1. United States
2. Colo.
3. Letter

I urge you to oppose HJR140, which would nullify Public Land Order No. 7917 and reopen federal lands in Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties, Minnesota to mineral entry and leasing. This resolution threatens irreversible environmental damage to interconnected ecosystems that have been protected since the Bureau of Land Management established this withdrawal on January 31, 2023. The affected federal lands are critical to watershed protection for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, one of our nation's most pristine natural areas. Mining operations in these counties would create permanent risks to water quality through acid mine drainage, heavy metal contamination, and disruption of hydrological systems. Once these ecosystems are poisoned, restoration becomes impossible or prohibitively expensive, leaving future generations to bear the consequences of decisions made today. HJR140 uses the Congressional Review Act to prevent the Bureau of Land Management from reissuing substantially similar protections without explicit congressional authorization. This constraint eliminates the agency's ability to respond to conservation needs through adaptive land management, even as scientific understanding of ecosystem vulnerabilities evolves. The resolution prioritizes short-term resource extraction over long-term environmental stewardship. The interconnected nature of these ecosystems means damage extends far beyond mine sites themselves. Contaminated groundwater flows into surface waters, affecting fish populations, wildlife habitat, and drinking water sources for communities downstream. Tribal nations with cultural and subsistence ties to these lands face threats to resources that have sustained their communities for generations. I ask you to vote against HJR140 and support maintaining the land withdrawal established under Public Land Order No. 7917. Protecting these federal lands from mining preserves irreplaceable wilderness, safeguards water quality for current and future generations, and respects the ecological integrity of systems that cannot be restored once destroyed. Some places are too valuable to sacrifice for extractive industries.