WASHINGTON, D.C. — Legislation introduced by Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) threatens wildlife habitat, clean drinking water, and abundant recreation opportunities in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Using the Congressional Review Act to allow copper mining near the pristine watershed will allow toxic sulfuric acid to pollute habitat that is home to moose, bear, otters, lynx, wolves, and hundreds of species of birds.

“The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is the most visited wilderness area in the nation and for good reason: It is a magnificent landscape that provides outstanding habitat for wildlife, endless opportunities for recreation, and an economic engine that supports 17,000 jobs,” said Mike Saccone, vice president for communications at the National Wildlife Federation. “Using the Congressional Review Act to open the door to sulfide-ore mining in the headwaters of the ‘crown jewel of Up North’ is an affront to the diverse local stakeholders — including hunters, anglers, and small business owners — who had advocated for watershed safeguards for decades.”

“Using the Congressional Review act to overturn the 20-year mineral withdrawal on lands that carry water into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a shortsighted decision with potentially devastating long-term consequences to clean water, wildlife, local communities, and all Americans who value wilderness and public lands,” said Brad Gausman, executive director of Minnesota Wildlife Federation. “Northeast Minnesota and its Iron Range communities have a long, proud tradition of mining that continues to this day. Minnesota’s mining community played a critical role in the nation's defense and dynamic growth over the last 200 years. Yet this proposed mine — a sulfide mining operation that turns bedrock into a liquid slurry to extract trace minerals that will be sold around the world for the profit of its Chilean owners — is simply wrong for the Boundary Waters, Minnesota, and America. Not this mine, not this place.”