A Podcast to Save the Boundary Waters

In this final episode for Season Two of a Podcast to Save the Boundary Waters, we hear again from Emily Ford, Katie Mumm and Dave and Amy Freeman about how the wilderness has reshaped their lives. The podcast team also talk about their own experiences winter camping up the Gunflint Trail in the winter of 2022, and why it's likely the first of many such trips in the future.

Who visits the Boundary Waters in winter? Refreshingly, it's a diverse group of people who come to the wilderness for a variety of reasons. In this episode, we hear from: --Emily Ford, a Duluth resident who traveled by skis across the frozen border lakes in winter 2022. Ford, along with her Alaskan husky, Diggins, took on frigid temperatures and deep snow to raise awareness about the threats facing the Boundary Waters. --Michelle Kwan, the owner of a bakery in Minneapolis and a dedicated Boundary Waters traveler. In winter 2022, Kwan completed a winter camping trip with Bear Paulsen from Northstar Canoes and his family and friends. --Dave and Amy Freeman also share memories from some of their favorite trips to the Boundary Waters in winter, including stories from their Year in the Wilderness. --Katie Mumm, a photographer and business owner in Grand Marais who takes pictures of moose and other wildlife during the winter months.

Cook County musher and clean water advocate Frank Moe was a dear friend of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters. After a fight with brain cancer, Frank passed away in January 2022. In this episode, we hear from Dave and Amy Freeman about the role Frank played in guiding them to be advocates for the Boundary Waters. It was Frank who loaned Dave and Amy a team of sled dogs during their Year in the Wilderness. Also featured in this episode are Erik and Fallon Dickes. Erik has been traveling to the Boundary Waters for several years now, after losing his father to cancer before they could take their first trip to canoe country. Erik's life has forever been changed after he discovered the Boundary Waters, his wife, Fallon, explains.

Sulfide-ore copper mining on lands adjacent to rivers and lakes that flow into the Boundary Waters is indeed an ongoing threat to this cherished wilderness. However, it is not the only threat that impact the Boundary Waters. Climate change and a warming planet are also threats the lakes, rivers, forests, animals and people who cherish the Boundary Waters. In this episode, we hear from Grand Marais youth climate activist Olya Wright and her efforts to protect the Boundary Waters. We also hear from: --Jessica Hellmann, the director of the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment and the Ecolab Chair in Environmental Leadership. --Ana Maria Kleymeyer, a climate lawyer from Washington D.C. who has ties to the Boundary Waters region.

A Podcast to Save the Boundary Waters is back for a new season... And this time it's winter! Join the podcast team of Matthew, Maddie and Megan as they team up with some other Boundary Waters enthusiasts to go winter camping up the Gunflint Trail. This episode sets the tone for a series of adventures in the Boundary Waters during the winter months. From ice fishing to portaging through deep snow, the Boundary Waters is a magnificent playground during the winter months. We also hear an update on Campaign news and information, including recent public comment periods that showed just how much Minnesotans and indeed people across the country care about this special place, the Boundary Waters.

Season Two of A Podcast to Save the Boundary Waters launches Monday morning, March 14! Since the end of season one of this podcast, the Campaign has seen significant progress in the fight to protect the Boundary Waters from sulfide-ore copper mining. At the end of the last season, we were just heading into a 90-day comment period in which the Bureau of Land Management solicited public comments on the application to ban copper mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters for 20 years. The Campaign and its partners helped to generate a record breaking quarter of a million comments in support of Boundary Waters protection. At the same time, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources hosted a 30-day comment period to solicit public input as it considers whether or not Minnesota's state mining rules are adequate to protect the Boundary Waters. Thank you to everyone who participated in these opportunities to speak up on behalf of the Wilderness! 2022 has seen this momentum continue - in January, the U.S. Department of Interior announced that it was canceling the two federal mineral leases held by Twin Metals in the watershed of the Boundary Waters. This move effectively kills the Twin Metals mine, as the company no longer has rights to any of the federal land or minerals on which their mine plan depends. In February, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's administration also announced that it would no longer consider the Twin Metals mine plan, and expressed concern over the proposed location of the mine's tailings facility. This year is the year of the Boundary Waters - a forever wilderness and a beloved canoe country. While we continue our efforts on advocating for the future of the Boundary Waters in court, Washington, D.C., St. Paul, and through legislation, we can't forget the tangible memories and moments formed year round that create our connections to this landscape. That's why in season two of A Podcast to Save the Boundary Waters, we head into the Boundary Waters for winter camping adventures. Again, Season two of A Podcast to Save the Boundary Waters launches Monday morning, March 14. Meanwhile, look for the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters at Canoecopia in Madison, Wisconsin, this weekend! (March 11-13)

In this final episode for Season One of the Podcast to Save the Boundary Waters, Matthew joins Ingrid and Megan at the Campaign headquarters in Minneapolis. Featured in the episode are the voices of two Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Band Members: Tadd Johnson and Chaz Wagner. Minnesota's Indigenous communities continue to play an important role in the Boundary Waters region. They share their perspective in this episode. Also in this episode, Matthew, Ingrid and Megan reflect on all the people they met over the course of their travels in the Boundary Waters region during the summer and fall months in 2021. They also look to the future, including plans for Season Two.(coming in winter 2022!) Many thanks to War Bonnet for their musical contributions on this episode.

Residents from the Gunflint Trail to Ely share their stories of why they moved to the edge of the Boundary Waters in this episode. Guests include: --Ashley Bredemus from Birchwood Wilderness Camp --Mike Seim from Rockwood Lodge & Canoe Outfitters --Eric Glasson and Lacey Squier from Ely Hosts Matthew, Ingrid and Megan also review an independent study by a Harvard economist comparing the effects of the Forest Service's proposed 20-year mining ban near the wilderness with the consequences of sulfide-ore copper mining in the Boundary Waters watershed. The trio hear from Harvard PhD student Jacob Bradt, who did research on the study, that protecting public lands near the Boundary Waters generates greater long-term gain for the region (more employment and income) than copper mining.

In this episode, Matthew looks for more information about the proposed sulfide-ore copper mine on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. In order to do so, Megan and Ingrid suggest Matthew talk with a few key sources, including: Rep. Kelly Morrison from the Minnesota House of Representatives. Minnesota journalist Walker Orenstein from MinnPost. Bill Carter, the author of “Boom, Bust, Boom” about the mining industry.

In this episode, Matthew Baxley continues to learn more about a destructive sulfide-ore copper mining project proposed in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters. Save the Boundary Waters Campaign staffer Levi Lexvold to take a tour of the mine site on nearby Birch Lake on the edge of the wilderness. Also featured in this episode is retired miner Bob Tammen.

Why is the Boundary Waters actually worth protecting? Megan and Ingrid from the Campaign head up the Gunflint Trail to meet Matthew Baxley, who wants to dive into the issue and meet different people who can provide more insight into what it takes to protect the Boundary Waters. On this episode you will hear from: Barb Soderberg - one of the first female wildland firefighters in Minnesota and among the first in a key Forest Service management position in the region. Steffi O'Brien - Executive Director of the Listening Point Foundation. Bob Tammen - a retired miner who lives in Northeastern Minnesota.