Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection Act
The Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection Act would permanently withdraw about 225,500 acres of federal land and waters in the Rainy River Watershed of Minnesota’s Superior National Forest from a range of federal land and mining laws. This withdrawal is designed to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) and interconnected federal lands (including Voyageurs National Park) for current and future generations. The withdrawal preserves any valid rights that existed before enactment, but otherwise blocks new entry, appropriation, disposal, mining claims, and leasing. The Act allows limited extraction of certain materials (sand, gravel, granite, iron ore, and taconite) only if the Forest Service Chief determines such removal would not harm water, air, or the forest habitat. The geographic boundary and map defining the withdrawal come from specific preexisting documents, and the map must be publicly available in Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management offices.
Key Points
- 1Defines the withdrawal boundary and map by referencing Public Land Order No. 7917 and a 2022 Forest Service environmental assessment, ensuring clarity on exactly what land and waters are protected.
- 2Withdraws approximately 225,504 acres in the Rainy River Watershed from:
- 3- entry, appropriation, and disposal under public land laws
- 4- location, entry, and patent under mining laws
- 5- operation of mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws
- 6Maintains an exception for temporary or limited removal of certain minerals (sand, gravel, granite, iron ore, and taconite) if the Forest Service Chief determines that such removal would not degrade water quality, air quality, or forest health.
- 7Keeps the withdrawal in place subject to valid existing rights, meaning rights established before enactment are not nullified.
- 8Requires the withdrawal maps and boundary figures to be kept on file and publicly accessible at Forest Service and BLM offices.