1. United States
2. Minn.
3. Letter

I urge you to vote against Joint Resolution 140, which would eliminate the 20-year mining moratorium protecting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. This resolution misuses the Congressional Review Act to reverse Public Land Order 7917, issued by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in 2023, which closed more than 225,000 acres of Superior National Forest upstream from the Boundary Waters to mineral leasing. The Boundary Waters represents one of America's most significant conservation achievements. President Teddy Roosevelt established the 3.9 million-acre Superior National Forest in 1909, making it the largest expanse of wild land east of the Mississippi River. The Boundary Waters itself was designated protected wilderness in 1964 under the Wilderness Act, with a federal district judge banning mining within the protected area in 1973. This protection has endured through both Democratic and Republican administrations for over 50 years. The proposed Twin Metals Minnesota copper mine, owned by Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta, would operate just five miles from the Boundary Waters along the South Kawishiwi River, which flows directly into the wilderness. Even with the company's proposed closed-loop water system, the risk to one of America's cleanest water sources is unacceptable. Mining operations inevitably produce contamination that could permanently damage an irreplaceable ecosystem. This resolution sets a dangerous precedent. As Minnesota Senator Tina Smith noted, Republicans are using an unprecedented tool to claw back public lands protections without normal procedures. Between the Congressional Review Act's passage and 2016, Congress never passed a resolution to impede environmental safeguards. If this succeeds, corporations and their congressional allies will target other protected public lands across the country. Four direct descendants of President Teddy Roosevelt have written to senators opposing this resolution, recognizing that some natural treasures are too valuable to risk. I ask you to honor decades of bipartisan conservation by voting no on Joint Resolution 140.