Right now, Minnesota, its people, lands and waters are on the frontlines for protections for both people and the planet.

We recognize today’s nationwide protest and the call to defend human rights, dignity and the right to peacefully speak out. We stand with all communities facing uncertainty and fear, and especially for the people we lost for engaging in their right to peaceful assembly. We honor the resilience of Minnesotans and all individuals speaking out at this time.

At Tellus, protecting the environment is core to who we are. That’s why we also need to talk about what else happened in Minnesota last week: the U.S. House passed a resolution that would undo the 2023 protections that keep toxic copper mining out of the Boundary Waters watershed. In the coming days, this will move to the U.S. Senate for a vote. If it passes, it reopens the door to mining in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters, putting interconnected lakes and waters downstream at risk. What happens next goes far beyond one place. It sets a precedent for how public lands protections can be rolled back nationwide and it will shape the future of the communities and outdoor economies that depend on clean water.

If these issues are important to you, take 5 minutes to take action today:

1. For people: Contact your U.S. senators in support of civil rights and accountability.
   https://action.aclu.org
2. For the planet: call or write your U.S. Senators to protect the Boundary Waters and ask them to vote NO… Start here: Learn more at The Conservation Alliance’s Boundary Waters Action Center. https://www.savetheboundarywaters.org/action-center

More context on why this place matters:
https://conservationalliance.com/grants/protecting-the-boundary-waters/

Want to see what’s at stake on the ground? Watch this YouTube post by Alex Horner walking the area to be impacted: https://youtu.be/pV9EzL_TzLA?si=rR_skkrrmyG9ZiwO