International Wolf Center

Ex-BP chief now flashpoint in Iron Range mine fight

July 29--In his life after the oil spill, Tony Hayward, vilified former chief executive of BP, has suddenly appeared as a spectre in the contentious fight over the proposed PolyMet copper mine in Hoyt Lakes, on Minnesota's Iron Range.

Hayward, who left BP a year ago, has joined the board of Glencore, the multinational commodities corporation that owns 18 percent of PolyMet Mining Corp. As a board member, his responsibilities include advising management on environmental, health and safety issues, according to Glencore's website.

This week, former DFL legislator Frank Moe used Hayward's connection to Glencore to stir up the mining controversy. In a long e-mail to legislators, Gov. Mark Dayton and state environmental officials, he detailed what he said was Glencore's "tragic environmental and human rights record," a characterization a Glencore spokesman said was inaccurate. Moe described Hayward as "the disgraced BP CEO who presided over the largest oil spill in U.S. history."

Hayward drew criticism for underestimating the scope and impact of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, often playing down BP's role in the disaster that killed 11 workers and spread oil from New Orleans to the Florida coast. His gaffes alienated officials and Gulf Coast residents. His most famous, uttered in the midst of the crisis, was, "You know, I'd like my life back."

His position at Glencore "gets your attention," said Moe, who is a wilderness guide in northern Minnesota and is on the board of the political arm of Conservation Minnesota, an environmental nonprofit. "It says, who are these people?"

Mining opponents say that question is critical. The state is facing one of the most important environmental choices in its history: whether or not to open up northern lakes and forests to hard-rock mining. The companies and executives who may play a hand in that are crucial, they say.

To have Tony Hayward "leading the way sends chills down my spine," said Nancy Gibson, founder of Ely's International Wolf Center and a board member of Conservation Minnesota's political arm.

Doug Newby, chief financial officer for PolyMet, said the makeup of Glencore's board is not relevant to PolyMet or to the proposed $600 million open-pit copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota. Glencore invested $90 million in PolyMet for its minority share. That could grow to 25 percent, and Glencore has also agreed to buy all of the products the mine would produce, he said. But there are no plans for its ownership position to grow into a majority share, he said.

International Wolf Center- 1 July 2011- Ethology Course | Anxiety ...

We had a great Ethology course this past week, and the staff at the Center learned some great new techniques for managing anxiety, thanks to some tremendous resources among our program participants. This video features footage taken by program participants as we did some sound conditioning to stimulate the wolves. You will see the wolves initially nervous about sound and movement over their heads, but later in the week, with the use of some Dog Appeasing Pheromone spray, we had some very relaxed social interaction. All wolves received a mid-week treat of deer legs as part of the Enrichment program. Enjoy and have a safe 4th of July weekend.

International Wolf Center, wolves & humans-coexistence, competition, conflict

The Wolves of Minnesota, Howl in the Heartland

International wolf, a publication of the International Wolf Center

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