We’re back in Washington, D.C.
Last week, Save the Boundary Waters went to Washington, D.C., and met face-to-face with members of Congress and their staff to defend America’s most-visited Wilderness.
For almost a decade, we have traveled to Washington, D.C., nearly every month to make the case for protecting the Boundary Waters on Capitol Hill. Our ongoing work with Congress is essential to defending the Boundary Waters from threats to the Wilderness.
Right now, the threats are real, and they are escalating. The federal administration and members of Congress are pushing legislation that would reopen the Boundary Waters watershed to sulfide-ore copper mining. Rep. Pete Stauber’s latest bill would fast-track mining leases directly upstream of the Boundary Waters, threatening more than 1,100 clean, interconnected lakes with permanent pollution
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What we do on Capitol Hill
All week, our team and coalition partners walked the halls of Congress and met with lawmakers from both parties. We shared overwhelming scientific evidence and economic data that support Wilderness protection. We’ve made it clear to decision-makers that these issues have immediate and tangible impacts, not just abstract policy implications.
We are brought real stories into these rooms. Stories from outfitters, small business owners, guides, and community members whose livelihoods depend on clean water and intact wilderness. David Hicks, owner of Cast Outdoor Adventures in Ely, Minnesota shared his perspective:
“I’m not a lobbyist. I’m a small business owner whose family’s livelihood depends on clean water and intact wilderness. And after three full days on Capitol Hill, I’m more convinced than ever that this place needs all of us.
Every day at Cast Outdoors, I get to introduce people to the quiet magic of Canoe Country. I guide dogsledding trips, ice fishing excursions, and Boundary Waters base camp adventures for visitors who come from all over the world just to experience this landscape.
And here’s what struck me most in D.C.: many legislators genuinely don’t understand what’s at stake.
They hear “mining jobs” and don’t realize that the Boundary Waters already drives a vibrant regional economy. My business exists because of this Wilderness. The outfitters, guides, lodges, restaurants, and shops in Ely, Grand Marais, Tofte, Duluth, and across the Arrowhead — we are all here because of the Boundary Waters.
In every meeting on Capitol Hill, I told lawmakers the same thing: The Boundary Waters is the backbone of our local economy. Lose it, and we lose far more than a landscape — we lose our way of life.”
The reality we’re up against
The foreign mining giant behind this has spent over $1 million lobbying Congress to secure mining leases. We can't match those deep pockets, but we have something more powerful: a grassroots movement of people like you refusing to let the Boundary Waters be sacrificed for short-term profit.
Twin Metals wants to put a sulfide-ore copper mine right in the headwaters of this irreplaceable Wilderness, opening the entire watershed to pollution. You cannot un-poison water. One leak or failure could jeopardize clean water for generations, endanger local economies, and put cultural traditions at risk.
Why showing up in DC matters
Save the Boundary Waters is the voice for the Boundary Waters in Washington, D.C. We are here month after month because relationships matter. Trust matters. Being in the room matters.
Over the years, we have brought more than 500 advocates to D.C., organized testimony before key committees, and built lasting relationships with agency staff and lawmakers. These connections cannot be built over Zoom or by phone. Protecting the Boundary Waters requires showing up, listening, and building relationships. It is how we helped secure the current 20-year mining ban. It is how we will continue pushing for permanent protection.
Ready for the fight ahead
Save the Boundary Waters has spent years building a proven strategy that combines advocacy, litigation, and strong partnerships in D.C. and beyond. Thanks to our supporters, we are prepared to meet this moment and push back against every attempt to undermine this irreplaceable place.
This week is just one chapter in a long fight, but it is a critical one. We will keep showing up. We will keep telling the truth. And we will keep fighting until the Boundary Waters is permanently protected for generations to come.
