Friends of the boundary waters wilderness

1. Friends of the boundary waters wilderness By: Alyssa Schmid

2. What is their mission? • Friends of the Boundary Waters strive to protect, preserve and restore the wilderness character of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Quetico-Superior Ecosystem. • They are a Minneapolis-Minnesota based, non-profit organization.

3. What is their mission? • The organization helps protect the BWCAW from the following threats: • Haze • Noise • Logging • Mining • Development • Fire suppression • Loss of native species

4. Carrying out their mission • The Friends of the Boundary Waters help protect through education and advocacy. • They seek to develop the next generation of wilderness stewards; this is accomplished through projects that engage disadvantaged youth through sponsored wilderness canoe trips and active social media outreach. • These programs educate youth about the value of the Wilderness.

5. Who are the friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness? • 3,000 members interested in halting any further harm to the BWCAW and the Quetico-Superior Ecosystem. • By partnering with other conservation organizations, Friends of the Boundary Waters ensure that the wilderness is taken into consideration during policy debates.

6. Background History • 1964: Congress passes the Wilderness Act and the BWCA becomes part of the National Wilderness Preservation System with a clause that allows some logging and use of motors to continue.

7. HIstory • The organization formed in May of 1976. • This was also the year of their first published newsletter. • They directed legislation through Congress that brought full protection to the Boundary Waters. • In1978, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter.

8. history • Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the organization battled plans that would irrevocably affect the BWCAW. • One major threat included motorized portages in the Wilderness. • 1999, huge blowdownaffects 300,000 BWCAW acres with 32 percent extensively damaged. • Massive forest fires occurring in 2006 and 2007 also required the attention of the organization. • They also advocated for the Wilderness in response to proposed timber sales, and the pollution caused by sulfide mining.

9. 1999 blowdown in bwcaw Source: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/dlh/StormSummaries/2011/july1/forestblowdown/storm2.jpg

10. Board of Directors • Board of Directors • 12 members • Political focus • Honorary Board Member • Richard Flint, an attorney and one of the founding members of the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. • Advisory Council • 4 members • Environmental enthusiasts

11. Staff of the Organization • Other staff include: • Executive Director • Policy Director • Northern Communities Program Director • Communications and Engagement Director • Membership and Administrative Coordinator

12. Becoming a friend of the Boundary waters wilderness • Visit their website to apply for their available volunteer positions. • They also offer internships for the spring, summer and fall seasons. • Their website also posts any available job positions.

13. Current issues • Sulfide Mining • Roadless Areas • Non-native Invasive Species • Air Pollution • Climate Change • Logging

14. Sigurd Olson Lecture Series • Has brought visionary conservationists to speak in Minnesota each spring since the 1982 death of writer, naturalist and wilderness advocate Sigurd F. Olson. • Lectures highlight current natural resource issues by national conservation leaders. • All lectures are free and open to the public, presenting in Ely, MN at Vermilion Community College and in the Twin Cities.

15. Other programs • Invasive Species • Wilderness Curriculum • Wilderness Volunteers • Youth Canoe Trips

16. 2013 Friends of the Boundary waters annual report – Winter Newsletter • Accomplishments related to the Polymet Sulfide Mine: • Changed the social dialogue about sulfide mining to focus on clean water and taxpayer liability. • Pushed for and got a International Joint Commission sponsored study of mining pollution in the Rainy River Watershed. • Visited with editorial staff of newspapers around Minnesota to educate them on the sulfide mining issue as part of awareness and action strategy. • Brought in over 25,000 people into the issue to show concern and take action through a petition to the Governor and their Congressional representatives.

17. 2013 Friends of the Boundary waters annual report – Winter Newsletter • Accomplishments related to education outreach: • Sponsored the Sigurd Olson Lecture Series presentations in Ely and the Twin Cities. • Presented to over 4,000 individuals on sulfide mining, wilderness issues like forest fires, and climate change effects. • Served as key partner in planning the Heart of the Continent Partnership’s National Geographic Society collaboration to create a Geotourism destination for the Boundary Waters region, one of only seventeen in the world.

18. Resources • http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/dlh/StormSummaries/2011/july1/forestblowdown/storm2.jpg • http://www.friends-bwca.org/about/history/ • http://www.scribd.com/doc/215709346/FY2013-Annual-Report-Winter-2014-Newsletter