For Immediate Release
August 6, 2024
Contact: Libby London, (612) 227-8407
The Boundary Waters Action Fund endorses the Harris-Walz presidential ticket
(Ely, MN) -- Today, the Boundary Waters Action Fund (BWAF) is proud to endorse the Harris-Walz presidential ticket. This endorsement follows BWAF’s endorsement of Kamala Harris for President of the United States on July 22. BWAF is eager to help elect Harris and Walz and work with their future Administration. BWAF is the federally recognized 501(c)4 electoral wing of the coalition to protect the Boundary Waters from sulfide-ore copper mining.
“We are thrilled to endorse the newly formed Harris-Walz ticket, featuring Minnesota’s own governor, Tim Walz, as Kamala Harris’ nominee for Vice President of the United States. The Biden-Harris Administration championed and enacted the most significant protective measures for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in over 40 years, and we know that the Harris-Walz ticket will continue that conservation legacy,” said Alex Falconer, Boundary Waters Action Fund Director, “Governor Walz recognizes that the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a very special place and the crown jewel of the upper Midwest. Under his administration, relevant agencies have followed the processes and laws, advancing state-level protections for the Wilderness.”
A list of endorsed candidates can be found here.
In January 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration issued a Public Land Order (PLO) protecting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW or Wilderness), Voyageurs National Park (VNP), and 1854 Treaty Area from sulfide-ore copper mining for 20 years. The PLO, called a mineral withdrawal, bans toxic mining on 225,504 acres of Superior National Forest land in the watershed of the BWCAW and upstream of the Wilderness. The PLO came after the Forest Service published a comprehensive scientific review finding that sulfide-ore copper mining would pollute the Boundary Waters in ways that could not be fixed or mitigated.
The Boundary Waters is the most heavily visited wilderness area in the United States, attracting more than 165,000 visitors from all over the world. It is a major driver of the regional economy, supporting hundreds of businesses and thousands of jobs. A vast collection of peer-reviewed science shows that if a Twin Metals copper-nickel mine were built along the rivers and streams flowing into the Wilderness, pollution and environmental degradation would be certain. A peer-reviewed independent study from Harvard University showed that protection of the Boundary Waters from a proposed Twin Metals sulfide-ore copper mine would result in dramatically more jobs and more income over a 20-year period.
Nearly 70 percent of Minnesotans support permanent protection for this priceless Wilderness area. A poll conducted by Change Research of Minnesota midterm voters finds that 7 in 10 (69%) support legislation to permanently protect Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining. The poll of 1,098 2022 Minnesota voters from November 7-10, 2022 found that support for permanent protection ran high across all demographics and every region of the state.
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