Minnesotans say NO to Stauber’s sellout

Photo credit: Matt Lilyquist

By Ben Karlgaard, Duluth Staff

On Saturday, February 21st, in frigid, single-digit temperatures, constituents of the 8th Congressional District gathered on street corners and snowbanks, waving signs and chanting in support of the Boundary Waters. Nearly one hundred Boundary Waters supporters joined Save the Boundary Waters Action Fund staff and volunteers outside of Congressman Pete Stauber’s Hermantown office (Hermantown is the town right next to Duluth, MN).

Photo credit: Matt Lilyquist

The goal of this protest was to show our elected officials and Rep. Stauber that the Boundary Waters, and efforts to permanently protect it from sulfide-ore copper mining, have strong public support and that we will not stand for Rep. Stauber’s continued attacks on America’s most beloved Wilderness.

Our message was clear — Duluthians are opposed to his latest scheme to open up the watershed of the Boundary Waters to toxic sulfide-ore copper mining. Rep. Stauber’s dangerous resolution (H.J. Res 140) would threaten the security of this Wilderness forever. 

Photo credit: Matt Lilyquist

Stauber’s attacks

On January 12, 2026, Rep. Pete Stauber introduced H.J. Res 140, a Joint Resolution that attempts to use the Congressional Review Act to overturn the 20-year mining ban in the Rainy Rivers Headwaters. The mining ban was issued three years ago under President Biden’s Department of the Interior, had broad public support and was rooted in sound science. 

Rep. Stauber’s recent attack undermines years of bipartisan work and hundreds of thousands of public comments, and goes directly against the will of his constituents. If successful, this resolution would pave the way for Twin Metals, a Chilean-owned mining conglomerate, that plans to build a copper mine on the shores of Birch Lake just outside of Ely, MN. Pollution from this mine would flow directly into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, ultimately polluting the BWCA, the Quetico and Voyageurs National Park, before traveling through Canada to Hudson Bay. 

70% of Minnesotans support permanent protection for the Boundary Waters, and communities closest to the Boundary Waters in Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis County all voted against Rep. Stauber in the last election. Yet, Rep. Stauber continues to prioritize finding legislative loopholes to hand over America’s most visited Wilderness to the highest bidder and send the minerals to China.

Here’s more information about the proposed Twin Metals copper mine:

• Copper mining has never been done in Minnesota, and is much more toxic than the iron-ore mining that has been happening for over a hundred years in Minnesota.

• Copper mining has never been done safely. A recent study of copper mines studied eight modern copper mines and found that, despite having modern technology, every single mine consistently pollutes nearby lakes, rivers, and streams.

• Antofagasta, the Chilean mining conglomerate who owns Twin Metals, was recently fined about $775,000 for failing to comply with regulations at its Centinela copper mine. If they don’t follow the regulations in Chile, there is no reason to believe that they would follow them here, either.

• A majority of Minnesotans in Rep. Stauber’s district support permanently protecting the Boundary Waters, and oppose the removal of protections for the Wilderness. Across the rest of Minnesota, support reaches 70%.

Minnesota: it’s time to step up

The Boundary Waters is being targeted at a national level: Rep. Pete Stauber has shown that he will sell out the Boundary Waters, and his own constituents, for the profit of a foreign-owned mining conglomerate. Now, it is more important than ever that the Minnesota State Legislature stands its ground against these unprecedented attacks. Given the broad, statewide support for the Boundary Waters, legislators across the state should strive to pass legislation to protect the Boundary Waters. 

Photo credit: Matt Lilyquist