the importance of preventing-not just managing-pollution.
4. We must recognize the importance of switching, wherever possible, from
nonrenewable to renewable resources.
5. We must respect the environmental imperative to reduce, reuse and recycle.
6. We must understand the relationship between socioeconomic justice and
environmental quality.
7. We must recognize that our environmental problems are cultural, not simply
technological; hence, solutions to these problems must also be cultural,
not simply technological.
8. Following on the previous point, we must become more aware of and we
must learn to question some of our basic assumptions; such assumptions are
often encapsulated in "ultimate terms" or "uncontested terms,"
such as progress, efficiency, competition, and growth.
9. To the extent that technological fixed contribute to reducing environmental
problems, we must not let the allure of high-tech solutions blind us to
the potential contribution of appropriate, traditional, or innovative low-tech
solutions.
10. We must consider environmental impacts not only at the point of production,
but also of resource extraction, transportation, use and disposal; that
is, we must consider the impact of the entire life cycle of a product or
service.
In the regional discussions, the group decided that population, consumption,
and technology were essential to address in planning for sustainability.
The Center also proposed to combine planning with outreach and education.
It will facilitate - where possible and when invited to do so - ongoing
efforts in five crucial areas: (a) wilderness preservation, (b) sustainable
forestry practices, (c) environmentally responsible recreation and tourism,
and (d) recycling and waste reduction, including groundwater protection.
Several ideas are currently being developed and expanded, such as working
with the Keweenaw National Historical Park in the area of responsible tourism,
developing an inn-to-inn network of cross country ski trails, exploring
the sustainable harvesting of wood and the development of value-added wood
products, working to clean up a local area that is seriously polluted from
copper mining in the past, and developing a regional crafts cooperative.
Greater academic support has also been planned. Michigan Technical University
will be starting a Masters in Environmental Policy through its Social Science
Department.
Today, the formal plans, including a budget for the Center and staffing
specifications are being disseminated to potential funders, including several
large, private foundations. Securing adequate funding for the Center has
been the major constraint to its development, however, and though a few
grant applications have been solicited from FOLK, further development will
remain slow until funding is secured.
Another negative aspect has been the rejection of changing the status quo
by those who are currently benefitting. For example, the president of a
large, local land owning company actually threatened environmentalists about
continuing to work for land preservation. As residents of the Keweenaw have
become more aware of the issues at play in their region, they have taken
on a much more active role in voicing their opinions and planning for the
future of their region. Such participation is essential in working towards
sustainability and determining a regional plan that speaks to the many rather
than the few.
One of the biggest successes of FOLK is that sustainability is now firmly
on the agenda of the people of the Keweenaw. People have become educated
and active, and the ball has started rolling. The future of the regional
planning will be largely determined by funding, but, as Craig, Waddell,
one of the key leaders in the initial phases of FOLK stated, "The players
may change but hopefully the story will continue."
Undoubtedly FOLK will continue to strive to make the Keweenaw a viable place
to earn an income while enjoying the splendid natural beauty of Michigan's
Upper Peninsula.
Special thanks to Craig Waddell of the Michigan Technological University
Humanities Department for his assistance in providing information on FOLK
and the Regional Center for Sustainable Development.
Case Study Source: Sustainability
in Action: Profiles of Community Initiatives Across the United States--
American Forum for Global Education. 1995
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URL: http://www.sustainable.org/