Current Opportunities
Environmental Research & Review Analyst
Position: Permanent/Full-Time
Location: flexible, but preferably Minnesota
Compensation: $80k + , commensurate with education and experience
Supervised By: Policy & Science Director
Background: Save the Boundary Waters is a campaign coalition launched in 2013 and led by Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness (NMW). NMW was founded in 1996 to provide a local voice for Wilderness protection on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which is America’s most-visited wilderness area, a unique landscape, and the only lake-land wilderness of significant size in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Save the Boundary Waters includes ~30 environmental NGO partners, > 375 business partners, and ~30 hunting and fishing nonprofit partners, all of which are united in the shared objective of achieving permanent protection of the Boundary Waters from the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining in the Boundary Waters watershed.
Position purposes: Review, analyze, and draft polished written comments on and critiques of preference right mineral lease renewals/reissuance, mine plan(s), and related proposals using comprehensive knowledge of general mining practices and methods, and of environmental review practices, methods, limitations, and prediction failures; draft or participate in the drafting, finalization, and submittal of formal comments from NMW on mine project and other proposals; conduct research by obtaining, archiving, and reviewing mine projects’ environmental review documentation and predictions, scientific journal articles and government reports, baseline and post-mine-development monitoring data, etc.
Core Duties & Responsibilities:
• Track priority industrial projects in northeastern Minnesota;
• Issue-spot and prioritize needs for further research and expert advice;
• Review and interpret project proposals, environmental review and permitting documents,
government reports, SEC filings, scientific and trade journal articles, prior comments on
the same or similar proposals, baseline environmental monitoring data, expert reports, etc.;
• Prepare and submit comment letters alone or in cooperation with others;
• Edit for content and clarity, and maintain a high level of quality control and factual and
scientific integrity in all written materials produced;
• Research and summarize the history, core components, environmental review/permitting
predictions, and actual performance of select mines;
• Research, analyze, and write materials intended for a range of audiences.
Required Knowledge and Abilities:
• Excellent reading and writing abilities, with a demonstrated skill in producing clear, well-
structured writing on complex topics;
• Effective speaking skills;
• Firm command of environmental review and permitting procedures;
• Knowledge of general mining practices and methods, and experience working on mining-
related issues;
• Familiarity with basics of one or more areas of natural resource science;
• Familiarity with statutory interpretation, legal writing, and environmental laws;
• Attention to detail, ability to track and organize multiple research and writing projects,
some of which will involve many components and multiple authors, contributors and/or
reviewers; and
• Ability and willingness to work occasional stretches of long, non-standard hours when
under deadline(s), with a schedule that could include working evenings and/or weekends.
Preferred Education, Experience, Skills, and Qualities:
• Effective interpersonal skills, including an ability to work well with others and on
deadline to complete tasks requiring problem-solving and collaboration;
• A J.D. and legal experience, including statutory/regulatory interpretation;
• A degree(s) in one or more areas of natural resource science (e.g., hydrology,
hydrogeology, geochemistry, aquatic chemistry, geomechanics, geophysics, biology,
ecology) is ideal;
• Minimum of six years’ experience in mining, in writing or commenting on mine plans of
operation, in writing or commenting on mine project environmental review and permitting
documents, or some combination of these;
• Facility with common office word-processing software, Adobe, Dropbox, etc.;
• Ability to maintain a positive attitude and outlook.
Benefits:
•Annual salary: $80,000–$90,000 to start, commensurate with experience;
403(b) retirement plan (with 3% match vesting after one year of employment);
• $565/mo. stipend for medical, vision, and dental insurance, with organization group plan
options;
• $2,000 annual professional development stipend;
• 9 paid holidays, 18 days of Paid Time Off (PTO), which increases with time accrued at
the organization;
• Paid parental leave per Minnesota’s new parental leave law: https://pl.mn.gov/;
• Work alongside seasoned professionals on a historic national public lands campaign –
Save the Boundary Waters;
• Do well while doing good.
NMW is committed to ensuring that wilderness and the pursuit of its protection should be welcoming and accessible to all. NMW is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of the organization as it works to protect this special place for everyone and for generations to come. See NMW’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice commitment here. Please send a resume and brief letter of interest for the position by July 8th to Matt@savetheboundarywaters.org
We invite anyone interested to let us know you'd like to be considered for our board! Please fill out this brief form to indicate your interest in being considered for the NMW board. This form is open at any time, and we further consider new board applicants as board roles become available on a limited basis. You may also reach out to Ingrid Lyons, Executive Director, at Ingrid@savetheboundarywaters.org