Person with camera on misty lake

the Media Room

February 20, 2025
Minnesota Senator Hauschild introduced a troubling bill that goes against the balanced decision made in July of 2024 when the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Minnesota Office of School Trust Lands (OSTL), and the U.S. Forest Service announced a plan to transfer 80,000 acres of school trust lands inside of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) to federal management in return for payment into the OSTL Permanent School Fund.
 
February 13, 2025
Today, Save the Boundary Waters hosted a press event at the Minnesota Capitol with Senator Steve Cwodzinski and Representative Alex Falconer chief authors of the Boundary Waters Permanent Protection bill (S.F.875 and awaiting a bill number in the House). They were joined by Ingrid Lyons, Executive Director of Save the Boundary Waters, Jack Lee, Executive Director of Voyageur Outward Bound School, and Moses Mbua, a high school senior and member of Kids for the Boundary Waters.

 

 
 
January 21, 2025

“The Boundary Waters is America’s most visited – and our most threatened – Wilderness. The countdown to an all-but-certain and unprecedented revocation of Biden’s historic mining ban in the Boundary Waters watershed has begun. The robust record of science, law, public opinion, and economics is clear – copper mining does not belong on the doorstep of one of America’s most iconic landscapes. Rep. McCollum’s Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act is crucial and common sense legislation to secure these lasting protections. This bill ensures that this beloved and long-protected place remains intact while upholding Northeastern Minnesota’s economic vitality and way of life,” said Ingrid Lyons, Executive Director of Save the Boundary Waters 

January 20, 2025

The American people don’t want the most toxic industry, sulfide-ore copper mining, on the doorsteps of the most visited Wilderness Area in the nation – 70% of Minnesotans support a ban on this kind of toxic mining in the Boundary Waters headwaters.

January 17, 2025

On Wednesday, E&E News by POLITICO reported that House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman plans to fast-track mining projects, with the Twin Metals project in Minnesota topping his list. This move reinforces the new administration’s clear agenda to dismantle protections for the entire Boundary Waters watershed—including undoing Biden’s historic 20-year mineral withdrawal, a goal they’ve vowed to pursue within their first “ten minutes” in office.

December 30, 2024

The death of President Jimmy Carter marks the loss of one of the Boundary Waters’ most historic champions. President Carter’s leadership was instrumental in protecting this treasured Wilderness. On October 21, 1978, he signed the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act into law—a landmark achievement for America’s most visited Wilderness.

 

 

November 15, 2024

Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness (NMW), the founder and lead organization of Save the Boundary Waters, concluded an administrative law evidentiary trial called a “contested case hearing” (“the Hearing”) before Minnesota Administrative Law Judge Megan McKenzie. The Hearing concluded mid-afternoon on Wednesday, November 13th

November 7, 2024

Despite the challenges ahead, Lyons affirmed Save the Boundary Waters’ resolve: We have fought through one Trump presidency, and we will do it again. While we’ve faced setbacks, we have also achieved historic victories. Thanks to years of steadfast dedication, we’ve defended the Boundary Waters at the highest levels and delivered lasting triumphs.

July 12, 2024

“This is a good day for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Minnesota students. It solves a key issue that has been unresolved for thirty years - this proposal would infuse millions of dollars into the permanent fund supporting K-12 Minnesota schools and consolidates federal ownership on lands in the BWCAW, ” said Ingrid Lyons, Executive Director of Save the Boundary Waters

Feb 19, 2025
Duluth News Tribune
From the column: "Regrettably, we have been reminded once again that our public land estate requires constant vigilance and must never be taken for granted."
Feb 18, 2025
The Minnesota Star Tribune
Allowing mining near the cherished wilderness won’t help any future bid for statewide office.
Feb 14, 2025
Duluth News Tribune
Minnesota legislators have introduced a bill to bar copper-nickel mines from developing within the same watershed as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Feb 13, 2025
Outdoor News
Over the past five years, opportunities for public input on proposed sulfide-ore copper mining near the Boundary Waters have resulted in Americans submitting more than 675,000 comments to the federal government supporting protections for the Boundary Waters watershed.
Feb 11, 2025
MPR News
She’s successfully drawn national and federal support for blocking new mining operations through the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters. She and like-minded environmentalists argue the science is clear: There’s no safe way mine copper-nickel do that without tainting the water, which draws canoers and tourists to the area.
Feb 7, 2025
Detroit Lakes Tribune
Worse yet, the new bill would automatically force the issuance of federal mineral leases to Chilean mining giant Antofagasta without review.
Feb 6, 2025
MPR News
Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber has reintroduced legislation to overturn a 20-year mining ban near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness that was imposed two years ago under the Biden administration.
Jan 23, 2025
The Timberjay
Extensive testing shows path of pollution reaches Boundary Waters
Jan 21, 2025
MinnnPost
WASHINGTON — The new Congress and Donald Trump’s return to the White House has created new opportunities for Rep. Pete Stauber when it comes to his efforts to promote copper and nickel mining on the Iron Range. As the chairman of the panel that has jurisdiction over mining issues in the House Natural Resources Committee, Stauber, R-8th District, is well positioned to push mining-related legislation.
Jan 9, 2025
The Timberjay
The Timberjay submitted several questions to Rep. Pete Stauber’s office, but never heard back on the reasons behind the failure to advance the measure in the GOP-led House.

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.

Follow and Subscribe to our video channels: YouTube & Vimeo

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