Conservation vs. copper: Minnesota town debates its future with a mine
This story was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center.
Becky Rom grew up in a family of well-known environmental advocates who ran an outfitting company in this tiny town on the edge of the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) in northern Minnesota. She led wilderness trips from a young age and received national attention on television shows and in magazines as the “girl guide.”
In seventh grade, she famously defended the preservation of the BWCA in a public debate before 150 of her classmates. All but one – her boyfriend – voted against her. Today, nearly 60 years later, Ms. Rom is still championing the safeguarding of the wilderness area, and her entreaties are still being rejected by locals.
Which is why at an Ely City Council meeting in early March she appears to be the most reviled person in the room. Once again, she has turned the topic to Twin Metals, a proposed billion-dollar mining project to be located a few miles away from the BWCA. Ms. Rom fiercely opposes it. Most of the people in the room – many of the people in town – support it. No one wants to hear from Ms. Rom, including the mayor, Chuck Novak, who nevertheless bangs his gavel dutifully and warns the growling crowd to quiet down. The diminutive Ms. Rom, who has forded raging rivers and survived weekslong treks through the Alaska bush, remains unfazed.
With her forceful trial lawyer’s voice, she urges town leaders to denounce attacks on business owners who voice opposition to Twin Metals, the massive mining project that would tap into one of the largest undeveloped copper, nickel, and cobalt reserves in the world. Businesspeople who have spoken out against the mine have faced repercussions. Earlier this year, after the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe echoed concerns that Twin Metals would pollute the Boundary Waters, the mayor called on organizations to stop hosting events at a Native American casino.
On this night, Ely’s elected leaders unanimously defend the mayor’s actions, cheered on by the crowd. The unsubtle subtext is that anyone against Twin Metals is against “our way
Bygone boomtownEly NativePolitical pushback“Amenity migrant”