Kids for the Boundary Waters meeting with Deb Haaland, the current U.S. Secretary of the Interior virtually via Zoom

Dear John,

I started going to the Boundary Waters when I was 8 years old. My dad and my uncles had been going for quite a few years and would bring my older cousins along, so I was very eager to try it out myself. I fell in love with the Wilderness immediately.

I found out just how important my Boundary Waters experiences were when I went through cancer diagnosis and treatment in high school. Things that were essential to me were being kind of ripped away for awhile, like I couldn’t be as active as I usually was, and I had to focus on treatment instead of being a normal teenager. 

Lessons I learned in the Boundary Waters helped me navigate this new life. When I had an MRI scan I would close my eyes and think of laying on a sunny rock in the Boundary Waters, listening to water lapping the shore. Memories of carrying a canoe across portages reminded me how strong I am.

I joined Kids for the Boundary Waters, a youth-led project supported by Save the Boundary Waters, and I went on three fly-in trips to Washington D.C. with kids from across the country to meet directly with decision makers about the Boundary Waters. I know we really make a difference. One Congressperson called Kids for the Boundary Waters the most effective lobbying group in D.C.!

Just last month, a huge group of Kids for the Boundary Waters met (virtually via Zoom) with Deb Haaland, the current U.S. Secretary of the Interior! Her agency has the power to ban copper mining on federal public lands around the Boundary Waters - and has recently taken steps to start that very process!  

It is so clear to me: the Boundary Waters needs to be protected for future generations. Consider the young people of the world and make a matched donation for Give to the Max Day today.

Thank you for fighting for this special wild place and elevating the voices of young people like me,

Julie Ruelle,
Kids for the Boundary Waters leader,
Sophomore at University of Notre Dame

P.S. Make a donation today to permanently protect it for future generations. Your gift will be matched today only for Give to the Max Day!

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Save the Boundary Waters
P.O. Box 625
Ely, MN 55731
United States

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