Save the Boundary Waters

Banner Image credit: Jim Brandenburg

The Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters leads the effort to permanently protect the Boundary Waters from toxic copper mining.

Want to make a gift without the GiveMN fees? You can donate through the Campaign's site here.

The Boundary Waters is threatened by proposed sulfide-ore copper mining. 

You can help protect America’s most visited Wilderness by making a contribution this Give to the Max Day.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is America’s most visited Wilderness. 

• 1.1 million acres of interconnected waterways, uninterrupted boreal forests, and diverse wildlife. 

• The Boundary Waters is beloved by millions of people who come to paddle, hike, ski, snowshoe, hunt, and fish.

Double your impact for the Wilderness by donating on Minnesota’s largest giving holiday, Give to the Max Day.

Your donation to Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness will support the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, the group leading the historic national effort to ensure permanent protection for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota's crown jewel, from risky sulfide-ore copper mining.  

Image credit: Jeff Anderson

For ten years, Save the Boundary Waters has worked tirelessly to make this moment possible: we have the rare opportunity to pass strong and lasting protections for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in 2022.

With your help, we can protect this Wilderness area from the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining once and for all.

Your dollars will be DOUBLED when you give between today and November 17th!

Sulfide-ore copper mining threatens the Boundary Waters.

1. Sulfide-ore copper mining has never been done in the state of Minnesota. This type of mining generates giant waste piles that leach sulfuric acid, heavy metals, and sulfate pollution when exposed to air and water. 

2. Peer-reviewed science shows pollution from copper mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters would permanently damage the extensively interconnected downstream lakes, rivers, and groundwater. 

3. Water, air, and light pollution from this toxic industry would severely impact the ability of those who rely upon the Boundary Waters to live, work, hunt, gather, and recreate. 

4. Deemed America’s most toxic industry by the EPA. 

5. We cannot allow sulfide-ore copper mining in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters. 
   

Now is the time to protect the Boundary Waters forever.

This January, the Biden administration announced the cancellation of two federal mineral leases that were unlawfully renewed in 2019. This was a big win for the BWCA, but we have not won yet. 

Representative Betty McCollum’s critical Boundary Waters protection legislation is ready to be heard on the floor of the full U.S. House of Representatives, having passed the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee in July. 

We are fervently pursuing action on this bill, which includes pushing for a Senate companion bill introduced by Minnesota’s U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar. We need our elected officials to act at this critical moment for the Boundary Waters, and your support is essential to getting across the finish line.

We will not stop fighting until the Boundary Waters is permanently protected for future generations.

We need your help to ensure that the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters can continue to work to permanently protect the one-of-a-kind Boundary Waters from the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining using all of our state and federal strategies.

We still have work to do.

Here’s what comes next and why we need your continued and immediate support:

Push for state and federal legislation - in order to ensure permanent and lasting protection for the Wilderness, the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters is working with elected officials on the state and federal levels to pass permanent Boundary Waters protection laws. 

This requires mass grassroots mobilization, scientific, legal and policy expertise, as well as time and resources. We can’t do it without your financial support!

Together, we can save this irreplaceable wilderness from sulfide-ore copper mining. 

Be part of the movement to protect the Boundary Waters.

Your dollars will be doubled up to $150,000 when you make a contribution between today and midnight on November 17.

Make a donation early for Give to the Max Day, and you will receive an exclusive long-eared bat Save the Boundary Waters sticker and will be entered to win:

• One of two pairs of KEEN shoes or sandals 

• One of two Save the Boundary Waters Abode Outside sweaters 

• Garage Grown Gear Box with Backpackers Essentials

Prize Notice Disclosure: Winners will be randomly selected and emailed if selected. The giveaway starts on Tuesday, November 1, and will conclude at midnight on Wednesday, November 16. Winners will not be responsible for shipping fees.  

Join us in person in Minneapolis for a Give to the Max Day Celebration

Join us on Thursday, November 17, between 5 - 7 pm at Wooden Ship in Minneapolis. RSVP HERE >>