Urgent Action on BWCA
Time is running out to save the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) and Voyageurs National Park from being sold out to industry.
The House of Representatives voted January 21 to strike down a 20-year ban on mining in the watersheds of both the Boundary Waters and Voyageurs National Park. (House Joint Resolution 140). That opens up 225,504 acres of pristine national forest land to mining by Chilean-owned mining company. Minnesota Eighth District Congressman Pete Stauber, who consistently supports mining interests at the expense of public land, introduced the resolution in Congress.
The resolution now goes to the Senate, which must vote “no” on this measure. If it votes “yes,” that exhausts our efforts in Congress to protect these precious public lands from proposed polluting copper-sulfide mines If the Senate votes to allow the mining, protecting the Boundary Waters will rely on lawsuits and the state’s mining permitting process, both of which are even riskier bets.
Call the offices of Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith
Urge them to vote against this resolution.
Ask them to find moderate Republicans to join them.
Urge the Senate parliamentarian to rule the resolution out of order.. That doesn’t get rid of the resolution, but it raises to 60 the number of votes needed to pass it, instead of a simple majority.
PROPOSED SCRIPT
I am ______ and I live _____________. Optional: I am a member of Indivisible Twin Cities
Senator----, we need you to vote against Pete Stauber’s House Joint Resolution 140, which was recently passed by the House.
Not only that, we want you to FIGHT it by finding Republicans willing to join you in that no vote.
If there are not the votes there: ask the Senate parliamentarian to rule the resolution “out of order.” If that works, it would take 60 votes to approve it. That gives us a fightin’ chance.
Explain why this issue is important to you. Trips you take there, the legacy in Minnesota, the need to protect wilderness areas and national parks, other reasons.
Contact Information
Senator Amy Klobuchar
Phone: 202-224-3244
Phone: 612-727-5220
Email Amy - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar
Senator Tina Smith
Phone: 202-224-5641
Phone: 651-221-1016
Email: Share Your Opinion - Senator Tina Smith
Resources
Save the Boundary Waters New congressional plan to overturn Mining ban near Boundary Waters | Save the Boundary Waters
Friends of the Boundary Waters Toxic Mining near the Boundary Waters (BWCA)
Congress.Gov
Bureau of Land Management Public Land Order
