Readers Write: Wolves, mining near the BWCA, skiing, the SAVE Act, debt

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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It’s encouraging to read about how Minnesotans are successfully coexisting with wolves, but that coverage must also include all the relevant information (“Wolf conflicts down in Minnesota after 2024 spike,” Feb. 10). When noting that an Orr cattle rancher had “struggled with wolves for years,” the story should have added that the same rancher didn’t have a single wolf conflict after researchers, state and federal agencies and nonprofit groups provided him with good fencing. This tracks with a growing body of research demonstrating that these nonlethal deterrents are the best way to reduce the already low number of conflicts that occur in wolf range.

Demands for delisting and for the cruel trophy hunting and recreational trapping of wolves are not based on science. Research finds that killing wolves has no effect in the long term on populations of deer, elk and moose and reaffirms that weather, disease and habitat loss all play a much greater role in regulating population sizes. As top carnivores, wolves do not need their numbers artificially reduced through recreational killing, as they are naturally regulated by prey and habitat availability and their own territorial and social nature. Polls also find that Minnesotans support wolf recovery and oppose their reckless killing for trophies or sport.

It’s important for Minnesotans to be fully informed of these facts when talking with the federal and state lawmakers whose decisions are so consequential for our treasured wolves.

Steven Pope, St. Paul

Many concerned and commonsense voices have expressed warnings of environmental destruction if copper mining ever takes place in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota (“The House betrayed the BWCA. Will the Senate do the same?” Strib Voices, Feb. 10). Others counter this assertion with the promise of good-paying jobs and a boost in the area’s economy.

Here are three observations that pertain to this issue that don’t get much attention:

Keep in mind that minerals in the ground will last forever. They won’t rot. They won’t burn. So unless there’s a national urgency to mine the valuable copper, and until American investors are willing to jump the many hurdles to make any mine a reality, let’s just save all our precious minerals as an investment for future generations.

Joseph Gnoza, Prior Lake

I paid a visit to Theodore Wirth Regional Park recently to go cross-country skiing. I was welcomed by a beautiful new Trailhead facility. While there I began to wax nostalgic of my days there as a youth, learning how to ski, just over a half a century ago, while a student at Minneapolis Central High School. It seems that the sport has transformed from a relatively simple, affordable and all natural sport to something almost unrecognizable from the days of my youth.

Let’s start with the skis and poles. Back in the day we had wooden skis that were beautifully stained and considerably wider than the narrow, brightly colored fiberglass skis. We used to have to torch in smelly pine tar to prepare the wooden skis prior to waxing. Not only are the skis narrower, many are shorter, used for skate skiing on highly groomed trails.

There were no corduroy knickers and knee-high wool socks on the ski trails. The clothing has all gone to skintight Lycra and polyester. The ski boots are no longer leather, now made of some sort of plastic, with a higher cut.

Not only are the skis, boots and poles no longer made of natural materials, even the snow is artificial. With diminished snow falls and warming temperatures places like Theodore Wirth have begun to make snow as soon as temperatures allow. Understandably, this also requires them to charge a fee to ski. With the advent of skate skiing, in addition to classic skiing, many people now purchase two separate sets of skis, boots and poles. So the once reasonably affordable sport of cross-country skiing has become considerably more expensive.

What saddens me most is the natural vibe of skiing on wooden skis, bamboo poles, cotton and wool clothing on natural snow has been transformed into artificial skis, boots, poles and clothing on man-made snow. Certainly the new clothing, skis and equipment have made the sport faster, but perhaps faster isn’t always better?

Daniel Johnson, Crystal

Congress has revived, and the House has passed, a bill that requires all eligible voters to provide citizenship documentation to register to vote. Sound simple? It isn’t. Especially for married women.

Given that only about 55% of Minnesotans have a passport, that leaves nearly half the population, mostly those with annual incomes under $50,000, to dredge up their birth certificates. And if you’ve changed your name, like 85% of married women, you’ll have to bring along your marriage certificate as well.

In addition to women, the SAVE Act red tape would disenfranchise people with mobility challenges, including seniors and voters in rural communities.

The House has already passed the SAVE Act. Only the Senate can stop this effort to disrupt the 2026 midterm elections. Learn more and take action: lwvmn.org/save-act.

Rebecca Thoman, Minneapolis

The writer is president of the League of Women Voters Minneapolis.

Ignoring his obvious motivation, I am in agreement with the concept. But let’s be real about the net value of this asset when matched up with those newborns’ share of the added U.S. debt that just Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act has saddled them with. Per the government’s own analysis, that adds $4.1 trillion over the next 10 years, which works out to over $12,000 worth of added debt for every single U.S. citizen. There will be more added debt with the increased federal budget we will see over the rest of his term, and they will be paying for the around $4 trillion in pre-COVID debt added in his first term. And a whole lot more if we end up in a war.