Citizens

Over the past few years, dozens of groups have formed consisting of people concerned about the impacts of industrial frac sand operations. Many of these groups are simply neighbors or residents who began meeting someone's garage or basement in order to study the impacts of frac sand mining and to find ways to express their concerns. Concerned citizens play an important role in the decision-making process related to frac sand operations. When organized, citizens have helped to stop proposed operations that are incompatible with community well-being, such as mining operations near schools. Citizens have also played an important role in monitoring frac sand operations and pressuring public officials to create new ordinances or enforce existing regulations. As with any grassroots effort, the longevity, size, organizational capacity, values, and influence of the groups vary widely and evolve over time. Some groups rise and fall quickly, especially as controversial proposals or operations fade from the public eye, while others might achieve an enduring presence in their community.

Although many groups often first form in response to local proposals or operations, the last few years have seen various efforts to coordinate on a regional scale. Some of these efforts have occurred from within local groups, as concerned citizens routinely reach out to each other across the region to share information and learn from prior experiences. Social media sites such as Facebook have facilitated a substantial amount of information exchange and networking, as have traditional social networks such as family connections and friendships. The Save the Hills Alliance, for instance, which evolved from the Concerned Chippewa Citizens, consults with many local groups and held annual meetings in 2012 and 2013 that drew a regional audience.

Other regional efforts have been launched by longstanding, multi-issue organizations or networks that have recently taken on frac sand mining, and they have helped to mobilize resources and offer organizational stability. In June of 2013, the Wisconsin Grassroots Network sponsored a regional conference titled "Standing Against the Sandstorm." Several months later in January of 2014, the Land Stewardship Project of Minnesota organized a "Citizens' Frac Sand Summit" that drew hundreds of participants from throughout the region to listen to speakers and participate in workshops to facilitate grassroots organizing. Also in January, the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice passed a resolution calling for statewide ban on frac sand mining. The resolution, signed by nearly fifty Wisconsin-based groups, was in response to recent moves in the state legislature to eliminate local democratic control over the licensing and regulation of frac sand operations.

If you are concerned about frac sand mining in your community, connect with existing grassroots groups or reach out to your neighbors. The Environmental Illness Network Minnesota maintains a decent list of grassroots websites, blogs, and social media endeavors that have been created in response to sand mines. Here is my partial list of citizens groups that have a public web presence as of late 2012:

Wisconsin

• Save the Hills Alliance, west-central Wisconsin 
• Frac Sand Industry Awareness in Wisconsin 
• Shifting Sands - The Scoop on Wisconsin's Frac Sand Industry
• Great River Road Revival, communities in the Lake Pepin region, WI, along Great River Road, Highway 35
• Maiden Rock Concerned Citizens, Maiden Rock, WI
• No C-FC Frac Plant, Fountain City, WI, on Facebook and the web
• Save Our Knapp Hills Alliance, western WI
• Dunn County Sand, Dunn County, WI
• Monroe County Sand Mines, WI -- more of a informational website, irregularly updated
• Hay River Frac Watch, Barron County area, WI
• Hills Angels, Barron County, WI
• Preserve Trempealeau County, WI, also on Facebook 
• Concerned Citizens of Bridge Creek, Augusta, Eau Claire County, WI
• Jackson County Citizen Voices, WI
• Crawford Stewardship Project, Crawford County, WI

Minnesota

• Houston County Protectors - Sand Point Times, Houston County, also on Facebook
• Winona Area Citizens Concerned About Silica Mining (CASM), City of Winona and Winona County
• The Frac Sand Weekly, by Environmental Illness Network Minnesota
• Wabasha Area Frac Sand Information, Wabasha
• Land Stewardship Project
• Frac Sand Mining Fillmore County
• Save the Bluffs, Goodhue County, also on Facebook 

Iowa

• Allamakee County Protectors, Allamakee County, IA, also on Facebook

**Please let me know if you would like your group added to or removed from this list.**

Photo from the Great River Road Revival website. 

Sign displayed in Stockholm, WI.
Photograph by Thomas Pearson, July 20, 2013.