Victory in Congress & emerging threats to mining ban
This month has been a whirlwind in the fight to protect the Boundary Waters — and thanks to intense advocacy from Wilderness defenders across the country, we’re celebrating a critical victory this week: an incredibly dangerous anti-Boundary Waters provision (Section 80131) was removed from the federal Reconciliation Bill!
But just as we were celebrating, Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior announced in a Tweet that they will be overturning the hard-won 20-year mining ban in the watershed of the Boundary Waters.
We can win 100 times, but we can only lose the Boundary Waters once.
Moments like this show why we can’t let up—we need to defend the Boundary Waters every step of the way. Learn more about these two important updates below:
Victory - Removing language in the Reconciliation Bill also called the “Big Beautiful Bill:”
This week, an incredibly dangerous provision (Section 80131) was removed from the U.S. Reconciliation Bill via resolution. This provision would have opened the door to sulfide-ore copper mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness—America’s most visited Wilderness and a place that millions cherish.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota, a longtime defender of the Boundary Waters, said in a statement:
“Today marks a victory in our fight to protect the Boundary Waters. Buried deep in President Trump and Republicans' Big Beautiful Bill was a provision that gave a foreign mining company full permission to build a copper-nickel sulfide mine right on the doorstep of the Boundary Waters. I vowed to do everything in my power to protect this precious place. Today, I am relieved to announce that we were successful in forcing Republicans to drop this language attacking the Boundary Waters from the bill."
The now-removed provision would have opened the door to toxic copper mining by:
- stripping federal protections from the Boundary Waters watershed
- handing mining giant Antofagasta irrevocable leases
- eliminating any opportunity for public challenge or judicial review.
Its inclusion would have been disastrous for the Boundary Waters, for public lands, and for the democratic processes meant to safeguard them.
Read more:
The Minnesota Star Tribune: Provision for mining near Boundary Waters nixed from federal budget bill
Minnesota Public Radio News: Provision to allow for mining near the Boundary Waters stripped from budget bill | MPR News
MinnPost: Mining provisions environmentalists say threaten Boundary Waters scrubbed from 'big, beautiful' bill
Outdoor Life: Boundary Waters to Be Pulled off the Chopping Block in Budget Bill
The Tweet - Overturning the Mining Ban:
Shortly after we began celebrating the removal of harmful language from the federal budget bill, Agriculture Secretary Rollins and Interior Secretary Burgum announced they will overturn the Superior National Forest mineral withdrawal—the mining ban that protects 225,504 acres in the Boundary Waters watershed and next to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
.@SecretaryBurgum and I have been working together to unleash American Energy and today we are taking another step to ensure we are getting back in the mining and energy development game.
Today, @USDA is proud to announce that we are initiating the process to cancel the mineral…— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) June 11, 2025
The Secretaries claim they recently gathered “extensive public input” to make this decision. But in reality, the robust analysis completed by the U.S Forest Service in 2022 included 675,000 public comments, over 98% of which favored protecting the Boundary Waters from copper mining. Further, the U.S Forest Service itself, which has consent rights to leasing in the Superior National Forest, reaffirmed its denial of consent to copper-nickel mining in the Boundary Waters headwaters as recently as December 2024.
Minnesotans deserve a real process where they can be heard. Polling shows broad support for protecting the Boundary Waters. Fabrizio Ward, President Trump’s polling firm, found that 70% of Minnesotans want permanent protections for the Boundary Waters.
This is a critical moment for America’s favorite Wilderness. Thank you for standing with us.
Read more:
Minnesota Public Radio News: Trump administration says it will move to allow mining near Boundary Waters, after Congress pulls back