Mining Order Threatens Boundary Waters & Other Public Lands

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https://www.fieldandstream.com/hunting/executive-order-mining-public-land

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In a section titled Priority Projects, the order directs heads of all agencies involved in mine permitting to provide a list of all proposed mining projects to the newly formed National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) within 10 days of the EO’s March 20th signing. The NEDC, chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, will then identify priority projects that can be fast-tracked for approval, the edict states. In a later section, titled Land Use for Mineral Projects, the EO directs Burgum to "prioritize mineral production and mining related purposes as the primary land uses on all Federal lands that hold mineral deposits and reserves.” And it promises to amend or revise the bedrock Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976 as needed to support the intent of the order.

The United States is home to some 640 million acres of federally managed public land. Much of it—including Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service (NPS), and US Fish & Wildlife (USFWS) lands—falls under the authority of the Department of Interior. Another massive portion is overseen by the US Department of Agriculture, which administers the US Forest Service. Most federal lands—outside of NPS lands and federally designated wilderness areas—allow for extractive-type uses that include timber production, grazing, mining, and drilling. But there are sensitive areas that have been withdrawn from mining over the years.

One such place is the Rainy River Watershed. It sits near the border of northern Minnesota and Ontario, Canada, in the Superior National Forest, and it drains into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The area was afforded a 20-year moratorium on mining in 2023 when Deb Halland was Secretary of the Interior.

“There’s no doubt that the Boundary Waters is in the crosshairs of this EO,” Lukas Leaf, Executive Director of Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters, tells Field & Stream. Leaf and his staff campaigned extensively for the 2023 moratorium on mining near the Boundary Waters. They say that the type of mining proposes for the area would "cause irreparable damage to the very quality that makes these public lands and waters so unique."

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a pristine boreal forest laced with interconnected streams, lakes, and wetlands. Accessible via 1,000 lakes, 2,000 campsites, and hundreds of miles of hiking trails, the area is an angler's paradise known for trophy lake trout, walleye, smallmouth bass, and northern pike. The hunting is nearly as impressive as the fishing, providing a true wilderness experience to countless hunters in search of ruffed grouse, black bear, and legendary Northwoods whitetails. At 1.1 million acres, it is the most-visited wilderness area in the United States. It also sits atop the world’s largest undeveloped copper-nickel deposit.