Sample Letter — Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act
The following is a sample letter to help guide your own letter to your congressional representative to urge their support for the Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act (H.R. 2794).
DON’T SIMPLY COPY AND PASTE! Please remember to personalize the letter with your own thoughts and opinions on the proposed act!
Dear (Congress member),
I’m writing to ask that you support permanently protecting the Boundary Waters watershed of the Superior National Forest from the threat of toxic mining by voting to pass HR 2794 (the Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act) this year.
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is the most visited National Wilderness in America. More than 160,000 annual visitors enjoy America’s only significant lakeland Wilderness, the largest Wilderness Area east of the Rockies and north of the Everglades. The Boundary Waters is 1.1 million acres of pristine and interconnected lakes, streams, rivers, marshes and boreal forest situated within the Superior National Forest. The Boundary Waters and neighboring Voyageurs National Park are vital parts of the vibrant and sustainable economic engine of northeastern Minnesota’s outdoor amenities-based economy (nearly one billion dollars annually). Antofagasta’s Twin Metals sulfide-ore copper mining project puts all this at risk. Twin Metals proposes to develop mines adjacent to and upstream of the Boundary Waters. Also at risk are downstream protected areas of Voyageurs National Park and Canada’s Quetico Provincial Park.
An exhaustive draft Environmental Assessment encompassing all the available science, economics, public health and public opinion was just completed earlier this year detailing why a sulfide-ore copper mine adjacent to, and in the watershed of, the Boundary Waters would only lead to disaster. Even Twin Metals has admitted that it cannot guarantee that the Boundary Waters will not be polluted – both in the media and during Congressional testimony.
The time has come for you to stand with the nearly 70% of Minnesotans and with people across America who want the Boundary Waters protected for all generations to come. The environmental study concludes with a proposed 20-year ban, the most the Administration can do by law. Please vote YES on HR 2794 so the Boundary Waters can be protected for all generations to come.
Sincerely,
(Your name)