Heinrich Visits Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Meets with Local Nonprofits, Advocates, and Tribal Leaders, Vows to Continue to Fight to Protect Public Lands
ELY, MINN. — Last week, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, visited gateway communities to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), where he met with local advocates, volunteers, non-profit leaders, and the Three Chippewa Bands, on how Senate Republicans and President Trump’s plan to allow sulfide-ore copper mining near the BWCAW will open up the pristine wilderness to permanent pollution, harming Tribes, local communities, and businesses in the area. Heinrich saw the proposed mining sites firsthand and observed how the mining pollution would affect the community and the watershed.
Heinrich’s visit comes as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced that his administration is taking steps to constrain future sulfide-ore copper mining development in the Rainy River Headwaters, slowing Twin Metals’ path forward to mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
“I come from a mining family. I'm not against every mine everywhere. My dad worked for Anaconda Copper, and my grandfather was a gold miner. But I learned, negotiating with big companies over natural resource damages, that there are smart places to put mines — and there are places where they really don't belong. And you don't know which is which unless you get out on the landscape and see it. I think it's really hard to look at maps and listen to rhetoric in Washington, D.C., and make a good decision,” said Heinrich.
Heinrich continued, “To put a mine where we went this week just seems insane to me. It would put at risk one of the last great wilderness areas in North America — not just the Boundary Waters, but the Boundary Waters, Quetico and Voyageurs. This is one of those last great landscapes in North America. I don't think these battles are ever won in one fell swoop. It takes decades. But I can tell from the passion of people on the ground, the polling I’m seeing in Minnesota, and the elected leaders who have stepped up and staked out a position that this is on a trajectory where I believe that the watershed is going to be protected. I want to say, from the bottom of my heart, as somebody who truly believes in the value and the importance of public lands and wilderness: thank you all for protecting this very special place.”
In April, President Trump signed into law H. J. Res 140, rolling back protections for the watershed, allowing for mining and mineral extraction in the headwaters of the wilderness area.
Heinrich has consistently pushed to protect the Boundary Waters from mining. In February, Heinrich called on Americans to use their voices and oppose H.J. Res. 140. In April, Heinrich delivered remarks on the Senate floor, urging his colleagues to oppose H.J. 140. When the resolution passed the Senate, Heinrich delivered remarks, blasting his colleagues for gutting protections for the Boundary Waters.
In his April remarks, Heinrich emphasized that the Boundary Waters are not simply a Minnesota issue, but an issue for the entire country, calling the area part of our “shared inheritance.” He also argued that there are many places where mining can be done responsibly, but that the Boundary Waters is not one of them.
Heinrich began his trip with a boat tour through Birch Lake and the proposed Twin Metals mining sites, where he spoke with staff from Voyageur Outward Bound School (VOBS), a nonprofit outdoor education organization that has been operating adjacent to the proposed sulfide-ore copper site since 1964, underscoring how mining in the area will adversely impact its operations.
U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, speaks to local nonprofit staff on how mining in the Boundary Waters will impact their operations, Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, tours YMCA Camp Widjiwagan and speaks with camp Executive Director Ben Hoffman, Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
Next, Heinrich met with Tribal officials from the Three Chippewa Bands to discuss how mining in the Boundary Waters will threaten their treaty rights to hunt, fish, and gather in their ancestral homeland.
U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, meets with the Three Chippewa Bands about how mining in the Boundary Waters threatens Tribes and their ancestral homeland, Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
Following his meeting with Tribal leaders, Heinrich spoke at a dinner at Ely Folk School, a community center that provides learning experiences that celebrate the heritage, art, history, and culture of northern Minnesota, and thanked advocates for fighting to protect the Boundary Waters.
U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, speaks at dinner, thanking advocates for fighting to protect Boundary Waters, Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
After his visits on Wednesday, the Senator launched into the Boundary Waters from Snowbank Lake to Ima Lake, spending the next two days exploring the local ecosystem, hunting and fishing culture, and native history before paddling to Ensign Lake on Saturday.
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