Biden administration’s 20-year mining ban near Boundary Waters draws mixed reactions

The Biden administration’s decision to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from mining is drawing mixed reactions across Minnesota.

The order closes over 350 square miles of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Northern Minnesota to mining for two decades.

Supporters are calling this a massive win for the environment, while one critic believes it’s damaging for Minnesota’s mining industry. But the Biden administration ultimately decided the Boundary Waters are worthy of these special protections.

“Everyone should feel really pleased that we can now protect this area from potential mining for the next 20 years,” said Tom Tidwell, former chief of the U.S Forest Service.

Supporters of the decision are calling it a locally led initiative.

“We’re grateful for the thousands of Minnesotans who made their voices heard and said no way to toxic mining,” said Allison Flint, senior legal director of the Wilderness Society.

This proposal was first approved in 2016 under President Barack Obama, was reversed by President Donald Trump and is now back in place under President Joe Biden.

“I never thought that any administration would ban mining on the Iron Range, but it has now happened,” said Congressman Pete Stauber, from Minnesota’s 8th District.

Stauber, a Republican, is calling the move “an attack on our way of life”.

“We just had the Department of Defense say we cannot rely on foreign nations for minerals anymore and they go ahead and put this ban in,” Stauber said.

This decision would impact Twin Metals Minnesota, which is proposing to build an underground copper-nickel mine in the area near Ely.

“Twin Metals Minnesota is deeply disappointed and stunned that the federal government has chosen to enact a 20-year moratorium on mining across a quarter million acres of land in northeast Minnesota,” the company said in a statement. “This region sits on top of one of the world’s largest deposits of critical minerals that are vital in meeting our nation’s goals to transition to a clean energy future, to create American jobs, to strengthen our national security and to bolster domestic supply chains. We believe our project plays a critical role in addressing all of these priorities, and we remain committed to enforcing Twin Metals’ rights.”

Others disagree and say it’s just a matter of time before a major spill.

“It’s important that as a nation, we look at where we need mines, but at the same time we choose those less risky places,” Tidwell said.

The Department of the Interior has the authority to enforce this for a maximum time period of 20 years; only Congress can legislate a permanent withdrawal.