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say about that case.
>> Reporting from Madison.

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I'm Zach Schulze for "Here&
Now".

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>> On the current Supreme
Court. Former Chief Justice

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Annette Ziegler announced
this week she will not seek

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reelection, opening another
seat on the High Court for

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the spring election of 2027.
Last week, we reported on

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exploratory mining
happening again in northern

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Wisconsin. The company,
Greenlight Metals is

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looking for gold and copper
and other minerals in

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Taylor County. After the
repeal in 2017 of

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Wisconsin's old mining law,
Wisconsin's prove it. First

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law, otherwise known as the
mining moratorium, was

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passed in 1997 and required
mining companies to

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demonstrate where anyone
had safely operated a

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metallic sulfide mine for
at least ten years, and

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also where a mine had been
safely closed for ten years.

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The mining company and
environmental groups

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disagree on whether that
standard could be proven if

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it was still in place today.
In 2017, Republicans in the

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legislature, led by then
state Senator Tom Tiffany,

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eliminated those provisions
as part of our continuing

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series examining the
biggest issues in the race

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for governor "Here& Now".
Senior political reporter

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Zac Schultz asked the
candidates about mining.

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>> Roughly Greenlight
Metals the Wisconsin

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chapter of the Sierra Club.
And the friends of the

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yellow River are well aware.
Control of the legislature

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and governor's office could
flip this fall, meaning the

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regulations governing
mining in Wisconsin could

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be up for debate. We asked
the leading candidates for

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governor what they thought
about mining in Wisconsin,

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and if they would seek to
change the current

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regulations.
>> You know, I think that

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we've seen decades of us
ignoring people's rights

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when it comes to some of
that land, whether it's our

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tribal nations in the state
and also ignoring the

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economic, I'm sorry, the
environmental impact on

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some of our areas. Natural
resources in Wisconsin are

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the basis of our economy.
We have to protect them,

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while at the same time we
have to use them

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responsibly. We have to
make sure that our mining

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laws are in tune with
current mindset around how

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we protect people's rights
in in the land and

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protecting the environment
with making sure that we

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keep using the resources in
a responsible way.

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>> There has to be
community buy in and

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community input for people
who have made their homes

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in a, in an area, you know,
20, 30 years passed down

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generation to generation. I
think that folks should

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have some input on what
happens in their backyard.

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And all I'm saying is have
the conversation. That's

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the important part. When we
have those those times

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where we're mining may come
up and in a part of the

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state. Yeah, well, talk to
the community. Like let's

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talk it out because the
only thing that happens is

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more resentment. If that
conversation doesn't happen.

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>> I am staunchly opposed
to the type of mining as

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well as drilling. When it
comes to line five. I have

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been vocal about my
opposition there. I think

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the dangers that this is
presenting to communities

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who have already seen
services be cut, their

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schools, you know, closing.
I think that having this

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type of, you know, this
type of harmful. These

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types of harmful groups
coming in to impact local

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environments and the
quality of life. It's, it's

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really unfortunate. And I
think it's very important

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that we look at how to hold
these corporations

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accountable.
>> What I think we need to

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do is to make sure we have
a really good environmental

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assessment for permitting
for those mines, and to

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make sure that we are
talking with the local

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communities. If tribal
nations are involved, we

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are having those open
conversations with them and

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making sure that we're not
having the environmental

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impact that would be
negative for Wisconsin.

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>> I think one of the most
important things that we

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have in Wisconsin, a
differentiator that we have

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in Wisconsin versus other
places around the country,

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is the natural beauty, the
ability that we have to go

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out and enjoy Wisconsin.
And that's not a partizan

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issue. That's not an
ideological issue. That's a

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a vision that we share for
the state. And so as we

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think about anything that
would do any potential harm

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to the state of Wisconsin,
I think we need to be very

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cautious about that. I
think there are issues

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around economic development
that I think we need to try

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to find that right balance.
And if it's time to revisit

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that issue or it's time to
have that conversation, I'd

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be all for it.
>> I thought we did a good

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job of writing the last
mining bill for two reasons.

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One is we made sure that we
had the toughest mining law

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in the United States so
that we are going to

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protect the environment. We
also provided for local

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control. I think it's
really important for locals

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to be able to have input in
regards to these projects.

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But this is something I
mean, we've got a long,

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great history. I mean, we
have a miner on our flag,

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right? And we have a long,
proud history of mining

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here in in Wisconsin.
>> Well, it's about working

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with the local
municipalities, working

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stakeholders that are on
the ground and making sure

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that the work group that we
can put together are giving

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us the best information
possible to make the best

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decisions. That's going to
have a huge impact that can

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have a huge impact on the
environment, as well as a

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new industry here in the
state of Wisconsin. And so

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you have to take that on a
case by case basis and

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really working with all the
stakeholders to make sure

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that we're making the best
decision possible.

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>> I think the current law
has worked well for us. I

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want to see mining
companies prove first

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before they open up a
hillside and pollute our

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water, that they're going
to be able to extract

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things in a safe way that
is consistent with our

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natural resources
management and our