Protecting Our Environment (1)

Have you ever wondered what would happen if our lakes and streams were destroyed? Today, in northern Minnesota, we can enjoy the fact that our lakes are considered pristine, and safe for recreation and aquatic life.  Our water is worth protecting, not only for the resource it is, but for the economic prosperity it brings to our region. We are a tourist-based economy: the economic impact of tourism in Cass County in 2024 was $228.5 million. Without the million-plus visitors who shop, fish and visit the county, we’d wither up pretty fast.

Nevertheless, some Cass County residents point to troubling signs that we should pay attention to.  The environment is not a passive object. We can only drink clean water, breathe air, and grow crops because the ecosystem around us recycles nutrients, regulates greenhouse gases, and purifies our water. 

Our ecosystem takes care of us, but only as long as we take care of it.

Pollution doesn’t care about property lines.

Poorly managed agriculture, mining, industrial discharge, sewage effluent, and road salt all pollute the water. Cass County’s six watersheds connect all water, both above and below ground, so anyone polluting their land also pollutes their neighbors’ land and beyond.

Sediment helps to purify the water as it passes through the watershed, but excess pollutants are carried to our rivers, lakes, community and private wells. 

Common pollutants like nitrate and chloride can cause illness including “blue baby syndrome” and death in infants, thyroid and other cancers, and neurological problems. Mike Tauber, member of the MN Well Owners Organization, echoes studies showing that Nebraska’s high rates of birth defects and Iowa’s high rates of cancer are likely due to the concentration of agricultural chemicals used there. He says, “if we don’t take care of our water, we could be next.”

About 45-70 percent of Cass County residents rely on private, household wells as their source of drinking water in their homes. While community water systems are tested regularly for a variety of contaminants, only newly-constructed private wells are required to be tested for contaminants in Minnesota.  According to the Minnesota Department of Health, about 40 percent of the shallow wells (less than 30 feet deep) in the central region have higher nitrate concentrations than the EPA allows for drinking water. Testing your well water annually for coliform bacteria and nitrates is considered a good practice. 

Mining should benefit Minnesotans.

Mining that benefits local communities and protects the environment is an important part of Minnesota’s economy, however, the proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel mine near the Boundary Waters has been determined by impartial experts to be unsafe. 

So why is it going forward? While the Twin Metals mining brand is based in Minnesota, it’s a subsidiary of Antofagasta, part of the largest business empire in Chile owned by billionaire Andrónico Luksic. This Chilean company spent over a million dollars influencing American elections with federal lobbies in 2022.

Antofagasta has a dismal track record of environmental destruction and human rights violations, facing and skirting multiple lawsuits for destroying villages’ water sources, dumping chemicals illegally, failing to meet environmental standards, and more. 

Donald Trump and Pete Stauber say this mine will bring prosperity to America, but fail to highlight we’d have to send all of the raw materials to Asia for processing because we don’t have the capability in the states. And then we’d have to buy the metal back with Trump’s tariffs applied.

Should we expose Minnesotans to danger through the watershed and air so we can funnel our money to foreign billionaires and economies? Heavy metals are found in blood, urine, hair, and breast milk for decades after copper, nickel, and cobalt mining ceases, causing a slew of illnesses.

Protecting our home 

A local forestry management expert says, “public lands protect us from ourselves,” and reminds us that “it’s not ‘government land,’ it’s YOUR land!” Cass County generates roughly $20 million annually through carefully managed timber harvesting on County Trust Land while managing forest health.

Protected forests, wetlands, and shorelines slow runoff and erosion, purify the water, protect against wildfires, and shelter the wildlife that balance our ecosystem. Trump is selling public lands nationally while reducing environmental regulations, leaving the country vulnerable to unscrupulous developers. 

You can help Cass County protect our environment by consulting with conservation experts to manage your property, enrolling eligible land in conservation easements, planting native shoreline buffers, or by creating rain gardens. Visit https://www.cassswcdmn.gov/ for more information. 

Jim Etzel, a local regenerative farming expert, shares “if we work with nature instead of against it, we don’t have to bring in soil from somewhere else. We can build soil.” Cass Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) programs offer technical and financial assistance for regenerative farming practices like no-till and crop/livestock rotation, which improve soil health and reduce the need and cost of fertilizer and irrigation.

The Anishinaabe People have stewarded this land for generations, and the Cass SWCD, the Minnesota DNR, and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe’s Division of Resource Management work together on watershed restoration, land management, and community education.

We must elect legislators who support programs that keep our water, soil, and public lands safe, make clean energy easily accessible, listen to experts, keep costs down, and won’t ignore issues that are hurting their constituents’ health and homes. Ask candidates where they stand.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if our lakes and streams were destroyed? Today, in northern Minnesota, we can enjoy the fact that our lakes are considered pristine, and safe for recreation and aquatic life.  Our water is worth protecting, not only for the resource it is, but for the economic prosperity it brings to our region. We are a tourist-based economy: the economic impact of tourism in Cass County in 2024 was $228.5 million. Without the million-plus visitors who shop, fish and visit the county, we’d wither up pretty fast.

Nevertheless, some Cass County residents point to troubling signs that we should pay attention to.  The environment is not a passive object. We can only drink clean water, breathe air, and grow crops because the ecosystem around us recycles nutrients, regulates greenhouse gases, and purifies our water. 

Our ecosystem takes care of us, but only as long as we take care of it.

Pollution doesn’t care about property lines.

Poorly managed agriculture, mining, industrial discharge, sewage effluent, and road salt all pollute the water. Cass County’s six watersheds connect all water, both above and below ground, so anyone polluting their land also pollutes their neighbors’ land and beyond.

Sediment helps to purify the water as it passes through the watershed, but excess pollutants are carried to our rivers, lakes, community and private wells. 

Common pollutants like nitrate and chloride can cause illness including “blue baby syndrome” and death in infants, thyroid and other cancers, and neurological problems. Mike Tauber, member of the MN Well Owners Organization, echoes studies showing that Nebraska’s high rates of birth defects and Iowa’s high rates of cancer are likely due to the concentration of agricultural chemicals used there. He says, “if we don’t take care of our water, we could be next.”

About 45-70 percent of Cass County residents rely on private, household wells as their source of drinking water in their homes. While community water systems are tested regularly for a variety of contaminants, only newly-constructed private wells are required to be tested for contaminants in Minnesota.  According to the Minnesota Department of Health, about 40 percent of the shallow wells (less than 30 feet deep) in the central region have higher nitrate concentrations than the EPA allows for drinking water. Testing your well water annually for coliform bacteria and nitrates is considered a good practice. 

Mining should benefit Minnesotans.

Mining that benefits local communities and protects the environment is an important part of Minnesota’s economy, however, the proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel mine near the Boundary Waters has been determined by impartial experts to be unsafe. 

So why is it going forward? While the Twin Metals mining brand is based in Minnesota, it’s a subsidiary of Antofagasta, part of the largest business empire in Chile owned by billionaire Andrónico Luksic. This Chilean company spent over a million dollars influencing American elections with federal lobbies in 2022.

Antofagasta has a dismal track record of environmental destruction and human rights violations, facing and skirting multiple lawsuits for destroying villages’ water sources, dumping chemicals illegally, failing to meet environmental standards, and more. 

Donald Trump and Pete Stauber say this mine will bring prosperity to America, but fail to highlight we’d have to send all of the raw materials to Asia for processing because we don’t have the capability in the states. And then we’d have to buy the metal back with Trump’s tariffs applied.

Should we expose Minnesotans to danger through the watershed and air so we can funnel our money to foreign billionaires and economies? Heavy metals are found in blood, urine, hair, and breast milk for decades after copper, nickel, and cobalt mining ceases, causing a slew of illnesses.

Protecting our home 

A local forestry management expert says, “public lands protect us from ourselves,” and reminds us that “it’s not ‘government land,’ it’s YOUR land!” Cass County generates roughly $20 million annually through carefully managed timber harvesting on County Trust Land while managing forest health.

Protected forests, wetlands, and shorelines slow runoff and erosion, purify the water, protect against wildfires, and shelter the wildlife that balance our ecosystem. Trump is selling public lands nationally while reducing environmental regulations, leaving the country vulnerable to unscrupulous developers. 

You can help Cass County protect our environment by consulting with conservation experts to manage your property, enrolling eligible land in conservation easements, planting native shoreline buffers, or by creating rain gardens. Visit https://www.cassswcdmn.gov/ for more information. 

Jim Etzel, a local regenerative farming expert, shares “if we work with nature instead of against it, we don’t have to bring in soil from somewhere else. We can build soil.” Cass Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) programs offer technical and financial assistance for regenerative farming practices like no-till and crop/livestock rotation, which improve soil health and reduce the need and cost of fertilizer and irrigation.

The Anishinaabe People have stewarded this land for generations, and the Cass SWCD, the Minnesota DNR, and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe’s Division of Resource Management work together on watershed restoration, land management, and community education.

We must elect legislators who support programs that keep our water, soil, and public lands safe, make clean energy easily accessible, listen to experts, keep costs down, and won’t ignore issues that are hurting their constituents’ health and homes. Ask candidates where they stand.

Visit CassCoDFL.org for more resources.

By Marty Cook, Walker, MN