Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) has reintroduced the “Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act,” legislation that would permanently protect 225,504 acres of federal lands and waters within the Superior National Forest from highly hazardous sulfide-ore copper mining, including a plan by a Chilean mining company to extract critical minerals from the Superior National Forest and sell them to China for smelting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conversely, Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), who represents northeastern Minnesota, has introduced a bill that would reinstate mineral leases in the Superior National Forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Boundary Waters are a national treasure that must be protected,\u201d said McCollum. \u201cThe Boundary Waters\u2019 1.1 million acres of interconnected lands and streams are an abundant source of fresh water, so clean you could literally drink it. Allowing these waters to be permanently poisoned by toxic sulfide ore run-off would be a devastating tragedy for our nation. The Boundary Waters\u2019 abundant wildlife, diverse ecosystem, serene quiet, and constellation-filled nighttime skies are a source of rejuvenation and adventure for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who\u2019ve made it our nation\u2019s most visited wilderness area. We cannot allow this natural sanctuary to be ruined by a Chilean mining company that has an abysmal record on similar mining projects. Some places are simply too precious to mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Biden administration\u2019s mineral withdrawal in the Superior National Forest two years ago was a direct attack on our way of life in northern Minnesota and threatened our nation\u2019s strategic national security,” Stauber said. “Thankfully, with Donald Trump back in the White House and Republicans in control of both Chambers of Congress, we are well positioned to reverse the damage done by President Biden and turn Minnesota into a critical mineral powerhouse. All options are on the table to overturn this mineral withdrawal, including the Superior National Forest Restoration Act, which would also reinstate mineral leases in the area and ensure timely reviews of Mine Plans of Operation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Superior National Forest is a national forest system in the Arrowhead region of Northern Minnesota along the U.S.-Canadian border. The Superior National Forest comprises nearly 4,000,000 acres of crystal-clear waters, biodiverse forests and historic portages that have been in use for centuries. It borders Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) has reintroduced the “Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act,” legislation that would permanently protect 225,504 acres of federal lands and waters within the Superior National Forest from highly hazardous sulfide-ore copper mining, including a plan by a Chilean mining company to extract critical minerals from the Superior National Forest and sell them to China…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[495,12],"tags":[3593,3594,2279],"coauthors":[1644],"class_list":["post-9524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news","category-the-headlines","tag-biden-administration","tag-boundary-waters-wilderness-protection-and-pollution-prevention-act","tag-copper-mining"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t