Paging through Sunday's Star Tribune, I was struck by a photo in the Travel section of a paddler on a misty lake in the Boundary Waters, under the headline "Where heaven and Earth kiss."
As the article pointed out, many travelers are looking for "sacred" places in the world, and we have such a treasure in our own Boundary Waters area.
I'm very concerned for our little slice of "heaven," because corporate interests have their sights set on this amazing place, and on the nearby Lake Superior basin, for new sulfide mining, which is the most toxic polluting industry in the country.
Mining proponents are simultaneously promising that they'll somehow do it right while working to dismantle the environmental protections that are in place.
Two weeks ago, 12,000 citizen petitions opposing new sulfide mining were delivered by dogsled to the Minnesota State Capitol. I'm going to add my voice to theirs, and I hope readers will, too.
SAMANTHA CHADWICK, MINNEAPOLIS
