National forest finally gets protection from mining

The following editorial appeared in The Virginian-pilot:

The country is in need of cobalt, manganese, nickel and other minerals to build batteries and other components of a clean energy infrastructure. But the obvious benefits of moving away from fossil fuels doesn’t mean mining of needed minerals should be allowed just anywhere. Areas that were hard fought to protect — be it Yellowstone National Park, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area or other special wildernesses — are not appropriate for mining. After many years of efforts, the Biden administration last week moved to protect federal land in the Superior National Forest from mining.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland signed an order closing over 350 square miles of federal land to mineral and geothermal leasing for 20 years. It is the longest period the department can sequester the land without congressional approval.

The U.S. Department of Interior and U.S. Department of Agriculture have been studying the environmental, cultural and economic impacts of mining near the Boundary Waters. The moratorium should put an end to efforts to open a $1.7 billion underground copper-nickel mine along Birch Lake, which flows into the Boundary Waters.

The proposed project has faced shifting political winds over the years. The Obama administration chose not to renew two leases that dated back more than 50 years. The Trump administration reversed that decision and reinstated the leases. But the Biden administration then canceled the leases.

Now, with a 20-year mining moratorium in place, the BWCA will be protected for decades to come. Congress should make the ban permanent.

Unlike taconite mining that has long been active in northern Minnesota, the proposed copper-nickel mine would pose new and special pollution risks that could contaminate the BWCA.

Protecting the pristine wilderness is a glowing legacy for the Biden administration.