"I would argue that [U.S. Rep. Pete] Stauber hasn’t done enough to explore sustainable economic opportunities that protect clean water, something that a majority of Minnesotans value," Sandy Wolfe Wood writes. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber recently introduced a bill to lift heavy-metal mining restrictions in areas adjacent to the BWCA, asserting that the Iron Range can’t survive economically without greenlighting big corporations like Chilean-owned Twin Metals, and its parent company Antofagasta. Antofagasta has a poor environmental record and has never demonstrated that it can mine without damaging a fragile water environment, which the Boundary Waters watershed undoubtedly is.

I would argue that Stauber hasn’t done enough to explore sustainable economic opportunities that protect clean water, something that a majority of Minnesotans value. So, let me shine a light on one example of innovative thinking that will help anchor the tourism industry along the Echo Trail north of Ely.

About 20 miles up the Echo Trail is Big Lake, a Boundary Waters entry point and fishing lake that supports two lodges and several cabins scattered along its edges. My husband and I own one of those cabins, and because of its remote location, we access our cabin by canoe or cross-country skis year-round.

One of the lodges on the lake, Whispering Pines, was sold a few years ago, and those of us who knew and liked the former owners were nervous about what a change in ownership might bring. Across Minnesota, lodges like Whispering Pines that were built in the 1920s have been struggling to survive as they deal with high maintenance costs and, consequently, there has been a 30% drop in the number of resorts operating in Minnesota over the last 30 years.

During a casual conversation with Dan Houle, the new owner, and Denise Myers, who operates the lodge, they reassured us their goal was to preserve Whispering Pines for future generations in honor of its original owner, Marie Sarkipeto Ericson, a devoted outdoorswoman and one of the first female guides in the Superior National Forest.

But they faced a challenge: the lack of electricity. Electricity had never come this far up the Echo Trail, and Whispering Pines relied on a noisy diesel-powered generator for power. Not only did the diesel leave a residual smell, but the generator’s constant drone intruded on the lodge’s peaceful setting, and running the generator was an expensive way to produce electricity, so Whispering Pines simply couldn’t afford to operate year-round.

To our surprise, Houle said he had already formulated a plan:

“The project started the day I received my fuel bill for diesel burned during the first 30 days — it was staggering in comparison to a standard electric bill. My first thoughts were solar, and also a battery bank to charge.”

Houle and Myers started researching solar energy and found grants available through the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s state Competitiveness Fund Matching Funds Program, as well as a federal USDA Rural Energy for America Program grant. Together these grants helped Whispering Pines put in a 38-kilowatt solar system (72 panels) with a battery storage capacity of 140 kilowatt hours. Now, it is quiet at the lodge, except for the wind, the loons and the wolf calls.

The payback goes beyond the cost of diesel and reduced noise levels. It’s found in the quality of the air. According to Houle, Whispering Pines is having an impact on CO₂ emissions:

“To stay open year-round using a generator, we would produce approximately 98.5 tons of CO₂. With our solar system, we’re confident we are going to reduce that number by 80%, maybe more … a saving for the earth of about 78 tons per year.”

Whispering Pines now produces enough energy so it is effectively its own power grid, and (selfishly) we’re hoping Houle and Myers will install an EV charging station — the first on the Echo Trail — and we promise to be their first customer.

Their three-year project is a win-win for the lodge, for the wilderness in which it is situated, and for the economy along the Echo Trail, which will ultimately pay dividends for Ely as outdoor tourism continues to thrive.

Sandy Wolfe Wood, of Stillwater, is a graphic designer.