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 13, 2024
Duluth News Tribune

"In 2022, outdoor recreation was an $11.7 billion industry in Minnesota, contributing seven times more to Minnesota GDP than mining, quarrying, and oil/gas extraction."

Nov 12, 2024
MPR News

It’s been like a high-stakes ping-pong match over the past several Presidential administrations when it comes to the prospect of mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

Nov 6, 2024
MINNPOST

The amendment to extend the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust fund received over 77% of the vote.

Oct 1, 2024
MINNPOST

It’s our turn as Minnesotans to extend that legacy and ensure that such landscapes are protected for another 60 years — and beyond.

Sep 27, 2024
The Minnesota Star Tribune

Like a child’s balloon let loose into the sky — or a mining approval in a land of water.

Sep 10, 2024
The Minnesota Star Tribune

The proposal suggests removing the 20-year protection on the Superior National Forest that President Joe Biden’s administration had ordered in 2023.

Aug 2, 2024
Quetico Superior Wilderness News

The Heritage Foundation, a research and educational institution dedicated to advancing conservative public policies, facilitated the proposal. The coalition recommends that the new administration “abandon withdrawals of lands from leasing…[including] the Boundary Waters area in northern Minnesota if those withdrawals have not been completed.”

Jul 22, 2024
MINNPOST

Residents of Eagles Nest Township, a small community southwest of Ely, Minn., have spent more than a decade preparing for wildfires. Here’s a look at their efforts.

Jul 12, 2024
KSTP

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is working to sell tens of thousands of acres of the state’s most pristine land to the federal government. The plan involves about 80,000 acres — or 125 square miles — in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Jun 26, 2024
Quetico Superior Wilderness News

Last week, Representative Pete Stauber (R-8th district) attached five amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act. These aim to overturn the 20-year mining ban near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).

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