1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

I urge you to vote against H.J. Res. 140 to protect the Boundary Waters from mining. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) is a pristine million-acre ecosystem contributing $17 million annually to Minnesota’s recreation economy. This resolution uses an unprecedented, retroactive expansion of the Congressional Review Act to overturn Public Land Order 7917, which was based on exhaustive science showing that sulfide-ore copper mining poses a catastrophic risk to this watershed. The proposed project by Antofagasta Plc is not an "America First" endeavor. As a foreign-owned conglomerate, it intends to process ore in state-owned smelters abroad and sell to the highest bidder, leaving Americans to manage the toxic sulfuric acid and heavy metal waste. Opening this wilderness to mining disregards the legacy of President Theodore Roosevelt and ignores the overwhelming public demand for its preservation. Please stand with the descendants of the Roosevelt family and Senator Tina Smith by voting "No" on this resolution to ensure our greatest wilderness remains protected for future generations.