On January 21st, 2025, Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) introduced H.R. 588, The Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act.

Rep. McCollum’s bill would create permanent protection for the Boundary Waters from any future sulfide-ore copper mining mineral leasing in the Rainy River Watershed of the Superior National Forest while exempting sand, gravel, granite, iron ore, and taconite mining. The bill would also allow continued use of the Superior National Forest for ongoing mining and logging operations. These are critical distinctions for the Iron Range of Northern Minnesota.

H.R. 588 is the crucial final piece of legislative protection for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and would permanently withdraw 225,504 acres in the Superior National Forest from copper-nickel mining development. By law, federal agencies can only withdraw leases for up to 20 years, which the former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland achieved with a 20-year mining moratorium announced in January of 2023.