Reopens Minnesota national forest land near the Boundary Waters to mineral leasing

§1What it does

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This joint resolution uses the Congressional Review Act, a law that lets Congress cancel federal agency rules, to overturn a 2023 Bureau of Land Management order that had closed about 225,504 acres of national forest land in Cook, Lake and St. Louis counties, Minnesota, to mineral and geothermal leasing for 20 years.^2,3 The agency issued the order to protect the Rainy River watershed, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and its surrounding mining protection area, and the 1854 Ceded Territory of the Lake Superior Chippewa from possible effects of mineral and geothermal development.³ With the order canceled, the land can again be leased for mineral and geothermal exploration and development.³

§2Status

§3How Congress voted

Why this matters: The official count.