Tell Agriculture Secretary and POTUS to Protect the Boundary Waters

From PennEnvironment (http://www.pennenvironment.org):

The proposed Twin Metals mine — on the border of Minnesota’s beloved Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness — is an ecological disaster waiting to happen.

If the mine’s toxic tailings hit the wilderness’ interconnected waterways at any point, pollution would quickly spread throughout the entire system. That’s why, in 2016, the U.S. Forest Service found that Twin Metals would cause “irreparable harm” to the Boundary Waters.^1,2

Yet in May 2021, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who oversees the Forest Service, said that the Biden administration hasn’t yet made a decision on the mine.³

This mine should be nowhere near this special place. Sign our petition at https://pennenvironment.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=45254: Tell Secretary Vilsack and the Biden administration to oppose Twin Metals.

Boundary Waters is the most visited wilderness area in the country — and for good reason.

Its miles of pristine forest are crisscrossed with lakes and streams. Moose, wolves, birds, fish and bears make their home here. To canoe its glassy waters is to remember why protecting wild places is so vital.

And, far from civilization, the wilderness’ dark skies are so clear and packed with stars that it’s been designated an “International Dark Sky Park.”⁴

We stand to lose all of this and more to this mine.

Sulfuric acid, sulfates, and dangerous heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury are some of the by-products of copper sulfide mining sites like Twin Metals. And the mine would be located right at the wilderness’ headwaters — which means that a leak or spill could easily poison the entire ecosystem.⁵

Sign our petition to tell Secretary Vilsack to protect the Boundary Waters.

As the editorial board for Minnesota’s largest paper put it: “Not this mine. Not this location.”⁶

We agree. And soon, we hope, the Biden administration will, too.

Take action.

1. “Twin Metals Proposal: Not this Mine. Not this Location.,” Star Tribune, November 23, 2019.
2. Tom Tidwell, “Let’s prevent irreparable harm to an irreplaceable wilderness area,” The Hill, January 17, 2020.
3. Ernest Scheyder and Andrea Shalal, “Biden admin still undecided on Minnesota copper mine project -Vilsack,” Reuters, May 5, 2021.
4. Dan Kraker, “Boundary Waters designated a dark sky sanctuary,” MPR News, September 11, 2020.
5. Tom Tidwell, “Let’s prevent irreparable harm to an irreplaceable wilderness area,” The Hill, January 17, 2020.
6. “Twin Metals Proposal: Not this Mine. Not this Location.,” Star Tribune, November 23, 2019.