(ELY, MN)--Today the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters announced it was going on air with a national ad buy urging the Biden administration to protect Minnesota's Boundary Water Wilderness from the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining. The ad urges the Biden administration to follow the lead of former Vice President Walter Mondale and take action to protect America's most popular Wilderness. The 60 second ad will run on MSNBC's Morning Joe and across Minnesota, as well as across digital channels.
Said Becky Rom, national chair of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters:
"Walter Mondale was one of the greatest statesmen from Minnesota, and he knew that protecting the Boundary Waters was not only the right thing to do, but absolutely necessary if we were to live up to our obligation to our children and children's children. The Biden administration has a once in a lifetime opportunity to protect this priceless Wilderness, and now is the time to act."
Walter Mondale was a friend and mentor to President Biden, as well as Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith. He was also a passionate advocate for America's wild places, and in particular Minnesota's Boundary Waters. Over the last several years of his life he was a fierce champion for protecting this priceless Wilderness for future generations, supporting the effort through headlining events, personal advocacy to decision-makers, writing numerous commentaries, and more.
The Biden administration is currently reviewing the history of the Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta's Twin Metals leases, as well as the Trump administration's actions surrounding the Twin Metals project, including the unlawful reinstatement of terminated mineral leases and the last minute cancellation of a study to determine the impact of sulfide-ore copper mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters.
The Boundary Waters is the most heavily visited Wilderness Area in the United States, attracting more than 160,000 visitors from all over the world, and helps drive more than $900 million in annual economic activity and helps support over 17,000 jobs. A peer-reviewed independent study from Harvard University showed that protecting the Boundary Waters from a proposed Twin Metals sulfide-ore copper mine would result in dramatically more jobs and more income over a 20-year period. Nearly seventy percent of Minnesotans support a ban on sulfide-ore copper mining near the Wilderness to permanently protect the Boundary Waters.
Ad script:
“Are we generous enough, secure enough, mature enough to refuse short-term gain in order to avert long-term calamity? Our childrens’ legacy depends on the answer.”
The Boundary Waters is beloved, which is why Minnesotans have fought so hard to protect it —few, perhaps, with the fervor and determination of Walter Mondale.
He saw the preservation of the Boundary Waters as a responsibility — a solemn obligation to take up against great and continued peril.
Water is the lifeblood of these pristine lands.
And sulfide ore copper mining within the Boundary Waters Wilderness Watershed is a risk we simply can’t take.
America’s most toxic industry has no place next to America's most popular wilderness.
That our precious lands are intact and safe today is no accident.
Walter Mondale leaves behind an enduring legacy to carry the torch — to protect the Boundary Waters for those of us here now and for generations to come.
See the full ad here.