Person with camera on misty lake

the Media Room

July 6, 2021

Late last week it was reported that Antofagasta PLC, owner of the Twin Metals mining project on the doorstep of the Boundary Waters, has once again inked deals to supply copper concentrates from its mines to Chinese smelters. This copper will then be turned around and sold on the world market.  

June 30, 2021

 

Provision would bar the Department of Interior from using funds to advance sulfide-ore copper mining in the Boundary Waters watershed

May 21, 2021

Alex Falconer, government affairs director for Save the Boundary Waters, will run both the Kekekabic and Border Route trails without stopping to camp.

May 12, 2021

Decision today orders Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to launch proceedings to review Minnesota's non-ferrous mining rules in the watershed of the Boundary Waters; Follows on the heels of successful challenge to federal prospecting permits for Antofagasta's Twin Metals

May 6, 2021

The Biden administration released it's "America the Beautiful" report outlining the pathway to achieve the President's bold vision of conserving 30 percent of the nation's land and water by 2030. The guidelines outlined today in the report indicate protecting and preserving Minnesota's Boundary Waters Wilderness and its surrounding boreal forests from sulfide-ore copper mining is an important part of a climate solution, including carbon sequestration and climate adaptation and resilience.

April 26, 2021

Minnesota Senator has sensibly called for study on mining's risks to be completed

April 22, 2021

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) re-introduced legislation to protect Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining. The Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act permanently protects 234,328 acres of federal land and waters within the Superior National Forest from risky sulfide-ore copper mining. 

Nov 29, 2023
Quetico Superior Wilderness News

MPCA: High levels of problematic pollutant found in Birch Lake upstream from BWCAW.

Several lakes and rivers upstream of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are contaminated with sulfate, which causes more mercury in fish and kills manoomin (wild rice), according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and several citizen-led sampling efforts. In the past two years, the agency has considered new data that shows how waters downstream of past and present iron mines exceed standards for sulfate levels designed to protect the environment.

Nov 16, 2023
The Timberjay

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has added Birch Lake to its draft list of the state’s impaired wild rice waters due to sulfate contamination from nearby mining operations. That list, which is updated every two years, was released in draft form on Tuesday. Pending public comments and approval from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the final list is expected to be approved next April.

Nov 16, 2023
MPR News

State officials are proposing to add 54 lakes, rivers and streams to the list of Minnesota waters considered impaired because of pollution, including a large lake on the border of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Nov 16, 2023
Fox 9

Birch Lake near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has been added to the impaired waters list after a study found elevated levels of sulfate in the water. 

Nov 16, 2023
Duluth News Tribune

A group opposed to mining near the Boundary Waters hopes that adding Birch Lake will make permitting a copper-nickel mine more difficult.

Nov 15, 2023
Star Tribune

Already impaired by taconite mine pollution, Birch Lake could face new threats from a proposed copper-nickel mine, environmentalists say.  

Nov 14, 2023
KSTP

A mining company was recently given the green light to move forward with drilling exploratory borings in an area of the Superior National Forest connected to the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA).

Nov 9, 2023
Quetico-Superior News

Twin Metals, the company seeking to operate a copper-nickel mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, has appealed a recent federal court decision that blocked its mine proposal from proceeding. U.S. District Court judge Christopher Cooper dismissed a Twin Metals lawsuit in September, a decision the subsidiary of Chilean conglomerate Antofagasta PLC is now seeking to overturn.

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.

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