Hot Topics

Ely Explorers Paddle A Message of Wilderness Stewardship into Nation’s Capital

by

Dave and Amy Freeman completed their cross-country journey from the Kawishiwi River to the Potomac. Two thousand miles and a hundred days after paddling away from the Voyageur Outward Bound School on the South Kawishiwi River, adventurers Dave and Amy Freeman have made it to Washington, D.C. The pair paddled their canoe – covered in signatures – up to the dock at the Washington Canoe Club this morning in cold, wet conditions.

Protecting Our Wild Rice Heritage

by

Evaluating Minnesota’s water sulfate standard for wild rice. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is reviewing its standards for protecting wild rice in Minnesota. With funding from the Minnesota State Legislature, the agency conducted a two-year study to determine how sulfate—the presence of which in water has been linked to an absence of wild rice—and other chemicals affect the health of wild rice.

Minnesota Agency Working To Answer 58,000 Questions About PolyMet

by

Responding to public comments on copper-nickel mine proposal will take time because of quantity and depth. The commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says the agency has a big job ahead in responding to public comments on the PolyMet mining proposal’s supplemental draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Drilling equipment at a Twin Metals mineral exploration site.

Major Twin Metals Partner Declines To Increase Stake in Project

by

Mine proposal near the Boundary Waters loses significant source of funding. Chilean mining company Antofagasta PLC has declined an opportunity to take a bigger financial stake in the Twin Metals project near Ely, MN. The move means the company—which has invested more than $200 million in the joint venture so far—will pass up the chance for a controlling stake in the project, and operations will revert to junior mining company Duluth Metals.