Listening to a symphony of frogs, insects, and loons as the sun set over Alice Lake, I couldn’t help thinking about the proposed mines that would transform a large swath of the Superior National Forest into a massive industrial sulfide-ore copper mining zone that abuts this iconic Wilderness. We have spent the last few days paddling upstream along the Kawishiwi River, portaging around many foaming, surging rapids. This water will briefly leave the Wilderness and pass through Birch Lake before twisting north once more and flowing back into the Wilderness. The proposed Twin Metals Mine threatens this water, which is the lifeblood of this vast Wilderness.
But the proposed mines threaten more than this life-giving water. We can’t forget the massive trucks, dust, lights, and constant drone of a massive industrial machine blasting, crushing, sorting, and moving thousands of tons of waste rock 24 hours a day, 365 days a year–industrial activity planned on a mind-boggling scale that has never been done anywhere in the world without polluting the water.
But the proposed mines threaten more than this life-giving water. We can’t forget the massive trucks, dust, lights, and constant drone of a massive industrial machine blasting, crushing, sorting, and moving thousands of tons of waste rock 24 hours a day, 365 days a year–industrial activity planned on a mind-boggling scale that has never been done anywhere in the world without polluting the water.
Our jobs and our way of life are at risk, but we can move. The real tragedy is risking something that belongs to all of us. It is a resource that will continue to transform and nurture countless generations as long as we have the foresight to leave it alone, the foresight to say this place is too precious to risk, this place is worth more if it is left alone.
Together we can @savetheBWCA but we have to speak loudly so the call of the loon and the splash of our paddles are heard in the halls of congress and across the country. Please join the movement, now is the time to act.
#wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #sunset #wilderness #BWCA #BoundaryWaters #captureMN #onlyinMN
