08/17/2026
Join your community members this Tuesday, the 18th, at the Siskiyou Field Institute, from 5 to 8, just outside of Selma, at 1241 Illinois Valley River Rd., as we work to prevent the foreign company calling itself Homeland Nickel Inc. from converting 18,000 acres of our public lands into a Massive Industrial Nickel Mining District.
After a potluck social hour, there'll be an Indigenous-led prayer circle before current issue and campaign updates are shared. Many activities are in the works to protect our public lands from the foreign corporate mining threat.
Leaning into fall, efforts are ramping up as a critically important public comment period will start soon: The state of Oregon is considering an Outstanding Resource Water (ORW) designation under the Clean Water Act for the Wild & Scenic Illinois River and Rough & Ready Creek. These waterways are renowned for outstanding water quality and an ORW designation would protect and enhance water quality for future generations.
It's time to step up and show our passion and numbers, to make sure our political representatives, governments agencies and the would-be miners know we support this protection. OUR homelands are worth so much more than any nickel mine!
Get Involved:
Within the POWR campaign, subgroups have formed: there's petitions circulating, a social media committee, ground-truthing teams keeping an eye on mine sites, on-going tabling, letter writing campaign, nickel recycling promotion, public speaking and outreach to local and regional organizations and the 100 Words Project (yeah, we want 100 words from you about why your homelands are special in your world).
While it's a serious path we're on, we're still having fun! There's also a logo contest, photo contest, song writing, skits, and even a film project to feature folks endeavoring to protect our remarkable waterways and landscapes! We're also planning a wintertime "POWR Fest" fundraiser; and we're developing a 'Raging Grannies' chapter; and a IV Riverway Cheerleaders squad!
We need your energy, input, experience, skills and ideas. We hope to see you on Tuesday, 5-8 at SFI! Go to our Protect Our Wild Rivers page and our new Protect Our Wild Rivers Instagram account to learn more and keep up with the campaign! Email us at [email protected] with any questions.
A bit of additional info:
Help us spread the truth: The promise of jobs is a deceptive claim. As mining becomes more automated, the industry trend is for experienced technicians, engineers and geologists to be shipped in to fill the specialized jobs. There'd likely be a much smaller number of general labor and truck driving jobs - hardly worth the damages to lands, air and waters.
Remember, the nickel content found on the proposed mine sites is quite low, mostly less than 1%. Thus to profit, they'd tear up thousands of acres at each mine site. Meanwhile, in 2025, 60% of nickel used in the USA came from resource recovery. As we embrace emerging 21st century technology, the extractive industry addicts with their antiquated ideas about how to power our lives must be brought to heel. There's plenty of metals already above the ground. Improvements in EV battery and cell phone technology are decreasing demand for raw nickel as well.
Finally, know that this campaign goes far beyond mining opposition. We're supporting the development and emergence of future leaders. Our local POWR coalition, with key support from KS Wild and others, networks with existing community leaders and efforts to bring good heart and good voice to any and all issues and plans that would impact OUR homelands. We share these waters and landscapes with the wild ones and those yet to be born.
Photo credit to Travis Garnier
