Ruling Against Sierra Club Upheld
A ruling by a lower court dismissing a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club against the Forest Service over the Superior National Forest management plan has been upheld.
Land and Resource Use
Heart of the Continent Seeks Communities
The Heart of the Continent Partnership, an association of land managers, researchers, government officials, and local stakeholders, is seeking to add representatives of the region’s communities to its collaborative effort.
Group Finds Mine Pollution near BWCAW
The advocacy group Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness claims that sulfide mine pollution is occurring at a 36-year-old mine site off of Spruce Road near the South Kawishiwi River just miles from the limits of the BWCAW.
AT&T Suspends Tower Construction Until Trial
In an agreement hammered out in a Minneapolis courtroom, AT&T has agreed to suspend construction of a controversial cell phone tower at the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness until a trial determines its ultimate fate.
Cell Tower Suit Spurs Discussion
The lawsuit by the advocacy group Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness to halt construction of a 450-foot=high cellular communications tower near Ely has recently prompted commentary from those who hail and oppose the effort.
PolyMet Impact Statement to be Rewritten
State and federal agencies will rewrite the the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for PolyMet Mining’s proposed copper-nickel and precious metals mine near Babbitt. The rewrite comes after the federal Environmental Protection Agency deemed the initial Draft EIS “Environmentally Unsatisfactory-Inadequate.”
$1 Trillion in Metals Buried Near BWCAW
With an estimated $1 trillion worth of copper and other precious metals buried beneath the surface along the South Kawishiwi River near the southern border of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the tangle over mineral development and natural resource protection appears likely to continue well beyond those surrounding the PolyMet copper-nickel mine in nearby Babbitt.
PolyMet Impact Statement May Be Redone
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may redo their Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the PolyMet copper-nickel mining operation proposed near Babbitt. The original Draft EIS was declared “environmentally unsatisfactory-inadequate” by the federal Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year.
Lake Vermilion Park Deal Finalized
The dream of a Lake Vermilion State Park is now a reality after the State of Minnesota and U.S. Steel Corporation signed a deal yesterday that put 3,000 acres of company land along the picturesque lake under state ownership.
Forest Advisory Committee to Convene
An advisory committee intended to to enhance local community collaboration with federal officials who manage the Superior National Forest will convene for the first time on June 11, the U.S. Forest Service announced recently.
Minnesota DNR Announces Fishing Closures
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, in cooperation with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, has announced the locations along the U.S./Canada border in Northeastern Minnesota that will be closed to fishing in the early spring.
PolyMet Investors Turn Cautious
Investors in PolyMet Mining Corporation are showing caution over possible delays in the development of the NorthMet copper-nickel and precious metals mining operation near Babbitt after criticisms of the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement by the EPA.
House Considers Financial Assurance
The Minnesota House of Representatives is considering a bill to tighten the financial assurances required by mining companies operating in the state, even though a companion bill in the state senate has been withdrawn.
Private Development with State Park?
As bonding to purchase land for the proposed Vermilion State Park was signed by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a St. Louis County official now wants the project to include private development.
Financial Assurance Bill Withdrawn
A bill in the Minnesota State Senate which could have raised the financial assurance requirements for non-ferrous mining companies in the state was withdrawn by its sponsor after lengthy hearings in St. Paul.
PolyMet Issues Come to State Capitol
Issues surrounding PolyMet Mining Company’s proposed copper-nickel and precious metals mining operation near Babbitt, reached the Minnesota state capitol yesterday at a hearing of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
Senate Committee to Consider PolyMet
Next week, the Minnesota Senate’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee will hear testimony on issues surrounding PolyMet Mining Company’s proposed NorthMet copper-nickel and precious metals mine.
Legislature Mulls PolyMet Assurances
Minnesota state legislators will soon consider bills which could raise the level of financial assurances required by PolyMet Mining Company in order to operate its proposed NorthMet copper-nickel mining operation near Babbitt.
Namakan Dam Comments Close Tomorrow
The comment period on the Draft Environmental Report for Ojibway Power and Energy Group’s proposed hydroelectric project on the Namakan River west of Quetico Provincial Park closes tomorrow.
EPA Criticizes PolyMet Plans
The Environmental Protection Agency, noting more than two dozen inadequacies in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposedPolyMet copper-nickle mine, says the project should not go forward as planned.