Photo: Francesca Albert on Unsplash.com

By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - June 13, 2025

A provision that would have granted permission for a Chilean mining company to operate a copper-nickel mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) was recently removed from President Trump's budget bill by the U.S. Senate. Upon review by Senators, it was determined that the provision did not follow rules for the budget reconciliation process, which states that provisions must be budgetary in nature rather than policy-oriented. 

However, a day later, the Trump Administration announced that it plans to initiate the process of reversing the Biden administration's 20-year mineral withdrawal in the Superior National Forest, enacted in 2023. 

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) that the United States Department of Agriculture is "proud to announce that we are initiating the process to cancel the mineral withdrawal in the Rainey River watershed on the Superior National Forest. After careful review, including extensive public input, the US Forest Service has enough information to know the withdrawal was never needed." 

U.S. Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN) publicly supported this action, advocating for increased domestic mineral extraction. In a press release, he stated, “This announcement is great news for Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District, and the nation. Former President Biden’s illegal decision to lock away these resources and throw away the key was not only harmful to my constituents, but it was harmful to this nation as it further cemented our reliance on Communist China for the critical minerals on which we all rely."

In response to the cancellation of the mineral withdrawal by the Trump Administration, environmental group Friends of the Boundary Waters stated, "They [the Trump Administration] failed in Congress, so now they’re forcing the Department of Interior and Forest Service to ignore science and break the law."

US Senator Tina Smith, who celebrated the provision's removal from the budget bill, said in response to Agricultural Secretary Rollins' statement, "Using pseudoscience to justify bad actions is pretty par for the course for these guys. Not this mine. Not this place. The Boundary Waters are too precious. See you in court."

No additional information regarding the process of reversing the mineral withdrawal has been announced from Agricultural Secretary Rollins or the USDA.