A youth who wants to protect her home and future.

My name is Madeline Tate-Beaver Inam 17 years old and I am asking for a full Federal Environmental Assessment for the Fifteen Mile Processing Hub.

I have grown up on the banks of the St. Mary’s River. Some of my earliest memories are of fishing with my dad, hiking with my mom, playing in the river with my older sister and brother, watching wildlife with my pop-pa in the deer stand, and walking along the river with my nana, because of these experieneces I know this place can only be described as magical. Those experiences are more than childhood memories, they are who I am. They ar the reason our community is who we are. They are the reason I hope to build my future life here instead of somewhere else. I want my own children to experience the same healthy river, the same bright and wildlife filled forests, and the same sense of magic, curiosity, and love that St.Marys gives you.

What concerns me most is that my generation will be the one living with the consequences long after today’s decisions have been made. If mistakes are made, we cannot simply undo them. We cant just snap our fingers and replace a damaged river with a new one or restore species that leave our ecosystems forever. Economic opportunities come and go, but an ecosystem doesn’t. We can’t just get a new one after we destroy what we have. 

My generation deserves to know that every potential impact has been carefully thought out and researched by professionals before decisions, that cannot be reversed, are made. We are the ones who will live with the outcome, we are the ones who will have to clean up the mess, and we are asking you to choose a future that protects the place we love and call home.

To be quite frank I am unsure why this is even a question. The last project previously known as Cochrane Hill Mine didn't make its way  through the federal assessment. They couldn't answer the information requests in a timely manner and were removed from the federal environmental assessment.Why do we think this one any different? Our community deserves a full federal environmental assessment for the fifteen mile processing hub. The next generation deserves to have their home protected.