Reader’s View: Threats from copper-nickel mining unjustifiable.
If you didn’t already know, one of the last truly wild places in America lies just to the north of Duluth.
Another fun fact: it’s one of 12 places on Earth where you can sit for 15 minutes and not hear any human-created noise.
Let’s be honest, while it may be economically profitable for a loud minority, the silent majority of us Northlanders will be stuck dealing with the aftermath and cleanup once the mining companies pull up stakes to go plunder someone else’s backyard.​ Our waters have made great improvements since clean-water legislation in the 1970’s, but I still can’t eat more than a few walleyes a month due to the fear of mercury poisoning.
Thank the burning of coal for electricity for that.
Let’s not make our problems worse by adding more water pollution to the mix.
It’s our drinking water, after all.
I strongly support the protection of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the​ ​​Superior National Forest through the proposed "withdrawal" of lands near there from the federal mining program​.
The threats posed by copper-nickel mining are unjustifiable in watersheds​ of such​ ​sensitive and important areas​.
Matt Hansen Duluth​