the Media Room

Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Receives Rare International Wilderness Quiet Park Award

March 20, 2023

The Boundary Waters' pristine soundscape and lack of industrial noise intrusions propels it into a class of its own: as one of only a handful of the world's quietest places. This level of quiet is rare even in America’s most remote wild places.

The Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters’ Becky Rom at White House event today

March 2, 2023

(Ely, MN) -- Today, March 1, National Chair Becky Rom of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters joined distinguished community leaders and elected officials from across Minnesota in Washington, D.C., for the “Communities in Action: Building a Better Minnesota” event at the White House.

MEMO: Anti-wilderness extremists continue to threaten the Boundary Waters

February 27, 2023

On January 26th, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland signed a Public Land Order (PLO) that withdrew 225,504 acres of public lands located in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from the federal mineral leasing program for 20 years. Her action was informed by the diligent scientific work of resource scientists and professional land managers in the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, that considered the environmental risks of sulfide-ore copper mining on land, water, and wildlife; the potential harm to Native American communities, treaty rights, and resources; and climate change implications resulting from the destruction of forest land and the vast consumption of energy by mining companies. Over the past five years, opportunities for public comment on proposed sulfide-ore copper mining near the Boundary Waters have resulted in more than 675,000 comments supporting protections for the Boundary Waters Watershed.

STATEMENT: Save the Boundary Waters statement on Antofagasta’s Twin Metals Minnesota hiring former Minnesota Senator Tom Bakk as a lobbyist

February 15, 2023

Department of the Interior Issues Public Land Order Protecting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from sulfide-ore mining

January 26, 2023

Today Interior Secretary Deb Haaland signed a Public Land Order (PLO) protecting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW or Wilderness), Voyageurs National Park (VNP), and 1854 Treaty Area from sulfide-ore copper mining. The PLO, called a mineral withdrawal, bans toxic mining on 225,504 acres of Superior National Forest land in the watershed of the BWCAW and upstream of the Wilderness. The PLO comes after the Forest Service published a comprehensive scientific review finding that sulfide-ore copper mining would pollute the Boundary Waters in ways that could not be fixed or mitigated. The PLO and the final Environmental Assessment (EA) are expected to be released tomorrow.

Boundary Waters Permanent Protection Bill introduced in Minnesota House and Senate by chief authors Senator Kelly Morrison and Representative Sandra Feist

January 12, 2023

This week, the Boundary Waters Permanent Protection Bill (S.F. 167/H.F. 329) was introduced in both the Minnesota House and Senate by chief authors Representative Sandra Feist and Senator Kelly Morrison. The bill extends the existing permanent state ban on mining in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) to also prohibit sulfide-ore copper mining on state-owned lands and issuance of sulfide-ore copper mining permits, licenses, and leases within the Rainy River Headwaters.

Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness and Ten Local Businesses Join Federal Government in Twin Metals Lawsuit

December 22, 2022

Does Twin Metals really have a viable plan?

September 19, 2022

Save the Boundary Waters Statement on Twin Metals Lawsuit

August 22, 2022

BREAKING: Boundary Waters protection bill advances out of key Congressional committee

July 13, 2022

Protecting the Boundary Waters: next steps

Feb 15, 2023

Minnesota Reformer

OpEd by Zach Spindler-Krage In June 2022, I sat in the Department of Agriculture and told a story to Dr. Homer Wilkes, the under secretary for natural resources and environment. With a map of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness spread across the table, I pointed to Sawbill Lake.... Zach Spindler-Krage is a Minnesotan currently studying political science, history and policy studies at Grinnell College in Iowa. He is a political and environmental activist, having spent time at the state Capitol and in D.C. fighting for Minnesota causes. His previous work can be found in MinnPost and the Post Bulletin.

Local View: Ban on copper mining doesn't go far enough

Feb 6, 2023

Duluth News Tribune

From the column: "It is ... limited by law to a 20-year term. The Minnesota Legislature and U.S. Congress could ... permanently protect the Boundary Waters watershed from copper mining."

Biden administration imposes 20-year mining moratorium in watershed of BWCA

Feb 6, 2023

MinnPost

The Interior Department on Thursday announced a 20-year mining moratorium on 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest that bars Twin Metals from constructing a proposed copper, cobalt and nickel mine in the area.

Public lands near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters withdrawn from federal mining leases

Feb 6, 2023

Minnesota reformer

After more than a year of assessment and debate, the U.S. Department of the Interior on Thursday announced the withdrawal of more than 225,000 acres of public lands near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota from federal mine leasing programs.

Biden Interior announces mineral withdrawal

Feb 6, 2023

The Timberjay

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced Thursday that they are withdrawing approximately 225,504 acres of the Superior National Forest from potential mineral leasing for the next 20 years...

Biden halts new mining near Boundary Waters for 20 years

Feb 6, 2023

Duluth News Tribune

The administration is bringing back an Obama-era decision, later reversed by Trump, that bans new mineral leases on 225,500 acres of the Superior National Forest for the next two decades...

Biden administration imposes 20-year mining ban on 225,000 acres of northern Minesota

Feb 6, 2023

Star Tribune

The move follows a study that concluded mining could damage the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness; Twin Metals mine had been slated for the area. The Biden administration has withdrawn some 225,000 acres of national forest land in northern Minnesota from mineral leasing, protecting a swath of the watershed that adjoins the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness...

U.S. bans mining in parts of Minnesota, dealing latest blow to Antofagasta’s copper project

Feb 6, 2023

Reuters

Ernest Scheyder |1/26/23 Jan 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Interior Department on Thursday blocked mining in part of northeast Minnesota for 20 years, the latest blow to Antofagasta Plc's (ANTO.L) Twin Metals copper and nickel mining project but a step officials said is needed to protect the state's vast network of interconnected waterways...

Biden protects vast wilderness area in Minnesota from mining

Feb 6, 2023

The Washington Post

Timothy Puko | 1/26/23 The move comes as the administration faces a string of tough decisions on federal conservation for spots in Alaska and Nevada

McCollum reintroduces Boundary Waters bill

Jan 31, 2023

MinnPost

Saying the steps the Biden administration took to bar mining in the Superior National Forest are not permanent, Rep. Betty McCollum on Tuesday reintroduced a bill that would offer permanent protections...

VIDEOS & WEBINARS

(Scroll down for webinars)

Short video celebrating the life of Former Vice President Walter Mondale, who fought fervently to protect Minnesota’s Boundary Waters from toxic mining.

Watch the entire "Boundary Waters Traverse" film! On May 22, 2021 Alex Falconer ran over 110 miles in 38 hrs 15 mins and 3 seconds, through the heart of the Boundary Waters completing the first known attempt to trail run the "Boundary Waters Traverse”.

Patagonia's feature-length film - Public Trust. The film focuses on the Boundary Waters and other high-profile, threatened public lands across the United States.

In Deep Water: A Fight to Save the Boundary Waters The Campaign produced a mini-documentary to educate new audiences on the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining on the edge of the Boundary Waters.

Kids for the Boundary Waters is an organization run by youth with the goal of building a community of young wilderness advocates.

KEEN Story Camp was an event that included a public open-mic session on the edge of the Wilderness, where attendees canoed the lakes during the day and told stories around the fire at night.

A stunning short film that follows Dave and Amy Freeman's year spent in the Boundary Waters Wilderness. Bear Witness shares Dave and Amy's experiences in all seasons and how the Freemans dedicated themselves to this expedition in an effort to raise awareness about the threats to the Boundary Waters from proposed sulfide-ore copper mining.

Covering 2,000 miles and crossing nine states, authors and National Geographic Adventurers of the Year Amy and Dave Freeman are biking from Ely, Minnesota, to Washington D.C. this spring to promote their new book, A Year in the Wilderness, and continue their efforts to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, one of our country’s most precious and expansive Wilderness areas.

A short documentary film centered around protecting the Boundary Waters. The film's focus is on the people who help spread appreciation for the land and carry on, in their own individual ways, the legacy of Sigurd Olson, a writer and conservationist who was responsible for the area's National Forest designation in 1978.