Minn. Sen. Tina Smith plans hourslong Senate speech against measure to open mining near the Boundary Waters

Chloe Johnson, Star Tribune on Apr 15, 2026

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The U.S. Senate is voting today on an unprecedented move to strip mining prohibitions from an area near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Lawmakers are considering a measure under the Congressional Review Act. If passed and signed by the president, the measure would remove a 20-year ban on mining federal lands in the Superior National Forest put in place under then-President Joe Biden three years ago.

Passage would mark a major victory for Rep. Pete Stauber, who represents northeastern Minnesota, and for Twin Metals, a mining company with plans to establish a copper-nickel mine in the area. The resolution would also bar a future presidential administration from reinstating the ban.

A coalition of environmental groups has lined up to oppose the vote, and has a champion in Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, who has vowed to fight the measure. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has also said she will vote no on the resolution.

The chorus of opponents grew louder and more ideologically diverse after the House passed the resolution in January. Several descendants of Teddy Roosevelt, the Republican president who put 230 million acres of land under federal protection in the early 1900s, wrote a letter in February to GOP lawmakers urging them to vote no on repealing the mine ban.

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