Wisconsin quarry owner, Robert Shea, president of Wingra Stone and Redi-Mix, says proposed changes regarding burial-site protections weaken property rights, reports Wisconsin Law Journal.
Shea wants to mine Ho-Chunk Nation burial mounds lying in a Wingra quarry in Dane County, Wisconsin. He needs a permit since the mounds are in the state historical society’s burial sites catalog; the tribe is fighting him in court.
Legislative leaders formed a committee to revise the state’s protections of burial sites. The panel last week put the finishing touches on a bill that would require the director of the state historical society to allow property owners to fight decisions that could cause sites to be deemed off limits for quarrying and similar activities.
Shea, who sat on the committee, released a letter Thursday saying the proposed changes wouldn’t go nearly far enough and weaken property rights.
