Oppose Joint Resolution to Repeal Boundary Waters Mining Protections

I am writing to urge you to oppose Rep. Pete Stauber's joint resolution that would repeal the 2023 mineral withdrawal protecting 225,504 acres of public land in the Superior National Forest from mining. This resolution threatens the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and sets a dangerous precedent for public lands protections nationwide. The Trump administration is using the Congressional Review Act in an unprecedented way to overturn protections that were enacted legally under the Federal Land Policy Management Act. The Department of Interior bypassed the typical Government Accountability Office review process by sending notice directly to the Senate Parliamentarian on January 6. Legal experts, including Robert Anderson, former Interior solicitor during the Biden administration, argue that Congress is well past the time limits for invoking the CRA. The Biden-era mineral withdrawal followed a comprehensive 2022 environmental review by the U.S. Forest Service, which concluded that hard-rock mining in the Rainy River watershed could pose serious environmental threats to the BWCA's water quality. During the public comment period, 98 percent of respondents supported protecting the area from copper-nickel mining. This type of mine has never been built without creating pollution, and any acid mine drainage would flow into the BWCA, Voyageurs National Park, and Canada's Quetico Provincial Park. The economic case for this mine is weak. While Twin Metals claims 750 jobs would be created, a Harvard economic study found the mine would likely create a net loss in jobs over 20 years due to lost tourism and recreation, resulting in a boom-bust cycle. The BWCA currently generates $78 million in economic output and 1,100 jobs annually, serving more than 150,000 paddlers, anglers, and hunters each year. This resolution would grant mining leases to Twin Metals, a company owned by Chilean corporation Antofagasta, while preventing future administrations from enacting similar protections due to the CRA's "substantially similar" provision. I urge you to stand with the 98 percent of public commenters and protect America's most popular wilderness area.