Legislative Threats to the Boundary Waters Stripped from Budget Bill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

June 12, 2025

Contact:

media@backcountryhunters.org

MISSOULA, Mont. — Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) is celebrating a critical victory for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) and the greater Rainy River Watershed following breaking news from Capitol Hill. The U.S. House of Representatives has removed harmful provisions from its budget reconciliation bill—measures that would have directly undermined existing protections for one of America’s most iconic backcountry landscapes.

The removed provisions included:

• Reversing the U.S. Forest Service’s 20-year mineral withdrawal near the Boundary Waters
• Reinstating expired mining leases in the watershed
• Prohibiting review of those leasing decisions

This language was stripped to comply with Senate rules, making it highly unlikely that these provisions will reappear in the final budget reconciliation bill.

“The Minnesota chapter is thrilled that this horrible attack on the Boundary Waters has been removed from the budget reconciliation bill,” said Chance Adams, chair of BHA’s Minnesota Chapter. “A huge ‘thank you’ to all members who wrote, called, and visited with their legislators. Legislators made it clear in our recent visit to Washington, D.C., that every email and phone call made a difference. Let’s keep up the fight to protect public lands.”

Renowned for its pristine waters, intact habitat, and unmatched opportunities for solitude and adventure, the BWCAW is the most visited wilderness areas in the U.S. BHA has long advocated for permanent protection against sulfide-ore copper mining that threatens the region’s watershed.

Threats Revived

Despite the legislative victory, BHA is sounding the alarm over renewed executive action that threatens to reverse those gains. Following the House announcement, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins declared the Trump administration’s intent to cancel the mineral withdrawal currently protecting the Boundary Waters.

This decision contradicts overwhelming public input. The most recent public comment period in 2023 resulted in more than 675,000 comments, with 98 percent supporting the mineral withdrawal. It also follows a series of executive and secretarial orders that laid the groundwork for reversing these critical protections.

“As this fight moves to a different arena, we need to be ‘those who are actually in the arena,’ as Theodore Roosevelt said,” Adams continued. “Giving the future of these cherished public lands and waters to a foreign mining company will be disastrous for the more than 300,000 Americans who hunt, fish, and recreate here. The Minnesota chapter of BHA looks forward to ‘being in the arena’ with all public land owners as this issue progresses.”

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers seeks to ensure North America's outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through education and work on behalf of wild public lands, waters, and wildlife. To learn more about issues important to BHA’s membership, visit https://www.backcountryhunters.org/our_issues.

About Nadia Marji

Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers