HR588-119

What This Bill Does

The Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act codifies a withdrawal for approximately 225,504 acres of Federal land and waters in the Rainy River Watershed of the Superior National Forest in Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties, Minnesota, using the map attached to Public Land Order No. 7917 and the January 31, 2023 Federal Register notice. Subject to valid existing rights, the area is withdrawn from public land entry, appropriation, and disposal; mining-law location, entry, and patent; and mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing. Any land or interest within the mapped area that the United States later acquires is immediately withdrawn under the same rule. The bill preserves a narrower Forest Service pathway for removal of sand, gravel, granite, iron ore, and taconite from National Forest System lands in the mapped area if the Chief of the Forest Service determines the removal is not detrimental to water quality, air quality, and forest habitat health in the Rainy River Watershed. The map must remain available for public inspection at Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management offices.

Who Benefits and How

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness visitors benefit because the surrounding watershed receives statutory protection from new mining and mineral leasing activity. Rainy River Watershed water quality benefits because the withdrawal reduces exposure to new mineral development that could affect connected lakes and streams. Superior National Forest habitat benefits because future mineral activity is barred unless the Forest Service finds limited aggregate or ore removal is not detrimental. Tribal, recreation, tourism, and conservation interests benefit from stronger protection of the watershed adjacent to the Boundary Waters region.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Copper-nickel mining companies and mineral lease applicants bear the direct burden because new mining-law claims, mineral leasing, mineral materials leasing, and geothermal leasing are barred in the mapped area. Forest Service land managers must administer the withdrawal, keep the map available, and evaluate any allowed sand, gravel, granite, iron ore, or taconite removal. Bureau of Land Management land records staff must maintain public inspection access to the withdrawal map and reflect the withdrawal in land status records. Local mining-support businesses may lose future opportunities tied to mineral development in the withdrawn watershed.

Key Provisions

• Withdraws approximately 225,504 acres of Federal land and waters in the Rainy River Watershed of the Superior National Forest.
• Prohibits new public land entry, mining-law location, mineral leasing, mineral materials leasing, and geothermal leasing in the mapped area, subject to valid existing rights.
• Extends the withdrawal automatically to later-acquired United States land or interests inside the mapped area.
• Authorizes limited Forest Service-approved removal of sand, gravel, granite, iron ore, and taconite when not detrimental to water quality, air quality, and forest habitat health.
• Requires the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to keep the withdrawal map available for public inspection.