Medhini Kumar, medhini.kumar@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the US Forest Service issued a draft of an environmental assessment, recommending a 20-year mineral withdrawal from Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. This process will also initiate a 30-day comment period, after which a final environmental assessment will be delivered to the Bureau of Land Management, and then to the desk of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland for a decision.
In response, John Dunmore, Federal Policy, Lands Protection Program, released released the following statement:
“We applaud the US Forest Service for using a science-based approach to come to today’s draft environmental assessment, which would safeguard the most visited wilderness area in the lower 48. This unspoiled swath of forests and interconnected waterways is a national treasure, and we must continue to protect it from toxic mining activity that threatens our communities’ water, economy, wildlife, and health.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.