Four months after Congress reversed a 20-year federal ban on mining, reopening the door to copper-nickel mining proposals like Twin Metals' project near Ely, Governor Walz signed an executive order directing the Minnesota DNR and MPCA to halt all permitting and environmental review for nonferrous mineral mining projects in the Rainy River Headwaters Watershed—home to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Now, we expect legal challenges from mining interests, and a fight in the legislature over making this ban permanent.
Over 60% of Minnesota's original wetlands—nearly 10 million acres—have been drained or filled, and extreme weather patterns are putting increased pressure on what remains. Today, despite Minnesota's no-net-loss of wetlands policy, there is evidence that wetland loss continues. To reverse this trend, Minnesota should set a state goal of restoring 1 million acres of wetlands by 2050.
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