Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order Tuesday blocking state review of mining permits near the Boundary Waters, overriding a federal green light from Congress and President Trump — and keeping American workers sidelined while the country stays hooked on foreign copper and nickel.
The order means Minnesota regulators will refuse to participate in federal environmental reviews or process any state permits for mining in the Rainy River Headwaters Watershed. It is a direct rebuke of the congressional resolution Trump signed in April lifting a 2023 federal moratorium on mining in the Superior National Forest. The stakes are straightforward: domestic mineral production and the jobs that come with it versus the environmental lobby's demand that the land stay untouched.
Walz, a Democrat who did not seek reelection this year, called it the state's duty to ensure the area "remains wild, pristine and unharmed," according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. His order directs state regulators to sit out federal environmental reviews entirely and bars them from conducting their own reviews or permitting work while litigation over state mining regulations drags on. He also wants the Department of Natural Resources to draft legislation permanently banning nonferrous mining in the watershed.
The catch: the order expires by next April, 90 days after Walz leaves office. The next governor could adopt it — or scrap it.
Republican nominee Lisa Demuth, the state House speaker, told the Rochester Post Bulletin that mining can be done safely. "There are critical minerals that everyone depends on on a daily basis," Demuth said. "And they're going to come from someplace." The Press Democrat reported that Democratic nominee Sen. Amy Klobuchar had no immediate comment. SFGATE omitted both the Demuth and Klobuchar details from its coverage.
The only active project comes from Twin Metals Minnesota LLC, a subsidiary of Chile-based Antofagasta Minerals, which has pursued copper and nickel mining in the national forest since 2019. The company claims it can mine without storing waste rock above ground, eliminating a potential source of acid runoff into the canoe area downstream.
Rep. Pete Stauber, a Republican who represents the region, called Walz's order "outright war on Northern Minnesota and our way of life." SFGATE included an additional line from Stauber's written statement that the Press Democrat left out: "Years of rigorous review, environmental study, and massive private investment have been erased in seconds by a deeply unpopular Governor."
Becky Rom, chairperson of Save the Boundary Waters, countered that "copper mining and the Boundary Waters cannot safely coexist."
James Coleman, a University of Minnesota law professor, said the order at minimum adds uncertainty. "If you need federal approval, you probably need state approval," Coleman said. "These projects take many years to complete. Partisan politics may flip at the state or federal level, and it can be hard to get a project to the finish line."
Walz's order is a parting shot — temporary by law, dependent on whether his successor shares the green lobby's priorities. The open question is whether Minnesota's next governor will stand with the environmental establishment or with the workers who need the jobs and a country that needs the minerals.
