With support from Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad, officials in Ontonagon, Mich., are moving forward with the Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Region working to preserve the railroad located in Ontonagon, the Daily Mining Gazette reports.

Kevin Manninen, WUPPDR regional economic coordinator, Scott Frazer, village of Ontonagon manager and Paul Arsenault, a private consultant for E&LS, met to discuss the economic opportunities in Ontonagon County, including the railroad. In the meeting, arranged by Gov. Jennifer Granholm's regional director, Ann Jousma Miller, and Amy Berglund from Sen. Carl Levin's office, the group discussed the benefit of the railroad in the local community, how it is used and when it is expected to be removed. Arsenault said a decision on rail removal would not happen until early spring 2011, allowing time to study options related to the existing rail.

"We are very appreciative that E&LS is a willing partner and is supportive of the effort to find economic solutions for the area," Frazer said. "We want to see if we have time to perform a study."

Manninen said the next step is to brainstorm ways to support the rail and put the rail into commission. Manninen's main role will be to coordinate and keep communication flowing, as well as explore possibilities for business expansion and development in Ontonagon and the surrounding areas.

The E&LS Railroad is a privately-owned shortline railroad company operating in northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, it is headquartered in Wells, Mich. Under current ownership, the E&LS has expanded from the original core line of 65 miles that was purchased in 1978, to more than 235 miles of operating railroad in 2005. Last year, E&LS Railroad announced they would be abandoning approximately 43 miles of rail line in Ontonagon County as well as southern Houghton County.

Since its birth in Ontonagon, the railroad has played a pivotal role in Ontonagon's industry, serving Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation before the company closed its doors in December 2009.

Frazer said the best way for the rail to exist is to have the activity of buying and selling, especially on a large scale.

"It's all about trying to see what can be created or discovered as far as opportunities for commerce that would help the rail line," he said.

E&LS began operating the line in 1980 and its operations supported the paper mill in Ontonagon. The mill originated as many as 5,380 annual carloads of corrugated paper - accounting for more than 84 percent of the line's traffic in 2005, according to the abandonment exemption from the Surface Transportation Board, a federal agency.

In the abandonment exemption, the Surface Transportation Board declared the E&LS "is permitted to terminate service over, and to eliminate, a 43-mile rail line between Ontonagon and Sidnaw. (E&LS) has consented to negotiate with a state agency to enter into an agreement to preserve the land under the line for future rail use." The line runs from milepost 408.02 at Ontonagon to milepost 365.09 at Sidnaw.

The village has been working to keep the rail line because of the significance the railway has in the community as a viable source of transportation in an industrial setting. Keeping the railway in Ontonagon may help secure future use at the paper mill, so all efforts will be made to keep the railway in Ontonagon as the only traffic that now originates on the line is 200 to 250 carloads annually of pulpwood harvested by five shippers in forests south of Ontonagon and trucked to sidings along the line for transfer to rail cars.

The Ontonagon County Partnership will be meeting Nov. 3 and the plan is to further discuss the railroad. Future discussions will include input from the Ontonagon County Economic Partnership, Ontonagon County officials and representatives of the Ontonagon County Economic Development Corporation and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.