Communities United by Water
Reject Line 5
Urgent: Enbridge Begins Wisconsin Line 5 Reroute
After years of legal proceedings, and despite ongoing legal appeals, Enbridge Energy is starting construction on the Line 5 oil reroute. This 41-mile pipeline segment directly borders Mashkiiziibii (Bad River Reservation), crossing hundreds of waterways that flow into the reservation.
Local organizers are seeking solidarity in resistance efforts. If you can offer support in legal representation (civil and criminal lawsuits), media and art making, press coverage, creative direct action, resistance camp building, violation monitoring, community resiliency work, or other diverse tactics, now is the time. Learn more
We are grass roots communities with a long tradition of being united by the waters of the Great Lakes Basin. Rooted in the deep indigenous history of Treaty Territory, we are Native Tribal Nations, local landowners, family farmers, small business owners, elected officials, clergy, elders and children, mothers and fathers—people of all walks of life mobilizing to protect the water here. Our 50-year history is of turning down extractive projects, sulfide acid mining, off-shore drilling, water bottling plants, and all kinds of projects that might have impacted our pristine water systems, the Ojibwe Nation's "Manoomin" and all that leads into beloved Lake Superior.
Photo of Kakagon Sloughs: Jim Meeker/Ted Cline
Who we are
Enbridge is seeking to reroute part of Line 5 through more than 100 rivers and streams that flow into the Bad River Reservation and the Kakagon and Bad River Sloughs, threatening the tribe's fisheries and cultural survival. The plan harms Copper Falls State Park, numerous trout streams and drinking water aquifers for local residents and family farms along the route.
Line 5 Re-route: Not Needed, Not Safe
The Dangers of Enbridge Line 5
Each day, Canadian pipeline corporation Enbridge transports up to 22 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids through Line 5 from Superior, Wisconsin through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, under the Straits of Mackinac, to refineries in Sarnia, Ontario.
Line 5 is at imminent risk for oil catastrophes in three Great Lakes. The pipeline is 70 years old, operating 20 years past its engineered lifespan.