Protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from mining

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Urgent action needed on bill to overturn 20-year mining moratorium in Boundary Waters Wilderness watershed

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness by Tony Webster

Spanning 1.1 million acres, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in northern Minnesota is the largest Wilderness east of the Rockies and north of the Everglades. With over 1,000 pristine lakes and 1,200 miles of rivers and streams, the Boundary Waters Wilderness contains some of the cleanest fresh water in the United States, and is beloved by the thousands of people who visit every year.

In spite of this, the mining industry has long eyed the national forest land surrounding the BWCAW for their toxic mining operations—which would come at great expense to the Wilderness, clean water, and wildlife.

Fortunately, in January 2023, the Biden administration issued a 20-year moratorium on sulfide-ore copper mining on 225,000 acres of Superior National Forest land in the watershed of the BWCAW as Public Land Order 7917. This reprieve was thanks in no small part to thousands of our members and supporters who spoke up to defend the Boundary Waters Wilderness.

Unfortunately, the mining industry and their supporters in Congress are working hard to reverse this protective 20-year moratorium. Some local mining supporters have even called for mining within the Boundary Waters Wilderness!

On January 12, Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN) introduced House Joint Resolution 140 that would overturn the 20-year moratorium under specious claims of the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which has never before been used for Public Land Orders. And, since the deadline for using the CRA has long since passed (Public Land Order 7917 was published in the Federal Register in 2023), Rep. Stauber published a phony notice in the Congressional Record this month in an attempt to re-start the CRA clock.

Removing Boundary Waters protections by passing H.J. Res. 140 would blatantly ignore the voices of the American people and prioritize the profits of a foreign mining company—Chilean conglomerate Antofagasta—over the interest of this nation’s citizenry and beloved Wilderness.

Your help is needed now to convince your representative to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from this mining threat!

Tell your representative to oppose H.J. Res. 140

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Photo: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness by Tony Webster

Tell your representative to oppose H.J. Res. 140

To have the biggest impact with your member of Congress, please consider adding your own personal thoughts to the letter below.

U.S. House of Representatives

Subject: Protect the Boundary Waters from mining by opposing H.J.R. 140

Message:

As your constituent, I ask that you work urgently right now to protect the 1.1 million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in northeastern Minnesota by opposing House Joint Resolution 140. The BWCAW and downstream Voyageurs National Park are currently protected by Public Land Order 7917, the 20-year Mineral Withdrawal banning copper-nickel sulfide mining on federal public lands in the headwaters of these beloved wild lands. This Mineral Withdrawal was based on the U.S. Forest Service’s comprehensive Environmental Assessment, which concluded that sulfide-ore copper mining near the BWCAW would cause irreversible harm to the ecosystem and downstream Voyageurs National Park. The analysis completed by the Forest Service in 2022 included 675,000 public comments, over 95 percent of which favored protecting the Boundary Waters and Voyageurs from sulfide-ore copper mining. On January 12, 2026, this Public Land Order was challenged under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) by House Joint Resolution 140 despite Public Land Orders never before being subject to the CRA. Instead, statutory requirements for Public Land Orders have always been dictated by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. And the deadline for using the CRA like this has long since passed, since the Public Land Order was published in the Federal Register in 2023. I ask you to rally your colleagues and secure votes against H.J. Res. 140 or any joint resolution of disapproval that would overturn this important Public Land Order. Removing Boundary Waters protections by passing H.J. Res. 140 would blatantly ignore the voices of the American people and prioritize the profits of a foreign mining company—Chilean conglomerate Antofagasta—over the interest of this nation’s citizenry and beloved Wilderness. Please vote against House Joint Resolution 140 or any similar legislation. Do not allow Chilean mining giant Antofagasta to begin its polluting mining activities and destroy the exceptional water quality and wilderness values of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Thank you for considering this important request.

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Urgent action needed on bill to overturn 20-year mining moratorium in Boundary Waters Wilderness watershed

Tell your representative to oppose H.J. Res. 140

Tell your representative to oppose H.J. Res. 140

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