REGIONAL— A new poll of Minnesotans finds overwhelming support for protection of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, including support for a state ban on sulfide-based mining within the watershed of the wilderness.
The poll found that fully 60 percent of Minnesotans have visited the Boundary Waters and it is viewed favorably by nearly all Minnesotans across the state. Eighty-six percent of Minnesotans indicated a positive view of the Boundary Waters, with 67 percent expressing a very favorable view.
That support appears to translate into a desire to protect the 1.1-million-acre wilderness from sulfide-based mining, with 68 percent of Minnesotans, across the political spectrum, agreeing that protecting the Boundary Waters from sulfide-based mine pollution should be a very important priority for elected officials in the state.
A total of 57 percent of those polled indicated they oppose copper-nickel mining in the watershed of the BWCAW, with only 23 percent expressing support. But the poll finds that Minnesotans are highly supportive of mining in general and even 53 percent of those asked indicated support for sulfide-based copper-nickel mining in other parts of the state. That indicates that Minnesotans are distinguishing their support for copper-nickel mining based on the location and the resources threatened by such mining activity— and that activity that threatens the Boundary Waters is viewed highly negatively.
When asked if they favored establishing permanent state-level protections for public lands within the BWCAW watershed, 61 percent of Minnesotans expressed support, with 40 percent indicating strong support. Just 24 percent expressed opposition to permanent protection. Fourteen percent of respondents indicated they weren’t sure.
The survey also oversampled in state legislative districts considered battlegrounds, and it found that, in those areas, 57 percent supported permanent protection while 17 opposed it.
“There is a strong appetite among voters to take more concrete steps at the state level to protect the Boundary Waters,” concludes the pollsters. “There is also political upside for elected officials to do so.”
The findings are based on phone surveys conducted in Minnesota by Impact Research back in August. Impact Research is aligned with the Democratic Party, but their findings are consistent with similar polling conducted by GOP-aligned FabrizioWard in 2018. Both polls were commissioned by the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, which is seeking to enact permanent protection from sulfide-based mining within the Upper Rainy River watershed, which flows into the BWCAW.