by Brad Herzog
“If you’ve been on one of camp’s trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), you know what a memorable and life-changing experience it can be,” says Hunt Greene (Dallas/Long Lake, MN 62-67). “We want it to stay that way for generation, but there is an imminent threat that it could be degraded forever.”
Few campers over the decades have completed their Nebagamon experience without an excursion to the Boundary Waters. BWCA is as much a part of the essence of the camp experience as MOD, OBR, KP, and CNOC. In fact, it could be argued that those Minnesota lakes have played as much a role in casting “the soul of man” as council fires and sermonettes.
So several people with Nebagamon ties are trying to do something to confront the imminent threat to the Boundary Waters, and their efforts seem like… well, like the lessons of council fires and sermonettes come to life.
“Some people drink from the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.”
Facts matter, of course, including information about how the BWCAW came to exist—and why it is currently endangered. Ben Hanson-Kaplan (Boise 12-19) summarized the origins this way in the March issue of The Arrowhead: “It is the most visited wilderness area in the entirety of the United States and accounts for 20 percent of the freshwater in the National Forest system. Its 1.1 million acres of immaculate water has been protected since the early 1900s by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, who withdrew about 1,159,700 acres of land from a lumber and mining treaty. This newly protected land was finally named the “Boundary Waters Canoe Area” (BWCA) in 1958.”
That was the original solution to protecting those pristine waters. Here, Ben explains, is the current problem: “On September 6th, 2018 the current administration lifted a blockade preventing the environmentally harmful practice of copper sulfide mining in the region, the most toxic industry in the U.S, and a form of mining that has never been allowed in Minnesota. This decision was like a literal gold mine for the Chilean mining giant, Antofagasta. Because of this decision, they are planning on building multiple mines in the watershed that leads into the Boundary Waters. A governmental study on the issue found that even one mine in the watershed could pollute the Boundary Waters for a minimum of 500 years.” Check out this animated video about both the important of the protected region and the threat to it.
“Stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.”
Hunt Greene first visited the Boundary Waters in 1963, while a camper at Nebagamon. Eight years later, he purchased property on Lake Vermillion, right next to the BWCAW. Two years ago, when he retired after a 40-year career in investment banking, he was eager to devote himself to philanthropy, and he has focused on environmental concerns. Hunt has served as board chair of Wilderness Inquiry with its mission “to connect people from all walks of life to the natural world through shared outdoor adventures.” And he is a board member of Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness (NMW), the fiscal sponsor for Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters and Sustainable Ely. Toward that end, Hunt is trying to round up some important donations and would like to be contacted at [email protected].
“There is no copper-nickel mine in the United States that has not polluted the water around it,” he explains. “If constructed, this mine would cause deforestation, significant increases in traffic and noise, and potential irreversible water pollution. This pollution would reach all the way into Canada on the Rainy River.” Hunt and NMW are fighting the mine by collecting petitions, educating elected officials, and informing the public of what he describes as “this devastating threat to American’s most visited Wilderness.” Check out the Save the Boundary Waters website for more information.
“Don’t wait ‘til you’re a man to be great—be a great boy.”
Protecting the Boundary Waters requires efforts big and small. As a 10th grader, Ben Hanson-Kaplan was assigned to create a project on something that he cared about deeply. He chose to craft a canoe paddle for a cause. With the help of camp’s head caretaker, Andy Mack, Ben built a wooden paddle from scratch—and then decided to raffle it off to raise funds for the Save the Boundary Waters Foundation. He created a Crowdrise fundraising page, and for every $20 donated the donor receives one virtual “raffle ticket.” He is oh-so-close to reaching his $1000 goal—and every penny goes to Save the Boundary Waters. Here’s a link to Ben’s summary of the situation and his goals in the March Arrowhead.
“Many of you have a strong connection to the BWCA because it has created such vivid and long-lasting memories, connecting with nature and connecting with your camp brothers,” he wrote. “Our future Nebagamon brothers may not be able to enjoy those memories if the place that created them is damaged…or destroyed completely. One of the only things standing between the best canoeing waters on the planet, and a desolate industrial landscape, is people like us. Save the Boundary Waters foundation is a coalition of folks, just like you and I, who are trying to elevate this threat to a national level with the goal of protecting our BWCA. But they need help, and that is what I hope we all can do.”
“The size of a man is not found by measuring his feet, but by measuring his footsteps.”
Jeff Goldstein (Clayton, MO/Springfield, IL) was a camper at Nebagamon from 1980-82. Years later, he introduced his four sons to the wonders of the Boundary Waters. His son, Joseph, was six years old at the time. Seven years later, Joseph was diagnosed with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia. When the Make-A-Wish Foundation offered him a wish, he decided that he wished to save the BWCA from contamination by the copper mine proposed in its watershed. “The Boundary Waters has formed who I am, was a good teacher to me, and helped me through personal struggles,” he told an interviewer just a few weeks ago.
When he discovered that his wish was too politically-charged for Make-A-Wish, Joseph took matters into his own hands. According to an April 25, 2019 story in Minnesota Monthly, over the next several years, when his chemo treatment allowed for it, Joseph wrote letters, gave speeches, blogged, and implored policymakers to let science trump corporate interests. Last June, he officially launched Kids for the Boundary Waters. In December, he and a few dozen peers traveled to Washington, D.C., where they met with officials including Senator Amy Klobuchar and then-Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt. So… inspired by the memory of his camp experiences, Jeff Goldstein introduced his child to the Boundary Waters marvels, and that kid has formed an army of environmentally-concerned youths.
That’s paying it forward.
Says Joseph, now a 17-year-old high school senior living on a farm with his family in Springfield, Illinois, “This fight has gone on for many years, and it’s going to go on for many more, but ultimately I think we’re going to win it. It’s important we preserve the Boundary Waters for all of us who have experienced it and for those who have yet to experience it.”