One of America’s most important wilderness areas is threatened by sulfide mining—a toxic mining practice never before allowed in Minnesota.
The pristine waters and unspoiled forests of the Boundary Waters provide critical habitat for wildlife, including several endangered and threatened species such as the Canada lynx and moose.
The Boundary Waters is where generations of children developed a lifelong love of nature that brought them back as adults. Action is needed to ensure future generations can enjoy the pristine waters, world-renowned angling and incomparable scenery that so many have come to know and cherish.
The Boundary Waters is the economic lifeblood of northeastern Minnesota's lucrative tourism industry. Tourism generates $500 million per year in economic benefits and creates 18,000 jobs that support local families and businesses.
Acid mine drainage, heavy metals and associated pollutants from sulfide ore mines harm microorganisms, aquatic plants and fish. Acid mine drainage also increases the acidity of weters. As acidity increases, we know certain species will be unable to survive. Minnows are impacted first, followed by walleye, northerns, smallmouth bass, trout and loons.
10 percent of the newborns in Minnesota’s Lake Superior Basin already have blood mercury levels above the safe limit—likely because their mothers ate more fish, the primary source of mercury in people. Sulfide ore mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters exposes local residents to a similar risk.
The forests of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are deeply interconnected with the streams, lakes, wetlands and groundwater. Mining activities would would disrupt this relationship, resulting in the loss of forest area and native biodiversity.
The mining industry has a long history of major infrastructure failures with catastrophic environmental impacts. Even state-of-the-art mines are at risk for this level of disaster. In August 2014, the Mount Polley copper and gold mine in British Columbia had a tailings dam breach that released 4.5 million cubic meters of toxic slurry into a lake and river system that was a priceless salmon spawning area. At about the same time, a mine in Mexico spilled 40,000 cubic meters of copper sulfate acid solution into two rivers, wiping out the water supply for a vast rural area that depended on the river water for domestic use and agriculture. Fish and wildlife were devastated, and the list of recent disasters goes on.
