I'm skiing kinda far to save the Boundary Waters!

You know that thing I did last year where I skied 53k/33 miles in one freezing cold day from Cable, WI to Hayward, WI? It's called the American Birkebeiner and I'm doing it again in February to help save the Boundary Waters! This makes sense since I do some of my training there, canoeing in the summer and skiing (on land groomed by people/businesses dependent on a healthy BWCA) in the winter. I know there are a bajillion causes to support right now and most of us are feeling strapped for cash. I get it, I started a fundraiser because I don't have the funds to give what I wish I could. Anything you can contribute would make me super grateful and extra pumped to pull this off. As an incentive, I have created three reward levels. 

$20 or more: I will add any song you choose to my training playlist. I will listen to it each time I ski. You can be kind or not kind with this. 

$50 or more: I will dedicate a training ski to you. Challenge me to a distance of your choice and I will provide evidence that I completed it and where I did it. My free time allows up to 20k each ski. You can be kind or not kind with this also. 

$100 or more: I will help you plan your own Boundary Waters trip, help you secure a permit, and teach you everything I know. Maybe I'll even go with you if you want. 

Are these rewards any good? I don't know, but write in your request in the dedication field or drop me a message if you plan to collect!

Do you want to know why I'm such a passionate freak about this? Read on.

The Boundary Waters is one of the most special places on the planet to me and so many others. I can't accurately describe just how magical it is. Believe me, I've tried. (See my social media.) What makes it magical is how untouched, pristinely clean, and wild it is. It's America's most visited Wilderness.

Unfortunately, the powers that be are getting very dangerously close allowing toxic copper-sulfide mining in locations right outside of the Boundary Waters and Lake Superior. This would almost certainly lead to acidification of lakes and rivers in the Boundary Waters and heavy metal contamination of the Boundary Waters and Lake Superior. There has never been a sulfide mine that did not contaminate surrounding water sources. Pollution from sulfide mining is nearly impossible to contain and can last for hundreds, even thousands of years. Northern Minnesota is especially vulnerable to the effects of acid mine drainage because of the amount of water contained within and running through it.

Why would they want to risk polluting the headwaters of some of the cleanest water in the country? Not for us, not for Minnesotans, not for clean energy. These are the mines of Chilean and Swiss mining conglomerates. The extraordinarily small quantities of low-grade copper, nickel, and cobalt mined from these would most likely be sent to China, with waste rock full of sulfates left behind. These minerals are much more abundant and much higher quality elsewhere. The quantities available at these sites are a small drop in the bucket of American demand. Mining jobs are temporary, the pollution and destruction is not. In 2018, a Harvard study showed that a 20-year mining ban would produce far greater economic benefit and diversity than the proposed Twin Metals mine with up to 4,500 more jobs and $900 million more personal income to the local area.

Thanks for making it this far. If you'd like to learn more, please visit:

https://www.savetheboundarywaters.org/current-threats

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

You can help protect America’s most visited Wilderness by making a donation today.