The Boulder Junction Public Library presents Nick Vander Puy, author of the book Water Protectors: The HELP Campaign to Save the Penokees on Monday, August 21 at 7 pm at the Boulder Junction Community Center, 5392 Park Street.

From 2013-14, during the coldest winter of the past century, a coalition of tribal citizens, environmentalists and neighbors occupied treaty protected lands in the Penokee Hills of northern Wisconsin. Through their act of civil disobedience, the Harvest Education Learning Project, known as the HELP Camp, successfully halted a multinational mineral corporation’s plan for mountaintop removal in the Lake Superior watershed. In the years since, the camp has continued to be a powerful inspiration for grassroots activism and community resistance to environmental, economic and cultural exploitation. Drawn from firsthand, independent reporting, Water Protectors: The HELP Campaign to save the Penokees presents their story for Water Protectors everywhere.

After studying philosophy in college, Nick Vander Puy has worked in a variety of livelihoods–Teamster, Public Radio Reporter and Fishing Guide. He currently leads a seasonal life, guiding, gathering wild rice, fishing, hunting, netting and making maple sugar in northern Wisconsin. The 2nd edition of Water Protectors was published in January 2023 with additional material from Maureen Matusiwic, Barbara With, Richard Thiede, and Al Gedicks.

The program is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase and signing with the author. Refreshments will be served. For questions and further information, please call the library at 715-385-2050 or email [email protected].