Visiting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is more than a vacation: it’s an act of preservation.
Along the northern border of the United States lies an expansive lakeland wilderness area like no other, where one awakens to the calls of the loons and the soothing sound of the waves lapping onto forested shores. Eagles soar above the Boreal forest; black bears, moose, and bobcats roam the woods. When the sun drops below the watery horizon, dark skies unveil infinite twinkling stars, and the howls of gray wolves fill the night.
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in northeastern Minnesota is the most visited area in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Yet, this beloved canoe country isn’t well-known outside of the Midwest. Spanning 1.1 million acres in the Superior National Forest, it boasts 190,000 acres of interconnected lakes, rivers, and streams.
This pristine, watery labyrinth forged by ancient glaciers, where the only sound to break the silence is the soft drip from a paddle, is now under significant threat. A proposed sulfide-ore copper mine at the headwaters is jeopardizing the very thing that makes this place special: pure water, a valuable resource for the outdoor recreation industry, public health, and wildlife, and mainly for the people who live nearby.
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Wilderness for Everybody
Boasting over 1,200 miles of canoe routes connected by portages, the Boundary Waters draws around 165,000 visitors yearly seeking paddling, camping, fishing, and hiking experiences with their families and friends. In popular national parks like Yellowstone or Grand Canyon, most visitors rarely leave their cars. Those who hike seldom go further than a few miles. However, one can paddle without seeing another soul in some parts of the Boundary Waters. The most rewarding vistas are found deep within the wilderness, in places so remote they feel undiscovered and untouched by humans.
The Boundary Waters first gained protection in 1926 and became a federally protected area in 1978 with the passage of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act. As one of the country’s oldest preserved regions, it is untouched by development. A complete ban on cars, motorized boats, and permanent structures safeguards its silence.
The only way to get around is by canoe, just as Indigenous peoples and settlers did hundreds of years ago. This sacred land and watery realm was once a thoroughfare for the Anishinaabe people who traversed its many water bodies on birch bark canoes and conducted business with other original inhabitants and French fur traders. The Anishinaabe continue to harvest wild rice and maintain hunting, fishing, and gathering rights in their traditional homeland.
This tapestry of lakes and portages also has a deep-rooted cultural significance for the other residents of Minnesota and the surrounding region, who pass down the tradition of canoe-tripping through generations. Becky Rom, a 76-year-old resident of Ely and Chair of The Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, has been venturing on canoe treks since she was two and now takes annual backcountry canoe trips with her grandkids and other family members. Her father was among the first to build northern Minnesota’s post-WWII recreational canoeing industry. Although the business sold after three decades, Rom’s connection to the Boundary Waters remains steadfast, because “this place reaches people’s souls in a way that few other places do, and sustains you when you have to live a life that’s not as free and wild as it is when you are paddling a canoe.”
One of the best aspects of the Boundary Waters, according to Rom, is how inexpensive and accessible it is to people of all walks of life. “You don’t have to be rich, you don’t have to be physically adept. It immerses you in a wilderness in the way that hiking or backpacking would not.” She adds, “There are very few places where you can take three generations and put them in the canoe and paddle off immediately into a spectacular world-class wilderness area.”
Many visitors from near and far become connected to this ultimate canoe country once they’ve experienced it. “As soon as you’re there, it’s quiet. You can get up early in the morning when the lakes are like glass, go out, and paddle. It’s that stillness, that isolation, that makes it so attractive,” shares Donald Barry, Oregon-based conservationist and former senior government official whose family has been going on canoe trips in the Boundary Waters for 70 years. “It pulls us in, even though none of us have ever lived in northern Minnesota.”
Mining vs. Outdoor Recreational Industry
Superior National Forest contains nearly a quarter of the freshwater in the national forest system. Many canoe outfitters rely on the area’s pristine nature to keep their businesses afloat and attract repeat visitors. Despite all of this, Chilean conglomerate Antofagasta, the parent company of Twin Metals Minnesota, is vying to operate the Twin Metals mine in the Rainy River watershed, which flows into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. “This type of mining in low-grade sulfide ore always degrades water quality and generates acid mine drainage,” warns Rom. “It would get into the wilderness, even in the course of ordinary operation, and is virtually impossible to clean up.”
Joseph Goldstein, a 24-year-old who founded Kids for Boundary Waters and guides group canoe trips, says visitors can dip their bottles straight into many of the lakes and drink without filtering. “The introduction of acid from sulfide-ore mining would alter the chemistry of these waters. Even small changes in acidity can destabilize entire aquatic systems. Why would we put what we have in jeopardy?” he questions.
The efforts of Save the Boundary Waters, its partners, and local Indigenous bands for a decade paid off in January 2023, when then Interior Secretary Deb Haaland of the Biden administration signed a Public Land Order to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from mining for the next 20 years. However, the Trump administration is now pushing to revoke the ban to allow for the development of the Twin Metals project, despite nearly 70 percent of Minnesotans wanting to safeguard their crown jewel.
Recreational activities at the Boundary Waters are the main economic driver for the region, which prides itself on being a draw for tourists and those looking to live near unspoiled areas. A 2016 study conducted by the Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness predicts that if a mine were to be constructed, the outdoor industry in northeastern Minnesota would lose $288 million and 4,490 regional jobs annually. The immediate property value loss would be half a billion dollars, and $1.6 billion in lost income across the non-tourism economy.
The Twin Metals Minnesota page claims it will employ more than 750 people and indirectly employ 1,500. It purports to use state-of-the-art technology in its underground mine to extract valuable copper, nickel, cobalt, and platinum-group elements needed for daily life, while coexisting in a healthy wilderness area. They declare that the extraction of these minerals could reduce our nation’s reliance on foreign minerals for our electric cars and batteries, and reach clean energy goals.
However, according to Rom, the metal concentrates would be shipped offshore because the company has contracts with low-cost smelters in China. “So, our low-grade ore is a drop in the bucket, and if we want it back, we have to repurchase it with big tariffs.”
Steve Piragis, owner of canoe outfitter company, Piragis Northwoods Company in Ely, facilitates 8,000 people canoeing every summer. The company employs 60 people during the peak season and 20 full-time employees year-round to help with catalog sales and winter camping trips. As a business owner dependent on a secured future for the Boundary Waters, Piragis says, “our jobs are important, too. We pay people well, with all the benefits of an industry that’s growing.” His company is part of the Boundary Waters Business Coalition, where 350 businesses selling outdoor clothing, equipment, and guided trips advocate for its permanent protection.
Despite being only directly responsible for around 0.2 percent of the state’s jobs, mining in Minnesota has a long history. While mining jobs may pay well, Piragis says they are not stable. On the other hand, the outdoor industry is much larger than mining nationwide. “It’s in the billions and is really sustainable,” he says. A Harvard University independent study predicts that protecting the area could lead to between 1,500 and 4,600 more jobs and between $100 million and $900 million more income over 20 years, and that the negative impact on the recreational industry outweighs any economic benefits of mining.
Barry, as a conservation leader who spent decades working on public lands and wildlife conservation issues, strongly believes this is not just an issue for the people of Minnesota. “The economic activity from recreational activity dwarfs the type of jobs you get from mining. This is a national conservation issue. People across the country have used and fallen in love with and rely upon the Boundary Waters, as my family has.”
Keep America’s Canoe Country Wild
“If the mine drainage poisons the water and turns it orange, the plants, fish and wildlife will die off. Nobody is going to come here, and all of the people and businesses who rely on the wilderness will suffer,” says Goldstein, who believes a couple of hundred jobs from a mine aren’t worth all of this destruction.
Goldstein has guided canoe trips in the Boundary Waters for the past eight years because he believes in the “importance of wilderness experiences for the mind, body and soul.” While guiding, he encountered people of different backgrounds, political affiliations, and opinions regarding environmental policy. However, once they experience the Boundary Waters, he says they all agree that the place should be protected.
“I hope this wilderness endures as a place people come to recreate, reflect, and experience the outdoors. It’s a one-of-a-kind place, and once it is gone, there is no getting it back.”
The battle over mining in the Boundary Waters comes down to economics, and for locals, a healthy tourism industry is the key to winning. The next time you plan a trip, pick up your paddle and help keep America’s canoe country wild.
- Entry points in the Boundary Waters can be reached from one of the gateway towns in Northern Minnesota, such as Ely or Grand Marais. These towns are accessible by car from Minneapolis-St. Paul or Duluth airports. Some outfitters offer shuttle services from nearby airports or towns to entry points.
