Person with camera on misty lake

the Media Room

May 11, 2023

A hearing for Rep. Stauber’s two bills attacking the Boundary Waters’ 20-year ban on mining in its headwaters was held today. Becky Rom, National Chair of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, was the only witness who testified on behalf of protecting the Boundary Waters. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

Nov 1, 2023
MinnPost
With its plan to explore for nickel, cobalt and other minerals on non-federal land, Twin Metals has made an end run of a 20-year federal moratorium that dashed its efforts to mine in the Superior National Forest, whose watershed feeds into the Boundary Waters.
Nov 1, 2023
CBS News
[Video] - Twin Metals Minnesota just got the green light to drill on property next to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to learn more about the area’s mineral resources.
Oct 31, 2023
WORT - Madison Community Radio
Yesterday, Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources approved a mining subsidiary’s proposal for exploratory drilling in northeastern Minnesota. The proposal, submitted by Franconia Minerals LLC, a subsidiary of Twin Metals Minnesota LLC and owned by Chilean mining company Antofagasta PLC, asks for approval to conduct exploratory drilling south of Birch Lake.
Oct 31, 2023
Star Tribune
The mining company will be allowed to sink six holes to explore state minerals near Birch Lake in St. Louis County. 
Oct 31, 2023
MPR News
A mining company blocked by the Biden administration in its efforts to build a massive underground copper-nickel mine near Ely, Minn., on the doorstep of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, now has the go-ahead to explore for minerals in the area owned by the state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on Monday approved a plan by Franconia Minerals, a subsidiary of Twin Metals, to drill several exploratory holes. Three are located on the edge of Birch Lake, which flows into the Boundary Waters.
Oct 31, 2023
Duluth News Tribune
Federal action has derailed the copper-nickel mining company's original mine plan on federal mineral leases, but mining activity is still allowed on state leases near the Boundary Waters.
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.
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."
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.  
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.   

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. 

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.

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WEBINARS

Lease Cancelation Webinar - 1/27/22

Save the Boundary Waters Press Conference: Lease Cancelation - 1/26/2022

Issue 101 and the Path to Permanent Protection for the Boundary Waters - 9/3/2021

Fishing Webinar 5/5/2021

Saving the Boundary Waters: Stories About Runners and Kids Working to Protect America’s Most Visited Wilderness - June 2021

Bios for Press Use

The Campaign to Save The Boundary Waters welcomes media inquiries; email Libby@savetheboundarywaters.org