Senate Vote Tests Future of Boundary Waters Protections

The U.S. Senate this week is poised to vote on a narrowly-cast resolution intended to clear a new pathway to eventually open a long-disputed copper mine close to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeast Minnesota.

There’s a lot more, though, riding on the Senate vote, and not just for a region of the American north country adored for its towering pines, and deep, clear waters.

If it’s approved and signed by President Trump, the measure could also significantly advance the president’s goal of accelerating development of coal, oil, timber, and minerals on public lands across the U.S., and seriously diminish the government’s ability to protect America’s cleanest waters, most exquisite forests, and wildest natural landscapes.

The White House wants to achieve that result, in tandem with House and Senate Republicans, by deploying the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to eliminate specific federal environmental safeguards, like the prohibition on mining near the Boundary Waters Wilderness.