UPDATED | Senate Overturns Protections For Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Editor's note: This updates with additional reaction.

By a 50-49 vote, the U.S. Senate passed HJ Resolution 140, which would overturn the 20-year mineral withdrawal that protects the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota from copper sulfide mining operations.

“This is a betrayal of the public trust and will jeopardize the health of one of our country’s most beloved public lands,” said Leda Huta, vice president of government relations for American Rivers. “We share in the deep disappointment of millions of Americans who expect our elected leaders to protect our clean water, our abundant wildlife and access for all to unmatched outdoor recreation spaces. This is a heartbreaking moment." 

According to Environment Minnesota, copper mining generates sulfates that turn into sulfuric acid, and leaches heavy metals into the soil and water through acid mine drainage. The toxic runoff ultimately poisons the land and water surrounding a mine, making the ecosystem unlivable for wildlife. In this case, toxic runoff would likely seep into the Rainy River watershed and, further along, into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the group said.

“Around 150,000 people, including many Minnesotans, visit the Boundary Waters each year to bask in its pure waters, surrounded by majestic animal and plant life,” said Environment Minnesota's Conservation Advocate Katelynn Rolfes. “Now, we are calling on Governor (Tim) Walz and other state leaders to say ‘no’ to copper mining and protect our beloved Boundary Waters.”

The Boundary Waters covers more than 1 million acres and attracts more visitors than any other wilderness area.

U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber of Minnesota’s 8th District sponsored the resolution, which has already passed the House. It now heads to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it into law despite broad-based public support for protecting this special wilderness area.

“This anti-public lands vote is deeply disappointing,” said Ellen Montgomery, the Great Outdoors campaign director for Environment America. “People come from all over the country to enjoy the Boundary Waters. Wildlife advocates, vacationers, hunters, anglers and other voices from across the nation and the political spectrum have called on Congress to uphold existing protections for this important public land.”

Ryan Gellert, CEO of outdoor clothing giant Patagonia, said "[T]his White House continues to instruct Congress to choose mining companies and billionaires over the interest of local communities. As a result, the safeguards that protect our public lands are being systematically dismantled.”

“This decision rescinds protections for more than 225,000 acres bordering the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota—the most-visited wilderness area in the country—and opens the door for a Chilean company to build a mine that threatens watersheds, forests and communities who rely on the health of the area for their livelihoods and outdoor recreation," he added. "It also creates a precedent for using the Congressional Review Act to eradicate public lands protection and management plans. Patagonia will continue to support tribal and local communities and conservation partners in opposing this misguided decision.”

Outrage to the Senate's action even was voiced in Utah, where the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) feared the vote would be followed by congressional action via the Congressional Review Act to undo the management plan approved under the Biden administration for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Members of Utah's congressional delegation last month introduced legislation that could unravel the monument's management plan. If both chambers of Congress pass the measure by simple majority votes, the management plan will be undone, and the Bureau of Land Management will be barred from issuing another plan that is “substantially the same” in the future. The current plan sets expectations for how the monument will be managed for recreation, camping and outdoor access, collaboration with Tribal Nations, dark night skies, grazing, and other uses.

“Today is a tragic day for the Boundary Waters and all who care about stewarding public lands and wilderness. Using the Congressional Review Act to undo protections is a short-sighted mistake – whether it’s the Boundary Waters or Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument,” said Scott Braden, executive director of the alliance. “Congress should stop attacking cherished public lands.” 

In August 2023, a U.S. District Judge in Utah dismissed lawsuits brought by the state of Utah and others challenging President Joe Biden’s use of the Antiquities Act to restore the boundaries of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments. The state and other plaintiffs quickly appealed that decision to the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which held oral argument on September 26, 2024, and may issue a decision at any time.

Conservation organizations intervened on behalf of the United States to defend Biden’s restoration of the monuments, as have four tribal nations. 

According to SUWA, " Seventy-five percent of Utah voters support the President’s ability to protect public lands as national monuments. Three in four Utah voters, including a majority of Republicans, want to keep Grand Staircase-Escalante as a national monument.