Is sand mining really adding jobs, or is it just replacing one kind of job with another kind of job?
Right now, much of the income and jobs in Buffalo County depend on our landscape and wildlife. Hunters buy and rent land to hunt the deer that roam in the woodlands. Tourists drive down along the river to see the fall color, visit the picturesque old river towns, and browse in the antique stores and art galleries. City people buy second homes. Motorcyclists and bicyclists drive our winding scenic roads, and stop in to have a beer or a meal at the many good restaurants.
A study done by a Madison company measured how much money fishing generates for the economy of the Driftless Area (southeast Minnesota, southwest Wisconsin, and northeast Iowa – the largest part is in Wisconsin). In one year (I think, 2007) 125,000 fishermen visited the area, and spent $650 million. They estimated that money leads to about $465 million in indirect benefits, since the money keeps circulating in the local communities. And this is just fishing – it doesn’t count hunting, biking, motorcycling, and car tourism. So the amount of money that our natural resources bring in is not insignificant.
How many of these people will want to come here if they start seeing sand mines every few miles? How many hunters will want to hunt here when the silence of the mornings is full of the noise of blasting or the roar of trucks hauling sand from the mine down the road? How many big bucks will tolerate the increased noise and loss of woodland? How many motorcyclists will want to share the road with hundreds of sand-carrying semi trucks?
As more mines are built, it will be harder for the other, more natural resources based activities to continue. So people will have fewer choices, and will probably end up selling more of their land for mining. So – more mines will bring even more mines.
So more of the jobs will be based on mining, and a diminishing number on natural resources. Research on areas that depend on mining jobs shows that their economies usually lag behind non-mining areas, and they tend to have high poverty, high unemployment, and declining populations. Their environment tends to have more health hazards, and be less attractive to live in.
Here are two excerpts from: Mineral Extraction and Local Economic Development by Thomas Michael Power, Economics Professor Emeritus at the University of Montana
“Given the high wages associated with mining, one would expect communities that rely heavily on mining to be unusually prosperous. That, in general, has not been the case. Across the United States mining communities, instead, are noted for high levels of unemployment, slow rates of growth of income and employment, high poverty rates, and stagnant or declining populations.”
and
“Unfortunately, mineral extraction is a land and environment intensive activity, often leaving an environmental disaster behind that discourages in-migration of people and businesses.”
This problem is already beginning in western Wisconsin. Here’s a video describing what it’s like to live next to a frac sand mine in Maiden Rock, Wisconsin. (video by Jim Tittle) A Bed & Breakfast business that was next to the mine has closed, and it’s been difficult to sell the property. The Maiden Rock mine is fairly well hidden in a narrow valley, and the sand is moved only a few hundred yards across the road to the railroad. Think what impact the mines will have when they are out in the open where everyone can see them and be exposed to the dust and noise, and the sand is transported by hundreds of semi-trucks along narrow country roads to the nearest railroad.
With the advent of sand mining, will a few people become very wealthy, while the rest of us end up with land that is less attractive to live on, worth less, and with less ability to make a living?