Person with camera on misty lake

the Media Room

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of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order on Remand as part of a first-of-its-kind lawsuit seeking to amend Minnesota’s outdated non-ferrous mine siting rules. 

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.

Apr 3, 2025
The Timberjay

Trump’s order on mineral production pushes secrecy. The question is why?

Mar 27, 2025
The Timberjay

A March 20 executive order signed by President Donald Trump establishes mining of minerals as the highest priority use of federal lands, and that could eventually lead to mining operations within federal wilderness areas and even national parks.

Mar 26, 2025
Field & Stream

Leaders from Trout Unlimited and Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters weigh in on the potential impacts of President Trump's Executive Order fast-tracking mining on public lands


 

Mar 21, 2025
MINNPOST

An executive order Trump signed late Thursday gives his administration emergency powers to prioritize mining on public lands, which could include the Superior National Forest, a watershed for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Mar 21, 2025
Outdoor Life

The latest order would also subsidize mining companies while reducing public input to reopen past projects — including a mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Mar 5, 2025
MPR News

“We have a record of glad handing and a sort of good old boy network doing favors for each other in rooms,” said Sen. Jen McEwen, DFL-Duluth. “That has to stop like we have to get really serious about protecting our water, especially now.”

Mar 1, 2025
MPR News

President Donald Trump is taking a step toward granting the U.S. mining industry’s biggest wishes by singling out one metal as a focus of his domestic minerals policy: copper.

Feb 27, 2025
The Timberjay

Proponents of expanded protections for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from the effects of sulfide-based mining are taking issue with the region’s only remaining DFL lawmaker, Sen. Grant Hauschild, of Hermantown.

Feb 24, 2025
The Wilderness Society

Early orders could threaten iconic landscapes, including millions of acres of wildlife habitat and migration corridors.

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, we 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

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