Boundary Waters lovers: An important day of action has arrived. Today is this year's opening day for permit registration for all entry points along the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. That's a red-circled calendar alert day for many paddlers. If you have your sights set on a particular entry point or certain days for your trip, you will be grabbing your keyboard or smartphone at 9 a.m. to set your dream trip in motion.
And for those who aren't eager-beaver wilderness campers, the BWCA opening permit day offers a time of reflection about America's most-visited wilderness and what we need to do to make certain it remains pristine and unharmed.
Like many Minnesotans, I fell in love with the Boundary Waters the moment I laid eyes on it. It has a special resonance for me, a call to a place that is truly wild, and an untouched beauty that is unspoiled. In 1979, when I was just a newlywed, my wife, Nancy, and I opened Piragis Northwoods Co., home of the Boundary Waters Catalog, in Ely, Minn. We made a commitment to that community to honor those wild shores and the people who loved them. Now, that wilderness is under threat.
The Boundary Waters was one of the very first areas set aside for protection under the Wilderness Protection Act in 1964. As America's most-accessible wilderness, early on it was recognized as a national treasure.
More than 1 million acres of wilderness were set aside to serve as an inspiration and a permanent legacy for future generations. The Boundary Waters, along with the Superior National Forest, contains 20 percent of all fresh water in the entire national forest system.
Not only has the Boundary Waters continued to serve as awe-inspiring terrain for our nation's citizens, it also has been a large economic driver for the tourism economy of northeastern Minnesota, one that generates $800 million in revenue and supports more than 18,000 local jobs annually.
Unfortunately, not everyone understands the Boundary Waters' worth. Proposed sulfide-ore copper mines threaten to destroy its very essence. Despite the fact that the mines would be just outside the protected area, they would be upstream of the Boundary Waters, and any contamination would flow downstream directly into the heart of the wilderness.
Contamination would be permanent. Once polluted, the Boundary Waters would not be repairable. It would be forever destroyed, available to future generations only in pictures and memories. This would be like setting fire to the Mona Lisa: There's no getting it back once it's gone — and there are no copies of the Boundary Waters.