Today is Give to the Max Day, Minnesota's biggest day of giving. Last year, hundreds of you showed support for the protection of the Boundary Waters on Give to the Max Day and we're so grateful. Please give again today and support our efforts to protect this beloved Wilderness for future generations. Give to the Max Day offers an exciting opportunity for those far and wide to give to support the Campaign. Here are stories from longtime supporters to help inspire you.
Walter Mondale
Vice President, 1977-1981
The commitment of Minnesotans to protect the land and waters that are now part of our Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness began in 1902. Every generation of Minnesotans since has been called to this area’s defense. Today’s threat dwarfs them all.
Beginning in 2013, business owners, sportsmen and women, and other citizens presented federal agencies with overwhelming evidence of the harm that would be done to the Boundary Waters if sulfide-ore copper mining were allowed in its watershed.
So will we allow the destruction of many thousands of acres of these beloved public lands, upstream from the Boundary Waters, by permitting a single-use industrial hard-rock mining district, with the inevitable acid mine drainage that would seriously harm aquatic ecosystems downstream? The watershed of the Boundary Waters is simply the wrong place for this kind of mining.
Paul and Sue Schurke
Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge & Wintergreen Northernwear
For 30 years, we have owned and operated Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge and Wintergreen Northern Wear. We offer guided dogsled vacations and camping adventures to more than 500 people each year. People come from all over the world to experience the Boundary Waters as a place "untrammeled by humans."
Our lodge is just five miles downstream from Twin Metals’ proposed mine sites. It is heartbreaking to think that if metal sulfide mining pollutes the Kawishiwi watershed as it has 40 percent of the watersheds in the western U.S., it will devastate our community and damage the Boundary Waters, our nation’s most popular and beloved wilderness area.
With every step and stroke into the Boundary Waters, you can experience the beauty and grandeur of this amazing winter wonderland with the solitude and quiet that you can only truly find in wilderness. Let’s keep it that way.
Your donation today will make a difference for this grassroots campaign.
Steve and Nancy Piragis
Piragis Northwoods Company
In 1979, as newlyweds, we founded a little wilderness shop on the main street in Ely, Minnesota. We needed a lightweight canoe to navigate our first trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, so we began the company by purchasing two canoes, one for us and one to sell.
We’ve spent days in the Boundary Waters without seeing another human being. When we’re away, we dream about the pristine beauty and solitude that has become our home.
Not only is canoe country our home, it is our livelihood. The Ely Chamber of Commerce calls our town "The Last Great Pure Experience." The continued success of our community depends on the Boundary Waters remaining pristine.
We worry often about new sulfide-ore copper mines harvesting minerals that are far more toxic to the ecosystem than the iron ores of the past century. If the Kawishiwi is turned into a mining district, our visitors will likely seek a more pristine paddling experience elsewhere. If this happens, Ely's vaunted main street of outfitters, mukluk shops and gourmet restaurants could start to look a bit more like the mining towns of the past.
Jimmy Chin
Photographer, Filmmaker, and Mountain Sports Athlete
My passion for exploration and photography has taken me on some incredible expeditions around the world, from the first ascent of the Shark’s Fin in Meru, India to the first American ski descent of Mt. Everest.
But wherever I go, the Boundary Waters will always hold a special place in my heart. The beauty of the place is in its subtleties; the call of a loon, splash of waves against the shore or the rustle of leaves on a moonlit night. The Boundary Waters is truly a national treasure and one of the most pristine Wilderness Areas in our country.
Right now the Boundary Waters is at risk from sulfide-ore copper mining proposed on the edge of the Wilderness. This type of mining would seriously harm our canoe country and the outdoor recreation economy that depends on it.
Mike Cichanowski
Wenonah Canoe
I was born to paddle. I grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River where I cultivated my love for the water and an insatiable curiosity to explore it. I started exploring with my father’s canoe. Later, I used wood-strip canoes and fiberglass models I built as a teenager in my family’s garage.
Fifty years ago I founded Wenonah Canoe, and we’ve become the first choice for many people heading into the Boundary Waters Wilderness, one of the world’s premier canoeing destinations.
The Boundary Waters is one of the reasons we’ve chosen to keep our business in Winona, MN where we employ 100 people. We’ve grown into one of the world’s largest canoe manufacturers. We still convene shareholder meetings at the kitchen table and we visit the Boundary Waters as often as we can. Paddling has been a philosophy and way of life at Wenonah for 50 years, and we plan to keep it that way.
Amy and Dave Freeman
Explorers
Thank you to everyone who have given to support the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters. Please consider giving today!
