It is 2022, and leaders in Congress and the administration are hard at work. The BHA community is hard at work, too. From pushing for the North American Model of Conservation in Colorado, Washington and Arizona to defending public access in Montana and West Virginia, BHA remains at the cutting edge of conserving our public lands and waters and hunting and fishing opportunities. We've sent more than 25,000 letters to legislators all over the United States in the past month. That's a massive show of support that makes me proud of our BHA family! Grassroots action matters!
Case in point, last week, the Interior Department announced on Jan. 26 the cancellation of two hardrock mining leases located within the Boundary Waters Wilderness watershed. With memories of my family’s trip to the Boundary Waters this summer still fresh in my mind, I had the great pleasure of telling my kids that an imminent threat no longer exists. We join a thunderous applause in thanking the administration for rescinding the leases that never should have been issued in the first place – and we look forward to continuing to work with Congress to assure the long-term protection of the Boundary Waters watershed.
Our Minnesota Chapter has been working on this issue since its formation and we have helped nationalize the issue. This is a great collective win. MN Chapter Chair Matt Lee had this to say about our huge win:
"We have worked hard to press decision-makers to ensure we keep these waters clean and safe. I would like to thank all of our members – who have reached out to the last three administrations – with the goal of ensuring that these lands and waters are protected for future generations. We look forward to our continued work with the administration and congressional leaders to implement permanent conservation measures for the Boundary Waters.”
Tonight, cheers the Boundary Waters with a nice glass of cool, clean water and and rest easy knowing that we just took another major step to keep the water of the Boundary Waters cleaner than what you get out of your tap.
