With the ice off the border lakes and the summer paddling season underway, it is a great time to refine some camping strategies. One of the rules commonly broken in the Boundary Waters Wilderness is the prohibition of burning paper, plastic or foil in campfires. The USFS has done research on the burning of plastic [...]
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
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A revised draft of the environmental review for the first-ever copper mining project proposed in Minnesota has been completed. PolyMet Mining Corp.’s new document has been distributed to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, tribal governments, and other state and federal agencies which are involved in the process. The release comes almost [...]
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
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New mine proposals in northeastern Minnesota have prompted a group of local citizens and businesses to plan an anti-mining “action center” on Ely’s Sheridan Street. The office will provide information to visitors and residents, and is expected to open by Memorial Day weekend. The effort is being spearheaded by Steve Piragis, proprietor of wilderness outfitter [...]
Thursday, March 21, 2013
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48% of Minnesotans polled oppose sulfide mining in northeast Minnesota while 39% favor it. Results of the January, 2013 poll, sponsored by Minnesota Environmental Partnership, were the first to demonstrate that opposition exceeded support for the proposed mining. Annual polls on this subject have been held every year starting in 2008. Since 2009, there has [...]
Monday, February 11, 2013
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The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park will both get added protection from haze under a new ruling from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. According to the EPA, the regulations should reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by about 22,000 tons per year and sulfur dioxide emissions by about 2,000 tons. An article [...]
Thursday, January 31, 2013
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Despite a howling northwest wind and sub-zero temperatures across the Quetico Superior wilderness, many people are dreaming of warmer days and are making their summertime recreational plans. Fishing in the clear lakes of northeast Minnesota and adjacent Ontario, is for many, near the top of their dream list. Sorting through tackle boxes is one way [...]
Thursday, October 11, 2012
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New mining near Ely, MN and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is still years down the road. But mining companies are drilling core samples and testing new forms of pollution control technology in anticipation of its beginning.
Monday, October 8, 2012
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State and local organizations, and even citizens, will begin monitoring lakes, rivers and streams in Minnesota’s Lake Superior North Watershed. It’s part of a new monitoring approach by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). The initiative is known as “Intensive Watershed Monitoring,” in which water experts from local soil and water conservation districts, the Minnesota Department [...]
Thursday, August 30, 2012
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may step in and require stricter regulations for reducing taconite plant plant emissions than plans proposed by Minnesota and Michigan.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
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As northwoods mining takes center stage on the economic and environmental stages, a long time land use debate is resurfacing among neighbors who make Ely, MN their home. Steve Piragis, owner of Piragis Northwoods Company, is no stranger to that debate. He and his wife have run their shop and guide service since 1979.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
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