Person with camera on misty lake

the Media Room

November 14, 2023

It has taken years of effort and tens of thousands of dollars in lab and equipment costs, but the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters’ tireless water quality monitoring work sheds light on Birch Lake – whose pollution has been ignored – until now.

November 9, 2023

Today, Twin Metals, a subsidiary of Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta plc, filed a notice to appeal the dismissal of the company’s federal lawsuit against the U.S. Government.

October 31, 2023

Franconia Minerals’ plan to drill just upstream of the Boundary Waters was approved late yesterday afternoon by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

October 24, 2023

WCCO, Minnesota’s local CBS news station, highlighted how the Campaign to Save The Boundary Waters built a movement that brought Minnesota’s sulfide-ore copper mining threat into the national spotlight.

October 9, 2023

Save the Boundary Waters submits letter of objection to Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Department of Natural Resources Commissioners, urging rejection of Franconia Minerals/Twin Metals Minnesota exploratory drilling plan on shores of popular recreational lake in Superior National Forest

September 6, 2023

(Ely, MN)-- Today, Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness (NMW), the lead organization in the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, ten area businesses, and four conservation groups prevailed in the lawsuit in which the groups and businesses had intervened on the side of the United States government. Antofagasta’s subsidiaries Twin Metals Minnesota and Franconia filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in August 2022. The lawsuit sought to force the renewal of federal mineral leases next to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which had been illegally renewed during the Trump Administration. 

July 31, 2023

Executive director Ingrid Lyons of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters and national chair Becky Rom presented to a packed audience at the weekly Ely gathering “Tuesday Group,” where they outlined Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness’ strategy to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness permanently. Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness (NMW) is the lead organization of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters.

July 24, 2023

Local Northeastern Minnesota newspaper sets the story straight: the Biden administration’s 20-year mineral withdrawal banning mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters does not impact taconite mining, despite Rep. Stauber’s inaccurate pontifications on the matter.

June 29, 2023

(ELY, MN) -- Today, Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness filed a request for a contested case procedure challenging the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order on Remand as part of a first-of-its-kind lawsuit seeking to amend Minnesota’s outdated non-ferrous mine siting rules. 

Feb 14, 2025
Duluth News Tribune

Minnesota legislators have introduced a bill to bar copper-nickel mines from developing within the same watershed as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Feb 13, 2025
Outdoor News

Over the past five years, opportunities for public input on proposed sulfide-ore copper mining near the Boundary Waters have resulted in Americans submitting more than 675,000 comments to the federal government supporting protections for the Boundary Waters watershed.

Feb 11, 2025
MPR News

She’s successfully drawn national and federal support for blocking new mining operations through  Save the Boundary Waters. She and like-minded environmentalists argue the science is clear: There’s no safe way mine copper-nickel do that without tainting the water, which draws canoers and tourists to the area.

Feb 7, 2025
Detroit Lakes Tribune

Worse yet, the new bill would automatically force the issuance of federal mineral leases to Chilean mining giant Antofagasta without review.

Feb 6, 2025
MPR News

Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber has reintroduced legislation to overturn a 20-year mining ban near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness that was imposed two years ago under the Biden administration.

Jan 23, 2025
The Timberjay

Extensive testing shows path of pollution reaches Boundary Waters

Jan 21, 2025
MinnnPost

WASHINGTON — The new Congress and Donald Trump’s return to the White House has created new opportunities for Rep. Pete Stauber when it comes to his efforts to promote copper and nickel mining on the Iron Range.

As the chairman of the panel that has jurisdiction over mining issues in the House Natural Resources Committee, Stauber, R-8th District, is well positioned to push mining-related legislation.

Jan 9, 2025
The Timberjay

The Timberjay submitted several questions to Rep. Pete Stauber’s office, but never heard back on the reasons behind the failure to advance the measure in the GOP-led House.

Dec 12, 2024
MINNPOST

Twin Metals project and others plan to move ahead as opponents prepare to renew court efforts.

Nov 23, 2024
The Minnesota Star Tribune

Minnesota’s beloved and fragile Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is unfortunately back in political crosshairs after the election.

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.

Follow and Subscribe to our video channels: YouTube & Vimeo

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