1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

We have another chance to Save the Boundary Waters. Please: REMOVE SECTION 441 FROM THE FY2027 BILL. I write to ask you to oppose section 441 of the FY2027 INTERIOR & ENVIRONMENT APPROPRIATIONS BILL. The section in question would reinstate Twin Metals Mining Leases in the SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST upstream of the BOUNDARY WATERS. I strongly oppose sulfide mining near the Boundary Waters. This language must be REMOVED from the bill. I am sure you are aware of the forever-chemicals spread by Sulphide Mining. I am sure you know that the Boundary Waters BRING IN MORE INCOME annually from tourism than will be gained by mining. You know, too, that the proposed mining ventures are foreign owned. Finally: I am sure you witnessed the scale of outrage and grief when the senate, by a SINGLE vote, said yes to HJ Res 140. You work for us. Americans overwhelmingly DO NOT SUPPORT MINING IN GHE BOUNDARY WATERS. It is rape and pillage for private gain. We are the custodians of our public lands. Do you want them wrecked? Please read what Minnesota Rep Betty McCollum wrote after HJ 140 passed in the senate-- by a vote of 50 to 49. "The Boundary Waters are a national treasure, and its pristine lakes and rivers must be protected for the benefit of future generations of Americans. The Republican Majority in the U.S. Senate voted today to strip away protections for the BWCA, allowing a foreign-owned mining company and serial polluter to begin a sulfide acid mine in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters. We don’t allow mining in Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, Acadia, Glacier, or any of our nation’s revered national parks – and we shouldn’t allow it in the watershed of the Boundary Waters, either. “One hundred percent of copper mines have failed, leading to polluted waters. This case will be no different. Because of this extremely short-sighted vote, our nation’s most-visited wilderness area faces the threat of permanent toxic pollution. Why? So Antofagasta, a Chilean corporation that owns Twin Metals, can mine American copper and ship it to China to be smelted and sold on the global market. Twin Metals has been lobbying President Trump and Republicans in Congress for over ten years to remove the protections from this watershed and renew their mine plans to extract American minerals at the expense of freshwater for future generations. “The science-based evidence is overwhelming: The mineral withdrawal is the only way to protect this wilderness, which is home to some of the cleanest water in the entire world.” You have another chance to save the boundary waters now by removing section 441 from the spending bill. I am counting on you to do so.