The Sierra Club Michigan Chapter presented the White Pine Award to the Mining Action Group of the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition during a reception held Jan. 26 at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center in Lansing. The Mining Action Group received the White Pine Award for its “extraordinary dedication to environmental protection,” according to a statement by the Sierra Club. “This Upper Peninsula-based volunteer group plays the leading role in reviewing and challenging mine expansions and new proposals such as the expansion of the Eagle Mine near Marquette and the final permitting of the Back Forty Mine in Menominee County.” Previously known as Save the Wild U.P., the Mining Action Group is a volunteer, grassroots effort to defend the clean water and wild places of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from the dangers of sulfide mining. The group was formed in 2016 when Save the Wild U.P. merged with the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition. MAG’s leadership team includes Jeffrey Towner, Jon Saari, Steve Garske, Horst Schmidt and Kathleen Heideman, who serve as board members of the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition. Pictured, Anne Woiwode, left, chairwoman of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, presents the 2019 White Pine Award to Kathleen Heideman of the Mining Action Group. (Photo courtesy of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter.)