Although I’m not an overtly political person, I’ve felt some frustration over the last week by the senate’s vote to overturn some important BWCA protections. I’m referring to the bill HJ Res 140 which will allow mining in the BWCA’s watershed. Despite several polls showing that the vast majority of the public opposed the bill, the senate passed it 50 to 49 on April 16th. The argument for this bill, which is the baby of our state representative Pete Stauber, is that since mining wouldn’t take place in the BWCA it should be permitted. But the problem with that argument is that mining always leaks pollutants, especially metal mining. If a mine were erected on the border of the BWCA it would just be a matter of time before contaminants enter the protected waters. Soon affected fish and aquatic plant life would enter the food chain and change the whole ecosystem. And it’s not just the BWCA that is at risk, but also Voyager’s National Park and Quetico Provincial Park.
I remember my first trip to the BWCA. I was 13 years old and it was on a school trip lead by our science teacher. In the center of a deep lake we were instructed to stop paddling and get out our drinking cups. We dipped them into the lake and drank the clear, clean water. I immediately felt linked to that place. It was in me! Later in life I remember learning that Dorothy Molter’s famous Root Beer was made with unfiltered boundary water. I wish I could have tried it!
It saddens me that we are forfeiting this clean water and robust ecosystem for something as short lived as money. The biggest winner being Twin Metals, the Chilean owned mining company with a lease on Birch Lake, followed closely by their shareholders. Why Stauber wants this so badly is anyone’s guess. Though Twin Metals states the proposed mine could create 750 jobs, a study done by Harvard in 2018 found that net long term loss to the local economy due to mining is around 22,000 jobs. This includes tourism and outdoor recreation jobs in all the towns and cities that surround the BWCA and rely on tourism as a major source of income. Regardless of that study, is polluting the water of the BWCA and surrounding wildernesses really worth 750 jobs? To me, the question is rhetorical.
Though you may be feeling discouraged right now there are still things we can do. I look to those more involved than I for guidance. There are several organizations that promote protection of the BWCA that have suggestions on ways to help.
https://www.savetheboundarywaters.org
The other thing to remember is that Pete Stauber will be up for reelection in November and we can replace him before he sells out any more of our wild places.
Personally, I have decided the best way I can help is to donate half of the profits from my upcoming novella Sing the Water to an organization which protects the BWCA. I recently partnered with Save the Boundary Waters and am looking forward to putting this novella to work. It seemed fitting as the story is about four women who paddle into the BWCA and cast a spell to protect it.
There is still time to keep this sacred place protected!