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Hot Topics

Minnesota Reopening Parks, Campgrounds

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With its state government shutdown over, Minnesota is slowly reopening parks, campgrounds, and trails across the state, including in the Quetico-Superior region.

Minnesota Changes Wolf Hunting Plans

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The state environmental bill signed into law this morning by Minnesota governor Mark Dayton changed the the state’s wolf management plan by allowing establishment of a hunting season as soon as the gray wolf is removed from the federal Endangered Species List.

Glencore Buys More of PolyMet

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Glencore International, the Swiss commodities and natural resources behemoth, furthered its stake in PolyMet Mining, buying an additional $13.1 million of the company’s stock. PolyMet plans a copper-nickel mine near Babbitt, Minnesota.

MN State Parks Suffer during Shutdown

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MN State Parks are losing $1 million a week in camping permits, trail fees, fishing licenses and concessions as the government shutdown drags on during the height of tourist season. How will the economies of northern Minnesota towns be affected?

PolyMet EIS Slowed by Shutdown

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The Minnesota state government shutdown is delaying work on PolyMet Mining’s revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement which depends on the efforts of Department of Natural Resources and the Pollution Control Agency officials.

Proposed Atikokan Gold Mine Advances

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A proposed gold mining venture north of Atikokan, Ontario continues to define its mineral resource and prepare for environmental permitting in an effort to be in full production in late 2015.

PolyMet Gets Loan, Buying Land

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PolyMet Mining closed a $4-million loan from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board and exercised its option to buy 5,375 acres of land it plans to swap with the U.S. Forest Service for its proposed mining operation.

USFWS Concerned About Stricken Bats

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced yesterday that bats stricken with white nose syndrome may warrant federal protection as threatened or endangered species. One of the species, the northern long-eared bat, is a northeastern Minnesota resident.

Ruffed Grouse Populations Still High

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Northern Minnesota’s population of ruffed grouse remains high according to recent drumming counts conducted by Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resource.

DNR Let Lutsen Violations Slide

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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources admits it repeatedly let the Lutsen Mountain ski resort draw more water from the state-protected Poplar River for snow-making than its 1964 permit allowed.

Small Fire Burning in BWCAW 2011

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A small wildfire is burning on a peninsula of Gaskin Lake in the eastern portion of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Wolf Meeting Scheduled for Tonight

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hold a public information meeting tonight on its plan to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list.

State Mineral Lease Sales Postponed

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A council of top Minnesota government officials has postponed the sale of 77 northeastern Minnesota mineral exploration leases on properties where the state holds the mineral rights but private individuals own the surface land.

Minnesotans Asked to Collect Dead Loons

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Minnesotans are being asked to gather dead loons to help biologists learn the bird’s main causes of death in a statewide study sponsored by the state’s Department of Natural Resources.

PolyMet Mining in Need of Cash

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PolyMet Mining, which hopes to establish an open pit copper-nickel mine near Babbitt, is running low on funds according to an independent audit of the firm.

No New Rules for Hunting Collared Bears

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A rule requiring the Department of Natural Resources to ask bear hunters not to shoot radio-collared bears was removed from the Minnesota Legislature’s recently passed omnibus game and fish bill.

International Task Force Issues Report

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The International Lake of the Woods and Rainy River Watershed Task Force recently released its draft report addressing how Canada and the United States should work together to manage water quality and related issues in the watershed.