Blog

Rep. McCollum introduces legislation compelling US Forest Service to complete and release study on toxic mining near the Boundary Waters

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue had previously cancelled the study and is refusing to hand over underlying data

Today, Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) introduced legislation (Interior Appropriations Committee Report p.7) compelling the U.S. Forest to complete a study on toxic mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters. The study had been underway for twenty months before being cancelled by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in 2018, who in defiance of Congress is refusing to hand over the preliminary reports. Perdue had previously promised Rep. McCollum he would finish the study, then broke his word last September.

The legislation would halt mineral leasing in the watershed of the Boundary Waters until the completion and delivery of the study to Congress.

“This legislation is necessary because the Trump administration is hellbent on steamrolling through this risky mining project near a pristine Wilderness without acknowledging the inherent problems,” said Tom Landwehr, Executive Director of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters.

The legislation comes a week after the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) renewed two leases for Chilean mining giant Antofagasta’s Twin Metals project. The leases were terminated in 2016 by the Obama Administration because of the irreconcilable risk they posed to the Wilderness, and unlawfully reinstated by the Trump Administration. The leases have never undergone full environmental review to determine whether the watershed of the Boundary Waters is the right location for this kind of mining.

Here are 3 ACTIONS you can take right now:

1. Share our post or tweet and thank Rep. McCollum on your social media!

2. Call your Minnesota Elected Officials and tell them to protect the Boundary Waters.

Senator Tina Smith: (202) 224-5641
Senator Amy Klobuchar: (202) 224-3244
Governor Tim Walz: (651) 201-3400

3. Donate today and help us continue this fight!

Pick any Saturday night in July and you’ll find a campfire in full swing at the end of the Gunflint Trail, a stone’s throw from entry point 55 into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).

Saturday night is my favorite night of the week for that very reason. Our 40 campers will have just come back from their canoe trips in the BWCAW, ready to share stories of their travels and sing songs like the Voyageurs before them.

At Camp Birchwood for Boys, we’ve been doing some rendition of trip-end campfires since my grandparents founded the wilderness camp in 1968. Nowadays, we call this tradition the Eagle’s Nest Campfire Circle.

We end every campfire with “kudos” - any camper with a statement of thanks, gratitude, or respect is welcome to stand up and share. You’d be surprised how long “kudos” can go amongst a group of young boys (ages 7-17)…some nights, over an hour! Our girls camp often runs even longer.

“I want to thank John for always carrying more weight on the portages than he needed to…even over Stairway Portage!”

“I’d like to give kudos to Henry and Nate for catching our dinner that last night and showing me how to cook it. That’s something I wouldn’t have learned at home. I’ll never forget the fight that Trout gave you guys!”

“Kudos to Taylor for singing songs with me in the canoe even though it was raining.”

“I’m giving my kudos to Carter because he was always the first person to start setting up camp. He never asked what to do, he just started doing something he knew would be helpful.”

“I really want to say kudos to my cabin mates for making this my best summer yet. I love you guys!”

By the time kudos is over, the sun has set, and our campers give one final battle cry over the quiet BWCAW before hiking back to their cabins, listening to the final loons calling out over the Seagull River.

When winter comes and it’s just my dad and me living on the property, I often think of those special campfire nights when Eagle’s Nest is alive with stories of nature, adventure, and camaraderie. I’m warmed by the memories of young campers expressing gratitude for his or her wilderness experience.

Often, our campers write to us as adults giving kudos to Camp and the Boundary Waters for shaping them into the people they are today, with respect, love, and need for the wilderness.

Then I think of the threat of mining in the BWCAW watershed, such a polarizing thought.

Over the past 50 years we have sent thousands of young men (and women) into the Boundary Waters. Thousands have reflected on their trips at Eagle’s Nest and thousands attribute their growth and development to the wilderness of Northern Minnesota.

This wild frontier, where our young campers can escape the pressures of modern society, finding equilibrium, clarity, and connection, is at risk.

It’s not just the development of our campers at risk either. There are many youth camps around the Boundary Waters with similar missions to ours - ultimately providing children with meaningful wilderness experiences that have a positive impact on their lives, in turn, making the world a better place.

However, according to the Twin Metals website, sulfide-ore copper mining will “contribute significant revenues to Minnesota’s K-12 public schools through the Minnesota Permanent School Fund.” Supporters would argue that the mining operation will do more for the development of our youth than the Boundary Waters could, rather than put it at risk.

Although, their contributions would only benefit Minnesota, I think we can all agree increased revenue to the school districts of the state would be positive. However, we have to ask ourselves, “At what cost?”

What example does that set for future generations if our once pristine wilderness vanishes?

They’ll be able to read about the simplicities of calling loons on quiet lakes deep in the Boundary Waters from authors like Sigurd Olson. They’ll hear boyhood stories from their grandfathers of running rapids or catching 25-year-old Lake Trout. They’ll hear of the joys attributed to camping in BWCAW, but they won’t know it for themselves.

Our future generations of youth will ask, “What happened to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area?”

What will we say?

My future grandchildren would likely ask their parents why Camp Birchwood is no longer sending out trips.


The answer: Copper-nickel mining won. Man placed profit over preservation. Short term financial gain eclipsed our connection to the land and, therefore, our human spirit.

However, that dim picture I’ve just painted does not have to be our reality! With your support, the BWCAW can serve generations of youth to come. Children, 100 years from now, can sit atop Eagle’s Nest around a campfire and share their own wilderness tales and give their own kudos.

So, in the spirit of tradition, kudos to everyone supporting the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters. The effects of your help will last hundreds of years and serve countless children.

Happy Trails,


Ashley from An Outdoor Experience

Why do you like volunteering for the Campaign?

What is your favorite lake?

Favorite memory in the Boundary Waters?

What would you never go to the Boundary Waters without?

Why do you want to protect the Boundary Waters?

The Boundary Waters has been exhaustively protected to maintain it's current status as a roadless wilderness and federally protected wilderness area. There is precious little undeveloped land left on our earth, and the BWCA looks nearly identical to how it did hundreds of years ago. However, threats to its purity are mounting. I feel a sense of urgency to elevate this issue before time runs out.

I feel deeply connected to this place as so many others do; I was lucky enough to spend a week in Ely each summer with my aunt, uncle, and cousins, paddling in for day trips just outside Ely, and just soaking up all the Ely community had to offer. These childhood carefree memories will stick with me forever. When I feel stressed and overwhelmed, I try to remember those strolls down to Miners Lake and Shagwa lake, waiting for my uncle to get off work at Piragis so we could all walk the dogs together and lay in the hammock. I am intricately connected to the strength of these communities and when I am speaking for the Boundary Waters, I also speak for the 17,000 local jobs supported by the tourism and outdoor recreation economy of Ely, Grand Marais, and the surrounding area.

I was introduced to the richness of these end-of-the-road communities, and it is clear these communities form around something greater than all of us. It wasn't until high school that I began taking more extensive camping trips into the BWCA, and was able to fully understand the vastness of this place, but my deep love and appreciation for those economies that thrive off the outdoor recreation economy grounds me in my work to, As Edward Abbey once said, "Keep it as it was".

You are working to build up a campus organization for the Boundary Waters at DePaul University. Why is it so important to you to get students involved in the Campaign?

DePaul is a Vincentian University, modeled after the life and work of Saint Vincent DePaul. His motto, and consequently the University's, was "What Must Be Done". My four years on this campus have taught me how to pursue social justice through action, and leaders of the campaign to Save the BWCA have as well. Using the tools I've been given through my coursework and fieldwork experience, I now feel called to share with others what must be done for the Boundary Waters. We cannot afford to risk this indescribable place. I am inspired by the Kids for the Boundary Waters group flying into DC, so I am currently planning agendas for three events on campus this week to support their efforts. This week we'll be signing the petition, writing letters to our elected officials, and forming our next Chicago meet up.

---

Sign up here to be a volunteer!

It's Volunteer Appreciation Week and we are highlighting our awesome volunteers! Learn more about Tom Bose.

Why do you want to protect the Boundary Waters?

We have so few national treasures left. We have a responsibility to our children and our grandchildren to pass those few to them untarnished. Among the national treasures, the Boundary Waters is the only canoeing wilderness – absolutely unique for us. Would we tear down Independence Hall to build an office complex? Nor should we damage the Boundary Waters for a handful of 30-year jobs. We need to stay true to our responsibility to our children and grandchildren.

When did you first volunteer?

Cannot remember for sure. Four to five years ago. I remember Becky Rom made a presentation at the Minneapolis Club. As folks were leaving, I asked how I might volunteer.

Why do you like volunteering for the Campaign?

Multiple organizations are working along multiple lines to protect the Boundary Waters. Among those organizations the Campaign is most focused. The Campaign has a clear goal: permanent protection in legislation banning sulfide ore mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters. The Campaign has a strategy to achieve that goal and is executing on the strategy.

What is your favorite event you’ve ever volunteered at?

The State Fair. You meet folks from all over the state from all sorts of backgrounds. Many leave the booth as supporters.

Tom Bose delivering petitions at Minnesota State Fair 2017.

What is your favorite lake?

Farm Lake. Grew up in Indianapolis. In May, 1952 my Dad came from visiting a neighbor. He said, “I just heard about a boys camp in this fabulous place in Minnesota. I went there in the 1930s with five guys. For two weeks we paddle a route called Hunters Island. You have to go.” In June I boarded a train for Duluth. Arrived at Camp Voyageur on Farm Lake a day later.

I was a camper and then a counselor at Camp Voyageur. Made friends there. In the middles 1970s a half dozen of us bought lots along the west shore of Farm Lake. We built cabins together. Our children and now even our grandchildren are learning the experience. We look across Farm Lake to the entrance to the North Kawishiwi, entry point 31 – an entry to a special place.

Favorite memory in the Boundary Waters?

So many special memories from that first campsite on Horse Lake in 1962 to moon light snowshoeing on the North Kawishiwi this past winter. No way to pick one favorite.

What would you never go to the Boundary Waters without?

Friends. The Boundary Waters experience is best shared.

Have you seen any interesting wildlife on your BWCA trips?

All sorts of birds. The red of the scarlet tanager munching seed pods at our misty July campsite on Gabbro. The pine siskins busy in the Norways at our September campsite on Lac La Croix. The snow geese on the Dahlgren River this past October. The Canadian jays that visited our Little Saganaga campsite for a piece of pancake. The loons calling role around Ima Lake. Chickadees everywhere.