Iowans are for protecting the Boundary Waters

Iowans have been awakened to the threats facing our most treasured wilderness destination, and we are speaking out.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in northeast Minnesota is a sanctuary, not only for it numerous and iconic plants and wildlife but also for people — especially Iowans. It is our closest wilderness — more than a million acres of lakes, rivers, wetlands and forests — and larger than all of Iowa’s federal, state and county parks and wildlife areas combined.

A day’s drive places Iowans at BWCAW entry points in the Superior National Forest, where we access experiences unreachable in our state. Mechanized travel is replaced with travel by paddle and on foot, relying on human heart, lungs, muscle and perseverance. The sounds of motors vanish, and the water runs so clean that there are places where you can dip your cup straight into the lake and drink.

Fish caught from wilderness waters provide special satisfaction. Bears and wolves — predators long absent from Iowa — are at home in the wilderness. Loons call and dive in the lakes, moose wander the forests, and grouse drum, unconfined by roads, fences and industrial development. As Douglas Wood says in his book “Paddle Whispers,” it’s a place where we can “iron out the wrinkles in [our] souls.”

The most immediate threat to the Boundary Waters is an ill-conceived plan by the current U.S. administration to allow Twin Metals, a Chilean-owned company, to develop a sulfide-ore copper mine just upstream from the wilderness border. Although taconite and iron-ore mining have long been important industries in Minnesota, sulfide-ore copper mining has never occurred in the state, and for good reason. Pollution is guaranteed.

Sulfide-ore copper mining creates toxic tailings (waste) that pollute nearby water bodies. Acids and sulfates change water chemistry and heavy metals concentrate in the bodies of birds, fish, and invertebrates, causing illness, death and disruption of food chains. No such mining operation has ever been known to operate without leaking these pollutants. A mining moratorium exists on roughly 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest, within the Rainy River Watershed, thus preventing Twin Metals from obtaining the necessary leases to permit and operate a mine. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture have both voiced their support for removing this moratorium in accordance with the wishes of the current administration.

The proposed Twin Metals mine site is an area of interconnected waters through which damaging toxins can easily travel, making the Boundary Waters region non-conducive to containing pollutants.

Simultaneously, an attempt to subvert the 1964 Wilderness Act — thereby diminishing the BWCAW — is underway. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah has introduced the Border Lands Conservation Act, which would open up public lands within 100 miles of a U.S. border (potentially all of the Boundary Waters), allowing U.S. Homeland Security to conduct many intrusive activities including road-building, fence installation, and public surveillance. This could lead to amending the Wilderness Act, putting all our nation’s pristine wilderness areas at risk. Of course, people paddling and portaging through wilderness lakes, forests and bogs from Canada to enter the United States illegally would be an extremely rare occurrence. Rather, this bill is an attempt to chip away at public land protections.

Iowan ties to the Boundary Waters run deep. I have been traveling there for 40 years, often leading youth groups. I have witnessed kids’ amazement and pride at succeeding in wilderness travel. Many leave the wilderness permanently changed. Some spread a contagion for nature and wilderness to their parents and siblings. One family purchased canoes and camping gear, trekked on Iowa rivers, and then made their way back to the Boundary Waters. One teenager said the trip was the pinnacle accomplishment of his life.

These are testimonials from Iowans.

“I have led several trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness with a local Iowa community college … This magical place, the most visited wilderness area in the United States, is full of fresh water, forest, history, and joy. This area should be protected in perpetuity and not become a potential dumping ground for toxic pollution.”

— Matt Crayne, Chickasaw County, Iowa

“I've been very fortunate in my life to travel to all seven continents and have the chance to visit their parks and other wild places. I have spent my life guiding thousands of people, from preteens to older adults, to see and experience wild places and wild things … But when I come back to my home in Iowa, I know that the one place that is more valuable to me of all the wild places I have been fortunate to experience is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeast Minnesota.”

— Dr. Jim Pease, Story County, Iowa. Jim is an Emeritus Assoc. Professor, Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Iowa State University. In the 1980s, Pease created an ISU Extension and 4-H Program Wilderness Leadership Certification Program training wilderness leaders for several decades.

“When I became a science teacher/counselor at Metro High School in Cedar Rapids, I was the co-coordinator of the outdoor education program and took at-risk students on an annual, weeklong trip to the BWCAW … The pure waters are clear and free, for the most part, of contamination. However, the potential of mining or disturbance of the area nearby risks placing the waters in danger of contamination.”

— Bruce Frana, Linn County, Iowa

“I am a lifelong Iowan … I love the outdoors and wilderness, but find my home state lacking in wilderness areas and public lands. I was in Boy Scout troop 34 when I was 13 years old when one of the adult leaders announced our group would be planning a trip to the BWCAW. We paddled hard and learned to work together to overcome hardships. Those adult leaders gave me a gift I still cherish to this day: An introduction to a wilderness area of beauty, challenge, clean air, pure water, wild beasts, magical loons, and opportunities for learning and personal growth.”

— Eric Evans, Linn County, Iowa

Why should Iowans have a say about what happens in northeast Minnesota? Simply put, the Boundary Waters are not owned by the state of Minnesota. This unique wilderness does not belong just to Minnesotans. Rather, it belongs to all of us. Every Iowan is part-owner of the BWCAW. We may not have wilderness in our state, but this wilderness in Minnesota is there for us to enjoy as part of our American birthright. Iowans certainly have more of a right to enjoy the Boundary Waters than a foreign-owned mining company has to exploit the land and pollute its waters.

Now is the time for Iowans to contact their senators and representatives in Congress. Assert the right to a clean, healthy Boundary Waters Wilderness. Ask them to oppose the Twin Metals Mine and urge them to reject the Border Lands Conservation Act.

Dan Cohen is a writer and photographer from Independence and has led Iowa youth and adults on many wilderness trips. His work can be found on his Nature Communications Substack- https://dwcohen81.substack.com/. He formerly was the longtime Executive Director for the Buchanan County Conservation Board.