Person with camera on misty lake

the Media Room

March 1, 2021

The Boundary Waters sustains the livelihoods of thousands of Minnesotans and studies show that protecting the Wilderness is the better economic choice for the sustainability of the region

February 22, 2021

Focusing on the environmental threat, the campaign is highlighting the overwhelming science outlining the risks to the Wilderness from copper mining and the people whose lives will be impacted

February 16, 2021

"100 days to Save the Boundary Waters," is a multi-week campaign to demonstrate to policymakers the overwhelming support to permanently protect the Boundary Waters Wilderness from the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining.

February 8, 2021

Conservation groups challenging the Trump Administration’s 2019 decision to renew two hardrock mining leases held by Twin Metals Minnesota today filed a motion asking the court to include documents that were wrongly excluded from the case record by the Trump Justice Department.

February 8, 2021

Boundary Waters Permanent Protection Bill (S.F. 763/H.F. 840) extends the existing permanent state ban on mining in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) to also prohibit both sulfide-ore copper mining and issuance of sulfide-ore copper mining permits, licenses, and leases on state-owned land within the BWCAW’s watershed.

February 3, 2021

U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum (MN04) sent a letter to President Biden asking that his administration take action to protect Minnesota's Boundary Waters Wilderness from sulfide-ore copper mining. Rep. McCollum's letter recounts the extreme political interference by the Trump administration in fast-tracking highly risky mining next to America's most visited Wilderness.

February 1, 2021

The Star Tribune published an editorial urging the Biden-Harris administration to renew the push to protect Minnesota's Boundary Waters, America's most visited Wilderness.

January 27, 2021

Preserving Minnesota's Boundary Waters Wilderness is key to solving the climate and extinction crisis

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.

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.

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