Update from Steve Piragis

My wife Nancy and I have been in Ely, Minnesota since 1979, when we founded a little wilderness shop on the small town’s main street. We took our first trip to the Boundary Waters around that same time, and soon made the easy decision to spend the rest of our lives in Ely.

Over the past forty years, we’ve outfitted thousands of trips into the Boundary Waters, and have had the privilege of watching visitors fall in love with this incredible place. And who wouldn’t? The Boundary Waters is a Wilderness unlike any other, and deserves every ounce of protection.

Today, we are asking you to help protect this little slice of heaven with a donation to the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters. Every dollar you donate will be doubled thanks to a generous $70,000 match. The Campaign needs your help to raise over $200,000 by the end of the day on Thursday, November 14!

Thank you if you have already donated. Thanks to you, we are getting geared up for an incredible Give to the Max Day.

What my family and many other business owners are worried about is the immense threat posed by proposed sulfide-ore copper mining. This type of mining is extremely toxic, and would devastate the Boundary Waters.

A threatened Wilderness means a threatened local economy. Ely hasn’t had a mine in over 50 years, and in that time has built a blossoming main street of outfitters, restaurants, wilderness shops, and more. If the Twin Metals mine comes to fruition, Ely could start to look more like the mining towns of the past – at the mercy of international mineral prices, shops closed, and streets empty. You play a critical role in protecting the Boundary Waters and surrounding areas from the economic and environmental devastation sure to come with sulfide-ore copper mining.

So I’ll leave you with a question - how much is the Boundary Waters worth to you? If you feel like so many others do, and think that this place deserves protection, please consider making a gift today.