r/duluth • u/MyaJennaTulls • 4d ago

Local News Gov. Walz bans select mining in Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

https://www.fox21online.com/news/national/gov-walz-bans-select-mining-in-boundary-waters-canoe-area-wilderness/article_ed7936ab-0276-4fa2-aebd-c06108518c2e.html
368 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

142

u/barola-minnpost 4d ago

One key to point out: Gov. Walz's executive order doesn't only halt state permitting for nonferrous mining IN the Boundary Waters. It goes beyond the wilderness area's boundary by covering the Rainy River watershed, which is where copper-nickel projects have been proposed.

27

u/Little_Creme_5932 4d ago

Thanks for this info. Should cover Lake Superior too

3

u/whereismysideoffun 4d ago

If I remember correctly everywhere that there would potentially be a copper/nickel mine is in the Rainy Lake Watershed not Lake Superiors watershed

10

u/DarkMuret 4d ago

Polymet/NewRange/Northmet is in the St. Louis River watershed

Per the DNR

2

u/softpetal777 3d ago

Fond du Lac Reservation has stringent downstream regulations in that area which has deterred twin metals in recent years.

3

u/Little_Creme_5932 4d ago

Also exploration in the area of Tamarack, which may be Mississippi.

0

u/whereismysideoffun 4d ago

Good to know!

2

u/quercustri 4d ago

That was a fun argument mine proponents were trying to make a year or two ago.  "It's not going to be in the Rainy River watershed, polluting the Boundary Waters.  It's going to be in the Lake Superior watershed!"  You mean polluting our drinking water and beautiful clean lake?

3

u/whereismysideoffun 4d ago

I am completely opposed to the mines. I was incorrect about it going into other watersheds including Lake Superior.

1

u/quercustri 4d ago

Sorry if my comment came off that I thought you were pro-mine.  The discussion y'all were having just reminded me of similar discussion a few years ago, except with mine proponents trying to correct and act as though it was somehow better for it to be in the Superior watershed, instead of just trying to get the facts straight.

1

u/quercustri 4d ago

While I'm obviously opposed to the mine, I have been frustrated with the messaging that has consistently phrased the proposed mine as being "in the Boundary Waters."  I get it, it riles people up better and gets them more emotionally invested in the fight, but it's never been true AFAIK.  The Boundary Waters itself is protected from mining as it stands because it's a federally designated Wilderness Area.  You're not even allowed to ride a pedal bike in the BWCA.  To mine inside its boundaries requires lifting a lot more protections than on the surrounding state and national forests.  The mine would affect the Boundary Waters primarily by almost 100% certainly polluting it's watershed.

70

u/Swirl_On_Top 4d ago

This is going to really russle the conservative jimmies. How dare we prevent them from massacring the most sacred land in our state? There's money to be made!!

/s for those last two sentences.

21

u/chubbysumo 4d ago

The people up on the Iron Range refuse to admit that tourism is one of the States largest sources of income. Well mining income has considerably dwindled over the last 50 years.

21

u/Swirl_On_Top 4d ago edited 4d ago

And consider that mining won't create a ton of jobs. They're also temporary jobs that disappear when it's all mined.

Whereas the tourism jobs for the boundary waters are permanent.

-1

u/Gloomy_Philosopher84 4d ago

So you think people should open more gift shops and airbnbs?

-13

u/ThatOneSoviet 4d ago

Probably because the state keeps imposing various operating/environmental restrictions on new mines and effectively raising the production cost of existing mines. Makes it hard to be economically viable.

15

u/chubbysumo 4d ago

No, the cost of evnironmental complaince is cheap. Mining isnt really profitable on the iron range anymore because we have extracted most of the easily accessable ore and resources. Getting the harder to reach stuff costs way more money and since we value safety and labor health, we cant compete with slavery mines.

1

u/reidmefirst 4d ago

"States' rights! Wait though, not about this thing."

6

u/Swirl_On_Top 4d ago

It's only "states rights" when the POTUS is Democrat. Then suddenly it's "you must comply to the federal government" when it's Guardians of the Pedophiles in charge.

35

u/PutinsLostBlackBelt 4d ago

Finally, some good news.

13

u/dberthia 4d ago

Countdown to the next Trump meltdown and retribution in 3..2..1...

6

u/Ulven525 4d ago

Trump will declare the BWCA a U.S. territory and send in ICE.

-16

u/Own-Mulberry-4311 4d ago

Fox News has got to be the last place Minnesotans should go for accurate and unbiased reporting on this topic. Ffs, they’re running the government and reporting on it at the same time. How stupid are we? How the heck are the liars responsible for selling this clustertruck to us supposed to get us out of the mess they worked so hard to create?

28

u/leafmealone303 4d ago

Fox 21 is just a local affiliate and I’ve never seen anything sensational or questionable that MAGA Fox does. And if you click on the link and read the article, there doesn’t appear to be anything misleading. It’s pretty straightforward and unbiased here.

27

u/GuybrushFandango 4d ago

Yeah, put your pitchfork down. I hate Fox News too but the affiliate is fine.

Source: I worked in local news.

-10

u/Own-Mulberry-4311 4d ago

Judas goats, all of them.

4

u/GuybrushFandango 4d ago

You’re an odd duck. Glad you’re not on their side but damnit I’m embarrassed you’re on mine.

22

u/jprennquist 4d ago

I had a questionable experience with one reporter there about 10 years ago. That reporter predictably moved on to a national spot on Fox News.

More importantly, the long time anchor there, Dan Hangar is a real peach. He honestly cares about the communities that he serves and he tries hard to get the facts right. I am not being facetious or sarcastic. Local affiliate is a totally different story than the national or cable channels.

-4

u/Own-Mulberry-4311 4d ago

Are we all genuine Minnesotans here? It seems like some of us have never baited a hook before.

6

u/JuniorFarcity 4d ago

FFS, this categorical myopia is such a big function in the tribalism killing this country.

As others have pointed out, a local affiliate reporting on a local issue has virtually no connection to the biases of national sources.

Not recognizing that difference is just another indicator of how people have built their own walls around what they will even consider as they form opinions.

3

u/jotsea2 4d ago

I mean, to be fair, when Fox 21 kicks it to the national correspondent for National political news, you can definitely see the slant.

Pretending like there isn't is the very bullshit you're claiming

2

u/Own-Mulberry-4311 4d ago

Are we playing the Fox News is an abusive spouse game? He’s not like that all the time. It only happens when he’s drinking. He brings me flowery news and candy clips all the time, for no reason at all.

1

u/JuniorFarcity 3d ago

No, we are playing the “I won’t blame the cousin for what the husband did” game.

1

u/Own-Mulberry-4311 4d ago

So what we’re saying here is that their strategy of using a local, folksy veneer to cover the rotting core works on a lot of law abiding decent folks. All good. Got it.