Save the Boundary Waters Hosts event at YMCA

Save the Boundary Waters is hosting an event called Grand Marais Takes Action on Sept. 20 at the Cook County YMCA. The event is designed to educate the public on community and political activism through hands-on activities.

Speakers will include Ben Seaton of Hungry Jack Outfitters, M. Baxley of Bear Witness Media and Paddle & Portage, and Save the Boundary Waters Executive Director Ingrid Lyons.

“It’s a community forum with speakers from the local area,” Save the Boundary Waters Associate Director, Sam Chadwick, told WTIP. “You learn about protecting the Boundary Waters from copper mining, how to get involved with our work, and use your voice and meet other folks who care about the wilderness in the community.”

The Grand Marais forum is part of a series of events Save the Boundary Waters is hosting across Minnesota.

“There are state-level representatives and senators who are legislators here in Minnesota,” Chadwick told WTIP. “Sometimes folks aren’t as aware of that, or don’t realize that those elected officials are really accessible, and they’re often in your community, and you can meet them and have coffee, call their offices, or go meet them at the Capitol.”

Founded in Ely, Minnesota, Save the Boundary Waters advocates for protecting the Boundary Waters from sulfide-ore copper mining. The organization lobbies in Washington, engages in litigation, and organizes grassroots activism.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and its surrounding watershed are currently protected under Public Land Order 7917. However, during the most recent legislative session, multiple attempts were made to introduce bills that would rescind those protections. While those efforts were dropped in reconciliation, the Trump administration has signaled a continued interest in rescinding the order and returning land leases to the Chilean mining company Antofagasta.

“It’s a really important time for people, especially in Minnesota, to make sure, here in the state, that we’re the backstop, that we can protect the Boundary Waters if it loses this federal protection,” Chawick said.

Grand Marais Takes Action for the Boundary Waters will be held Sept. 20 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Cook County YMCA.

WTIP spoke to Chadwick about the event. The audio of that conversation can be found below.

Josh Hinke September 19, 2025