Person with camera on misty lake

the Media Room

March 22, 2022

(Ely, MN)--After major actions by the Biden and Walz administrations, the effort to permanently protect the Boundary Waters continues. Last fall the Biden administration announced it was restarting a canceled study on the impacts of sulfide-ore copper mining on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (Boundary Waters or Wilderness) that could lead to a 20-year moratorium on copper mining in the Wilderness watershed. 

February 15, 2022

Decision comes after Twin Metals lost two federal mineral leases key to its operation; includes concerns about toxic tailings storage next to Birch Lake

January 31, 2022

This weekend the Star Tribune published an editorial about the Biden administration's decision to cancel the improperly renewed mineral leases of Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta's Twin Metals at the edge of Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA).

January 26, 2022

Administration finds leases unlawfully renewed; allows for science-based decision on where risky mining is appropriate.

January 20, 2022

The number of comments submitted by Save the Boundary Waters and its partners eclipses the 181,000 comment mark from 2017. 

December 27, 2021

Decision today upholds a lower court ruling affirming Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness' standing to challenge state's nonferrous mining rules for risky mining near the Boundary Waters.

October 20, 2021

U.S. Forest Service requests mineral withdrawal of federal public lands in the Rainy River Drainage Basin to complete process abruptly cancelled by the Trump administration.

October 18, 2021

Today the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters released a report detailing how Chilean mining giant Antofagasta is "greenwashing" its risky Twin Metals mining project next to Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

September 20, 2021

Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness’s groundbreaking lawsuit triggers an important review of the risks to the Boundary Waters posed by sulfide-ore copper mining in the Rainy River Headwaters.

September 15, 2021

Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta's Twin Metals has hired the lobbying firm of former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to push it's risky mining project next to Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

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.

Feb 6, 2023
Duluth News Tribune

From the column: "It is ... limited by law to a 20-year term. The Minnesota Legislature and U.S. Congress could ... permanently protect the Boundary Waters watershed from copper mining."

Feb 6, 2023
MinnPost

 The Interior Department on Thursday announced a 20-year mining moratorium on 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest that bars Twin Metals from constructing a proposed copper, cobalt and nickel mine in the area.

 

Feb 6, 2023
Minnesota reformer

After more than a year of assessment and debate, the U.S. Department of the Interior on Thursday announced the withdrawal of more than 225,000 acres of public lands near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota from federal mine leasing programs. 

 

Feb 6, 2023
The Timberjay

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced Thursday that they are withdrawing approximately 225,504 acres of the Superior National Forest from potential mineral leasing for the next 20 years...

Feb 6, 2023
Duluth News Tribune

The administration is bringing back an Obama-era decision, later reversed by Trump, that bans new mineral leases on 225,500 acres of the Superior National Forest for the next two decades...

Feb 6, 2023
Star Tribune

The move follows a study that concluded mining could damage the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness; Twin Metals mine had been slated for the area.  The Biden administration has withdrawn some 225,000 acres of national forest land in northern Minnesota from mineral leasing, protecting a swath of the watershed that adjoins the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness...

 

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 The Campaign 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.

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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

The Campaign to Save The Boundary Waters welcomes media inquiries; email Libby@savetheboundarywaters.org