From mercury to manoomin, sulfate causes ecological ripples in Minnesota waters
Common chemical in industrial discharges has far-reaching effects on lakes, rivers, and the plants that live in them.
Search Results for: manoomin
Remediating mercury and sulfur pollution in Upper Great Lakes
Since 2021, the USFS Northern Research Station’s Mercury Sulfur Initiative Working Group has been studying mercury and sulfur pollution in the Upper Great Lakes region. They will be hosting a webinar series on reducing these harmful chemicals in water and soil. Innovative research includes using trees, plants and microbes to remediate pollution.
Birch Lake near BWCAW polluted by sulfate, advocates blame taconite mines
Extensive citizen science provides data showing existing mines are dumping sulfate into sensitive waters.
PolyMet mine permit revoked for failure to meet tribal water regulations
Army Corps revokes key PolyMet permit after push from Fond du Lac Band, saving 900+ acres of wetlands. The company behind proposed copper-nickel mine must start over on application.
Tribes and Forest Service announce co-stewardship of Superior National Forest
Historic move explains how Forest Service will respect treaty rights for northern Minnesota Ojibwe.
New methods to remove sulfate pollution from mining may help protect wild rice
New technology being tested by the U of M could remove sulfate pollution from wastewater and mining discharge, but will it be soon enough for wild rice?
New lawsuit alleges changes to Minnesota’s water quality rules put wild rice at risk
Fond du Lac and Grand Portage Bands file lawsuit over approval of revised state rules.
Northern Minnesota tribe buys back 28,000 acres of forest lands to help restore reservation
The Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, with reservations at Lake Vermilion, Nett Lake, and Deer Creek, purchased former timber company lands from national nonprofit The Conservation Fund.
EPA says PolyMet permit threatens waters with mercury pollution
Federal agency declares mine would cause pollution unacceptable to Fond du Lac Band.
Pottery found in Boundary Waters at least 1,600 years old
More than a thousand years ago, people living in what is now the BWCAW made a vessel from clay and stone, and cooked a meal in it. Then, a few years ago, archaeologists found fragments of the pot…
Report: water quality “pristine” in Boundary Waters watersheds needs protection
New reports detail pristine waters of northeastern Minnesota, threats to the health, and strategies to protect them.
Voyageurs National Park removing invasive cattails and restoring ecosystem
Project seeks to manage a growing threat to the park’s wetlands.
EPA recognizes PolyMet mine could pollute tribal waters
In significant decision, federal agency says pollution from the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine “may affect” downstream lakes and rivers under the jurisdiction of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
EPA identifies Minnesota wild rice waters affected by mine waste, sets up legal battle
Federal agency overrules state’s efforts to ignore sulfate pollution.
Wild rice season opens with worries about its future
The canoe country wild rice harvest opens, but the sacred grain is threatened by pollution and climate change…
Restoring a River – The Minnesota Land Trust partners on restoration projects in the St. Louis River Estuary
The St. Louis River estuary is a unique, 12,000 acre wetland where water from the St. Louis River mixes with the water from Lake Superior. The Minnesota Land Trust is working with groups and state agencies to restore features of the river habitat that have become compromised by pollution, debris, and development.
Environmental groups sue to stop PolyMet, strengthen Minnesota mining regulations
Eight organizations file lawsuits to challenge permits for the state’s first copper mine and revise rules.
Wild rice on Rainy Lake hurt by water levels, climate change, and invasive species
Tribal agencies and an international organization are working together to restore natural conditions that could let the important plant thrive again.
Officials withdraw change to wild rice protections, will restart work on sulfate standard
After being ruled too vague to protect rice or provide certainty to industries, state scientists will try to come up with a clearer way to implement research findings.
Scientific research released on connections between mining pollution and wild rice
State-sponsored studies sought to improve understanding of the complex ways sulfate harms the iconic plant.