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Forum to Discuss Non-Ferrous Mining

Non-ferrous mining in Minnesota will be the topic of an afternoon-long discussion hosted by the Minnesota Environmental Initiative on September 15. Registration for the program is open until September 8, as space allows.

Friends of the Quetico Celebrates 25 Years

It’s the 100th aniversary of Quetico Provincial Park this year, but 2009 is also the 25th birthday for the Friends of Quetico Park, an organization whose objective is “the preservation of Quetico Provincial Park as a unique wilderness area.”

Update: Namakan River Dam Project

The Spring 2008 issue of Wilderness News covered a proposed dam at High Falls on the Namakan River west of Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario. A project with environmental impacts on both sides of the border, the Ojibway Power and Energy Group (OPEG) is preparing to release its Environmental Assessment as part of a proponent-led approval process.

Mineral Search Reaches BWCAW Border

Exploration for copper and nickel resources in Northeastern Minnesota has reached the borders of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of the Superior National Forest. While prospectors hope to find useful and valuable minerals, environmental advocates worry about impacts on the wilderness.

Friends Spotlight Carbon Impact of PolyMet

The wilderness and environmental advocacy group Friends’ of the Boundary Waters Wilderness is concerned with the climate-change impact that destruction of 1000 acres of peat bog for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in Northeastern Minnesota will have.

Mining Projects Back in the News

Copper-nickel mining projects in northern Minnesota continue to move forward as environmentalists question the impact of the proposed mines and proponents hail the economic benefits. Meanwhile, the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness notes that the land for the proposed PolyMet mine was once identified for its ecological significance.

Report: State Sweetened Vermilion Park Deal

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that the State of Minnesota looked for ways to sweeten the deal for U.S. Steel to sell land to the state for a state park on Lake Vermilion. The paper questions whether laws were skirted to procure land for the park strongly supported by Governor Tim Pawlenty.

Time-Out Called in Roadless Tug-O-War

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a temporary order requiring all new projects in U.S. Forest Service-managed roadless areas be approved by his office. Apart from the permanently protected Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness, the Superior National Forest contains roughly 62,000 acres of roadless areas, mostly adjoining the BWCAW.

Still Hope for State Park on Lake Vermilion?

A proposal to develop a new state park on property currently owned by U.S. Steel lost steam recently when the company and the State of Minnesota disagreed on the value of the land in question. Might a closer look at the numbers put the park back on track?

PolyMet Environmental Statement Delayed

PolyMet Mining, the Canadian company hoping to develop a copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes, annouced in a media release this week that the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the project will not be released until the third quarter of this year.

The draft EIS was originally expected earlier this year.

Wolf Island Protected

Wolf Island is a place of legend and lore, holding the footprints of both Native Americans and Voyageurs. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has taken advantage of a one-time opportunity …

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Photo courtesy of Airphoto – Jim Wark. Digital simulation—unmanned US Customs and Border Protection surveillance aircraft patrolling the Quetico-Superior border.

Securing the Wilderness Border

By Charlie Mahler, Wilderness News Contributor The Boundary Waters. The Border Route. Those dividing “B” words have long been embedded in the names used to describe the Quetico-Superior region. The notion, …

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