Conserving Natural Resources at Home and Abroad

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness: Northern Minnesota’s million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) is the nation’s most visited wilderness and the only lake-based wilderness where travel is primarily by canoe.  Preserving the Boundary Waters as a canoe country wilderness has been a League priority since the 1920s.  Although the BWCAW is publicly owned and protected from development within its borders, the area is at risk today.  New copper-nickel sulfide mines could be developed adjacent to the boundary and threaten to pollute lakes and streams with toxic mine drainage.  In addition, the U.S. Forest Service, which is entrusted with conserving the BWCAW for Minnesotans and all Americans, is not effectively enforcing the rules it has written to achieve this goal.  For example, to maintain quiet and undeveloped experiences, the Forest Service established limits years ago on the number of commercial motorboats that tow canoes and supplies from entry lakes to interior lakes. However, the League has proven that the Forest Service has repeatedly failed to enforce these limits.  Furthermore, the agency is trying to build a new snowmobile trail (known as the South Fowl trail) along a lake, which will introduce new noise and development into the BWCAW.

The League’s policy priorities for 2011 include pressing the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and other state and federal agencies to require full environmental analyses of the impacts of the proposed mines and pushing for measures, including requiring financial assurance, to protect the BWCAW and nearby resources from the potential impacts of mining on water and air quality and quiet outdoor recreation. 

The League will also work to improve Forest Service management of the BWCAW by supporting alternatives to the proposed South Fowl snowmobile trail and reducing commercial tow-boat use to comply with existing Forest Service requirements.

Learn more about the League's work on the BWCAW.

International Sustainable Development: The earth’s environment is a single, integrated system that does not recognize political boundaries.  Over-fishing, deforestation or the unsustainable use of other natural resources in one region of the world affects many others.  The cumulative impact of a growing global population demanding more resources and unsustainable patterns of consumption degrades natural resources.  The United States has been a leader in sustainable development around the world with policies that support technology transfer, family planning, education, and sustainable agriculture.  The League supports maintaining funding for international sustainable development programs that support family planning and natural resource conservation.

Learn more about the League's Sustainability Education Program.