Friends Of The Boundary Waters Wilderness

Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness' goal is to ensure the long-term health and vitality of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Quetico-Superior ecosystem. A protected and preserved Boundary Waters Wilderness is free from public threats to its wilderness character, managed according to sound science, and is supported by a robust and diverse population of wilderness users.

The Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness has three primary program areas that work to achieve a healthy and protected future for the BWCAW.

Advocacy - The Friends is at the forefront of defending the wilderness character of the BWCAW. Communications and engagement programs that focus on engaging the public and decision-makers on issues affecting or threatening the BWCAW, create the conditions necessary to protect the BWCAW both legally and through management practices. Environmental policy staff are deeply engaged in all aspects the Friends' initiatives and work frequently with agency and non-profit partners, as well as a corp of dedicated citizen volunteers.

Education - The Friends works in many ways to increase the public's appreciation of the BWCAW and awareness of the threats it faces. Friends staff present to over 2,000 individuals annually at public events and forums each year. Specific programs like Thomas Flint Canoe Trip Program, Conservation Fellows Partnership, and undergraduate internship program also play a critical role in engaging and advancing the next generation of conservation leaders, by engaging young people in non-profit administration and wilderness conservation.

Stewardship - Through programs like the Superior Wilderness Volunteers Connection program, Friends works with agency partners to give back to the wilderness by maintaining recreation resources like portage trails, campsites, and latrines. Additionally, the Friends' Citizen Science Monitoring program engages the public and wilderness users in research initiatives aimed at better understanding the ecology of the BWCAW and how to effectively manage it.

For 40 years the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness has been directly involved in the formation, protection, and continued management of the BWCAW. Organizational history, paired with an educated and experienced staff and strong board leadership, uniquely positions the Friends to meet our programmatic goals and overall mission.

Less than a year ago, the proposed PolyMet copper-sulfide looked like a done deal. There were plenty of red flags and issues of factual concern, but after more than a decade of controversy, many thought it was inevitable that this mine would break ground.

All that changed when our legal efforts paid off in January. Minnesota Court of Appeals overturned PolyMet’s permit to mine and two dam-safety permits. Months later, in March, the same court threw out PolyMet’s air pollution permit.

In addition, we were part of a seven-day evidentiary hearing before a Minnesota trial court that examined the extent to which Minnesota regulators suppressed scientific concerns that PolyMet’s wastewater permit violated the Clear Water Act.

This trial, as well as the court rulings, forever exploded the myth that “Minnesota has the best environmental laws in the country,” and can protect our water resources from copper-sulfide mining. Instead, Minnesota regulators were shown to be complicit in the cover up of a deeply flawed permitting process for PolyMet.

As of now, PolyMet cannot put a shovel in the ground. This alone would count as a major success. But there’s more.

Following these victories on a state level, we received disappointing news when a federal judge ruled against us and our partners in our lawsuit against the Trump administration and Twin Metals. Confident of the merits of our case, we filed an appeal at the end of April.

Weeks later, we filed a second lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that in renewing the leases, the administration violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Needless to say, on the advocacy front and in our effort to stop the two copper-sulfide mines —Twin Metals and PolyMet — 2020 has been a very busy, exciting, and encouraging year.

We also hired a new Education Manager to launch our education program, No Boundaries to the Boundary Waters. In the few months before the COVID-19 pandemic ground everything to a halt, we were able to lay the foundation for important relationships in the Twin Cities and statewide.

No Boundaries to the Boundary Waters is designed to bring the ecology and wonder of the Boundary Waters into classrooms across Minnesota. In this program, students learn more about the most-visited wilderness area in the country while connecting to nature in their own neighborhood. Our program is forming relationships with greater Minnesota through county environmental education efforts like the Freshwater Festival in Hubbard county and the Youth Water Summit in Itasca county.

No Boundaries also provides the means and opportunity for diverse and underserved students to go on weeklong canoe trips into the Boundary Waters. We are working with Project Success to ensure that all Minneapolis public schools have a Boundary Waters trip opportunity for students. Relationships with community groups such as CLUES allow our programming to have a deeper impact by building on the student suppo