Dear John ,

I'm writing you with breaking news about the beloved Birch Lake, a treasured recreational lake on the edge of the Boundary Waters. Yesterday, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) officially added this cherished lake to their draft impaired waters list. This means that the state recognized our tireless water quality monitoring work, which shed light on a popular Boundary Waters-edge lake whose ongoing pollution had been ignored – until now.

For over a decade, I led expeditions on canoes and in dogsleds in and around the Boundary Waters. Today, I lead the water quality research program at Save the Boundary Waters. We started our program to recognize Birch Lake as officially impaired, and the fact that the MPCA added it to their impaired waters list yesterday was a significant step in the process of protecting the Boundary Waters Wilderness permanently from toxic mining because it makes it more difficult for dangerous mining projects to be permitted in the future. Can you chip in today to help support our water quality program?  

Our water quality monitoring program got us to this moment - approximately 90% of the water quality data for Birch Lake was collected by our team. This year, We've monitored water quality at over 90 sites in Birch Lake on over 44 sampling days - from freezing to muggy temperatures!

A robust collection of multi-year water quality data is critical to protecting the Boundary Waters forever. Save the Boundary Waters is a small but mighty group doing professional-level scientific research. The quality has been vouched for by the MPCA and expert scientists, but this is just the beginning of our scientific research. And we can’t do this alone.

As a nonprofit conducting research in a rural area, our monitoring locations are remote and difficult to access. Our team faces challenges, including expensive lab fees and equipment maintenance. As we enter our sixth season, we need equipment upgrades and additional resources to continue pursuing high-quality science. Can you chip in to help support our water quality program? Donate now, and your gift will be doubled. 

Can you help fund this important work? Join me today in protecting Birch Lake and safeguarding the Boundary Waters for future generations with a matched gift until MIDNIGHT tomorrow.