Campaign Updates

Our work in D.C. this spring: what’s with Congress's unrelenting assault on the Boundary Waters?

Jul 11, 2024
Libby London

You may have noticed that we’ve asked you to message your U.S. Congressmembers more than usual regarding specific pieces of legislation that are bad for the Boundary Waters. These days, it appears that almost every other week, anti-Boundary Waters legislation is making its way into key areas of Congress.

Want a refresher? Here’s the rundown of the timeline of attacks against the Boundary Waters in Congress over the past few months:

stauber

April 30, 2024: The full U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed Rep. Stauber’s extreme anti-Boundary Waters bill, H.R. 3195, “Superior National Forest Restoration Act.” Now, it is in the hands of the U.S. Senate.

  • This bill would rescind the Biden Administration’s 20-year mineral withdrawal, which protects 225,504 acres of the Superior National Forest in the Boundary Waters headwaters from mining development and degradation. 52 organizations sent a letter to Congress opposing this legislation.
  • Further, this bill would also force the government to reissue canceled federal mining leases to companies like Antofagasta’s Twin Metals, renew mining prospecting permits and additional leases, and approve mine plans on an expedited timeline. This legislation, if passed, would swiftly undo years of dedicated efforts to protect this Wilderness.

Although H.R. 3195 passed out of the House, Rep. Stauber still attempted to advance his anti-BWCA agenda by tacking amendments onto “must-pass” bills:

June 10, 2024: Rep. Stauber tacked five amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act, despite these amendments having nothing to do with national defense.

  • The amendments would do a myriad of harmful things, including: Rescinding the Biden Administration’s mineral withdrawal that protects the Boundary Waters from sulfide-ore copper mining.
  • Blocking any future administration from protecting our Wilderness.
  • Fast-tracking mining proposals by shortcutting environmental protections and blocking federal laws meant to protect pristine and vulnerable places like the Boundary Waters.

June 13, 2024: The Rules Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives hosted a hearing on five amendments in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that attack Boundary Waters protections. All were proposed by U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber of Minnesota. Fortunately, only one of these five amendments moved to a vote and passed. The Senate will vote on the final bill sometime this summer.

Two weeks later, on June 27, 2024: Rep. Stauber turned his attention to a must-pass Department of Interior spending bill where he introduced two amendments to the Interior Appropriations bill: one would overturn the Biden Administration-issued mining ban in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters (Public Land Order 7917), and the second would automatically hand mining leases to Antofagasta so they can pursue their mine plan on the edge of waterways that flow into the heart of the Boundary Waters.

This bill will head to the floor for a vote to pass the House sometime this summer or early fall.

We still need you to put pressure on your U.S. Senators to make sure these destructive amendments are not included in the Senate’s version.

What’s next?

What’s next?

Since 2013, we have traveled to D.C. almost every month and consistently engaged in advocacy efforts, meeting with and educating members of the House of Representatives and Senators from across the United States. When in D.C., we aim to make the case for safeguarding this one-of-a-kind landscape, as well as to defend against the threats posed to Canoe Country by anti-Wilderness legislation.

Now, these bills are making their way to the Senate, where Save the Boundary Waters is focusing our time and energy. Please contact your Senators and make sure they say no to these irrevocably harmful pieces of anti-Boundary Waters legislation.

The relationships we cultivate with legislators, agencies, and administration offices are paramount in our ongoing quest to secure permanent protection of the Boundary Waters. Your support is pivotal.

Take action here

 

Save the Boundary Waters leads the national coalition to protect our Wilderness and our power comes from people like you. It’s up to all of us to protect this place from those who are more than willing to risk destroying it forever.

70% of Minnesotans support a ban on sulfide-ore copper mining in the Boundary Waters headwaters and these recent Congressional attacks go against the will of the people. The Boundary Waters is the most heavily visited wilderness area in the United States, attracting more than 165,000 visitors from all over the world. It is a major driver of the regional economy, supporting hundreds of businesses and thousands of jobs. A peer-reviewed independent study from Harvard University showed that protection of the Boundary Waters from a proposed Twin Metals sulfide-ore copper mine would result in dramatically more jobs and more income over a 20-year period.