Updates

Department of the Interior orders 20-year mineral withdrawal in the Rainy River Watershed of Northeast Minnesota

As federal agencies complete another environmental review of proposed actions in the watershed of the BWCA, it's more important now than ever that supporters of the Boundary Waters let their members of Congress know: Now is the time to permanently protect America's most visited Wilderness.

Hunters and anglers applauded a proposal Thursday from federal agencies that would protect the nation’s most visited wilderness, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota. A long-awaited analysis from the U.S. Forest Service shows that copper-nickel mining poses a major risk to the BWCA, and the USFS draft environmental assessment proposes a 20-year ban on copper-nickel mining on federal lands in the watershed.

On June 23, 2022, federal agencies announced a 30-day public comment period for an Environmental Assessment (EA), or a proposed study on the impacts of withdrawing hardrock mining leases upstream of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. In the newly released study, federal agencies proposed a moratorium on the development of any mineral leases in approximately 225,504 acres of Superior National Forest lands within the watershed of the Boundary Waters for up to 20 years.

The review will allow Minnesotans to submit comments on whether or not the state's current mining rules are adequate for protecting the BWCA, its watershed, and the surrounding lands from potential pollution from proposed copper-nickel mining in the wilderness area.

On Oct. 20, 2021, federal agencies committed to complete a study of potential impacts of sulfide-ore copper mining in the Boundary Waters Watershed and paused new mineral leasing in the area while science and public input is gathered.

Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters applauds the request U.S. Sen. Tina Smith delivered to two federal agencies urging action that could lead to 20 years of protection for America’s most visited wilderness. In a letter today, Sen. Smith, D-Minn., asked the U.S. Forest Service to re-initiate an environmental review process for a 20-year ban on copper-sulfide mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.  Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters believes the withdrawal process Smith requests will protect this valuable public land and its resources from sulfide-ore copper mining for today’s hunters and anglers and future generations.

The future of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness, and Americans’ relationship to it, is in the hands of key decision-makers at the U. S. Department of Agriculture, U. S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, the United States Congress, and hunters and anglers like you and me.

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An overview of foraging opportunities to keep an eye out for during your next trip to the BWCA.