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When I was seven years old, I went on my first family canoe trip to the Boundary Waters. As I grew up, we started to go every year, eventually taking many trips to Canada’s Quetico Provincial Park. Those annual trips often included some combination of aunts, uncles, cousins or friends in addition to my parents and brother (and sometimes the family dog). The trips were even better when my paternal grandfather would join us. A dedicated outdoorsman, talented photographer and wildflower enthusiast, my “Grampy” was the ultimate camper. Grampy started camping in the Boundary Waters in the late 1960s. By the time I was in college, he was in his 80s and he didn’t carry much on a portage, but that didn't take away his enthusiasm. He’d still fish and would often sit in the middle of the canoe sharing stories from his years of camping experience. A few weeks ago, while in the middle of moving, I came across a paper I wrote for a college class in 1999. I can’t remember the exact class (or if this was even the final version of the paper), but it looks like it was for a creative writing assignment. The paper is entitled “Portage to a new beginning.” It recounts our last canoe trip with Grampy. I couldn’t have anticipated then that this paper would have so much meaning to me now, as my Grampy has since passed away, there are now threats to the Boundary Waters and Quetico from proposed sulfide-ore mining and I’m working everyday to protect one of his favorite places in the world.

Portage to a New Beginning
May 3, 1999

Ely, Minnesota: gateway to the Canadian wilderness and a 40-year-old family tradition. Summers ago, my grandfather dipped his paddle into the cool water of Agnes Lake and sometime during my father’s younger days he caught a muskie and the urge to visit again. The very spirit of my family can be found on the mysterious islands they visited back then as well as in the cool breezes, and in the deep waters we encounter on our canoe trips up there in the Quetico every year.

Last August my aunt, uncle and cousins joined us for one of these adventures. We took my 80-year-old grandfather up to the northeast end of Kawnipi to fish, relax, and to catch a bit of his youth again. Years ago, when my grandpa’s bones were stronger, he took the Death March Portages with my father and his college friends. They trudged all over the forgotten trails and braved the long, hard portages to reach a virtually untouched area of the park. Now, it takes all his energy to carry a backpack with his camera and he needs a walking stick on even the flattest portages.

This particular trip was special, as it was the first trip that included all the campers in my family and it may be the last trip my grandfather will ever take. This year, as we settled down for lunch on the first day, I realized just how important family trips are to my grandfather. As our footsteps became heavy under our packs and the heat of a midday sun on Meadows portage, we began to drag our feet and almost gave in to the pain. Tired and slowly losing steam, we slipped our canoes into the water and dug into our strokes until we fell upon a tiny secluded island, on the north end of Agnes. The loons sung to us as we slid up on the rocky beach and gathered under a large pine to avoid the sweltering heat. After lunch; hat bent over his bristling jaw, my dad lay on a rock while my mother kicked her feet into the deep blue and let the current play games with her toes. My brother, cousins and I laughed and fought as we stashed candy bars, lemon drops and fruit snacks in our packs for a late afternoon treat. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spied my grandfather. He was sitting on a makeshift chair and his eyes sparkled with joy and love as he watched the family he helped create. The moment was too small and abstract for a picture, but seemed to find a place in my heart. I was reminded of what he has given me and realized that someday my dad might be sitting here. He could be the one watching over his grandchildren and I hope that he will have the same look in his eyes and that my children will love him as much as I love my grandfather. These trips I know now are proof of the strength and love in our family.

I know many people like me have family history with the Boundary Waters. We love to hear those stories. Please consider sharing your story with us. And please take a minute today to thank Governor Dayton for his recent support of efforts to protect the Wilderness for families and future generations everywhere.

Ellie Bayrd is the Communications Director for the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters.

Yesterday, Governor Mark Dayton released a letter he sent to Twin Metals Minnesota, owned by international mining company Antofagasta, about the need to protect the Boundary Waters. The letter outlines his “grave concerns” about Twin Metals’ proposed massive sulfide-ore mining operation in the Boundary Waters Wilderness watershed.

“... my concern is for the inherent risks associated with any mining operation in close proximity to the BWCAW,” says Governor Dayton. “... I have an obligation to ensure [the Boundary Waters] is not diminished in any way. Its uniqueness and fragility require that we exercise special care when we evaluate significant land use changes in the area, and I am unwilling to take risks with that Minnesota environmental icon.”

In the letter, Dayton calls the Boundary Waters a “crown jewel in Minnesota and a national treasure.” The Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters has been working tirelessly to help decision makers like Governor Dayton recognize that America’s most visited wilderness is not the place for what the EPA calls the most toxic industry in America and take action to ensure its protection for future generations.

“The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a national treasure. It is too special to put at risk,” said Becky Rom, National Campaign Chair of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, in response to the Governor’s letter. “This is a clear signal that the lands near the Boundary Waters Wilderness should be off limits to sulfide-ore mining. I’d like to thank the Governor for his strong leadership on this issue."

The Governor has also reached out to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). “I apprised the Director of my strong opposition to mining in close proximity to the BWCAW,” he says in his letter. “I was informed that the BLM is in the process of making a determination pertaining to the renewal of Twin Metals' federal lease holdings. I believe that the BLM decision will offer further guidance on the future of mining in the area.”

Let’s thank Governor Dayton for his leadership and urge him to do everything in his powers to support permanent protection for the Boundary Waters Wilderness watershed. 

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a breathtaking wild landscape of lakes, streams and woods that covers 1.1 million acres along the Canadian border. International mining companies have proposed building sulfide-ore copper mines right on the edge of the Wilderness, threatening to contaminate its pristine waters and disrupt its quiet wilderness character.

Through the Science Desk series, we try to describe the importance of the Boundary Waters, its watershed and the different ways sulfide-ore copper mining would fundamentally change the landscape. Instead of a written account this month, we invite you to take a virtual tour and see what’s at stake.

This tour uses the Google Earth platform to guide you through the beautiful Boundary Waters in a geographically grounded context. You can see pictures of the South Kawishiwi River and Birch Lake, as well as check out the locations of the sulfide-ore copper mining facilities proposed by Twin Metals Minnesota. 

Check out this one-minute preview:

View the Google Earth tour here.

Technical Suggestions:

• The tour works best using Firefox or Safari with the Google Earth Plugin installed.
• You can still view the tour using Chrome, however it will be in 2D rather than 3D.
• If you prefer to see the tour in the Google Earth program itself, you can download this KMZ file and open it using Google Earth. 
• Click “Play Tour” in the My Places window,
• Use the play/pause button in the bottom left hand corner of the map window to start and stop the tour after reading the information windows and scrolling through pictures.

Rachel Garwin is the Campaign's policy director. She holds an M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont. Every month, Science Desk will include our latest scientific support and share a deeper understanding of the potential environmental impact from sulfide-ore copper mining near the Boundary Waters.

It is the heart of the winter in the Wilderness. I just finished wading through thigh-deep snow while gathering firewood from a spruce bog near our campsite. Last week the temperature barely rose over freezing during the heat of the day and plunged to -15 to -25 at night. Some of the questions we hear most often revolve around how we "survive" out in the Wilderness in the winter. I would say we are not just surviving out here, we are thriving. I would like to share some of the things that allow us to live and travel comfortably in the winter woods.

This isn't our first rodeo. Amy and I have more than 20 years of combined experience leading winter camping and dogsledding trips in the Boundary Waters. We have worked for Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge for many seasons and over the years we have learned many tips and tricks for staying happy and healthy in the winter Wilderness.

Good clothing is extremely important and we layer our clothing so that we can add a layer if we get cold, or remove a layer if we get too hot. Believe it or not, our biggest challenge is overheating. When we are skiing with the dogs we do not need to wear very many clothes because we are working hard. When we stop, we put on a down jacket or our anorak to help trap in our body heat. In the winter, we wear clothing that is breathable so that any moisture that our body produces can pass through our clothing. We wear Merino Air long underwear that was donated by Patagonia, and on top of that we usually wear one or two fleece layers to help trap our body heat. Our outer layer consists of pants and an anorak made by Wintergreen Northern Wear. When it is cold, and we stop for lunch or stop moving for a while, we can throw our Outdoor Research down parkas over the rest of our clothing to help us stay warm.

Another way we stay warm is by gathering and burning a lot of firewood. There is an old saying that firewood warms you twice, once when you cut it and then again when you burn it. Each day, Amy and I spend about an hour gathering, cutting and splitting firewood. We gather dead wood that is well back from the lake and away from summer campsites. It is hard work carrying the logs through deep snow back to our campsite, cutting it into 14-inch pieces, and splitting it with our axe. The benefit is that we can relax in our Seek Outside tipi tent and soak in the heat from the wood stove. The wood stove is in the center of our tipi tent. We have a drying line that runs around the top of the tent, from which we hang socks, mittens and other clothing to dry. We also hang our ski boots and other heavy items off of the center pole. With good wood burning in the stove, it is easy to keep the tent 50 or 60 degrees at head level and 80 or 90 degrees at the top of the tent where the drying lines are. The ability to dry out our clothing using the heat of the wood stove makes it much easier to stay warm and comfortable out here in the winter.

Good food, and plenty of it, also helps us stay warm and comfortable. In the winter we eat about 3,500 to 4,000 calories each day. Our diet contains a lot of butter, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, cheese and other foods that are high in fat. I know it's pretty rough adding an extra dollop of butter to our pasta, a big spoonful of peanut butter to our oatmeal or an extra helping of chocolate after dinner, but we will manage. In reality, being able to eat as much as I want without thinking twice is one of my favorite parts about extended cold weather trips. On some of our winter trips, we have eaten as many as 5,500 calories each day! We are thankful for the steady stream of volunteers who trek into the Wilderness every week or two with supplies for us. They often bring brownies, chocolate, cookies, fresh fruit and other special treats. Thanks to the cold and our active lifestyle, we can polish off a batch of cookies in one sitting without thinking twice!

Luckily we have about six weeks of winter left, so there is still plenty of time for us to eat as many treats as we want. February and March are some of my favorite months in the Boundary Waters. The days are getting longer and the sun is getting higher in the sky each day. Winter's bite is slowly fading and spring will be here before we know it. We are approaching the halfway mark of A Year in the Wilderness. We are so thankful for all of the support we are receiving from the staff, volunteers and Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters supporters. Thank you for helping us bear witness to this national treasure and be a constant reminder of what is at risk.