Protect Our Boundary Waters

A giant Chilean mining conglomerate wants to mine near the Boundary Waters, threatening this beloved destination

Nate Ptacek | Used by permission

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Beloved by Minnesotans and visitors from around the world, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Superior National Forest is the country’s most visited wilderness area. 

There is something for everyone in the Boundary Waters. Sportsmen travel there to fish and hunt. Families swim, canoe and kayak, catching glimpses of wildlife. Outdoor adventure seekers hike, backpack and camp. Visitors in the summer and fall may get lucky and see the aurora borealis. 

Ted Stelling | Shutterstock.com
A Boundary Waters Camper Proudly Displays his Catch

Despite more than 150,000 annual visitors, the wilderness area is teeming with wildlife. The lakes, ponds, fens and cliffs are home to a variety of species such as old-growth pine trees, moose, water birds, foxes and otters. The area is home to three threatened species, including the gray wolf, Canada lynx and northern long-eared bat. 

Shutterstock | Shutterstock.com
Moose on Wind Lake, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, MN

Unfortunately, the Boundary Waters and parts of the Superior National Forest sit on top of deposits of iron and sulfide ores, containing copper, nickel and other associated metals.

Twin Metals, a mining company that is a subsidiary of the giant Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta, has long pushed to build an underground mine for copper, nickel and precious metals near Ely, just south of the Boundary Waters. Pollution from this mine, if it is ever built, would directly contaminate the water that runs into the Boundary Waters wilderness area.

Mining of sulfide minerals can produce toxic pollution. These operations produce a sulfuric acid byproduct created when the minerals are exposed to air or water. This acid mine drainage decreases water pH, leeches harmful metals and can cause extremely damaging downstream effects. Specifically, acid runoff from sulfide-ore copper mining can harm fish and animals that live in or near the water, significantly degrade water quality, and cause toxic soil contamination. 

Timofeev Vladimir | Shutterstock.com
Acid rivers flowing from an industrial copper mine pollute the environment. Orange soil is contaminated with heavy metals from an industrial plant. Aerial view from drone

Minnesotans know that the Boundary Waters are too valuable as a recreation area and wildlife habitat to destroy so that a big mining company can mine for copper especially when copper can be recycled. We should be diverting copper from landfills, not mining it upstream of a beloved canoe area, potentially robbing future generations of their opportunity to canoe, camp and sleep under the stars.

Alex Falconer | Used by permission

To ensure that they stand up for our natural heritage, our leaders on the state and federal level need to hear from people across Minnesota. That’s why we’re knocking on doors and getting people involved. We’ll be sending petitions, making phone calls and meeting with our representatives and senators in Saint Paul and Washington, D.C. If they hear from enough of us, they’ll act to permanently protect the federal and state land in the Boundary Waters watershed and future generations of Minnesotans and visitors will have their chance to paddle through the pristine waters. 

Dave Freeman | Used by permission
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Authors

Ellen Montgomery

Director, Public Lands Campaign, Environment America

Ellen runs campaigns to protect America's beautiful places, from local beachfronts to remote mountain peaks. She sits on the Steering Committee of the Arctic Defense Campaign and co-coordinates the Climate Forests Campaign. Ellen previously worked as the organizing director for Environment America’s Climate Defenders campaign and managed grassroots campaign offices across the country. Ellen lives in Denver, where she likes to hike in Colorado's mountains.