Outdoor recreation businesses file lawsuit to protect the Boundary Waters

photo: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota

Plaintiffs cite irreparable harm to a vital economic driver and negative financial consequences for local businesses.

On June 21, nine local businesses that rely on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to support jobs and that contribute to a sustainable economy in northeastern Minnesota filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior challenging the reinstatement of two long-expired mineral leases on Superior National Forest lands near the edge of the Boundary Waters, America’s most visited Wilderness Area.

The lawsuit challenges that the Department of the Interior’s unlawful actions pose an immediate threat to small businesses, public health, jobs, clean water, wildlife, and the sporting and outdoor economy of Minnesota.

The lawsuit challenges the Department of the Interior’s decision to abandon longstanding mineral leasing policy – established with strong bipartisan support—to distort the plain language of the expired leases to benefit a Chilean-owned mining company with a history of pollution. The unlawful reinstatement also ignored the U.S. Forest Service’s decision to withhold consent to the reinstated mineral leases because of the likelihood of harm to the water quality of the Boundary Waters and the inability to mitigate Acid-Mine Drainage (AMD) in […]

Full article: Outdoor recreation businesses file lawsuit to protect the Boundary Waters

More about the Boundary Waters and Minnesota:

Top Teen 2017 finalist: Joseph Goldstein uses his voice for Boundary Waters

Researcher crusades for policies to protect water: Dr. Deborah Swackhamer

The Effect of Clean Water on the Economy

Safe drinking water must be a shared value in Minnesota