WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Paul Gosar (AZ-04), Chief Infrastructure and Forestry Officer Bruce Westerman (AR-04), and Chief Rules Officer Andy Biggs (AZ-05), and Western Caucus Members Frank Lucas (OK-03) and Tom Emmer (MN-06) released the following statements after the Trump Administration canceled the Obama Administration’s proposed land grab in Northern Minnesota:

Congressman Tom Emmer stated, “The Department of Agriculture's move today [yesterday] to cancel the federal withdrawal is a major victory for Minnesota. My MINER Act demonstrated the strong bipartisan support that exists for unleashing our state's full mining potential. Despite arguments that Washington should make these decisions for us, now, Minnesota's mineral rights are finally restored back to the people of our great state. I am grateful to the President, Secretary Zinke, Secretary Purdue and the entire administration for their support in our efforts to fully restore Minnesota's right to explore.”

Chairman Paul Gosar stated,  “In the final days of the Obama Administration, President Obama used the arm of the federal government to lockup a large swath of land in Northern Minnesota. With one fell swoop, Washington bureaucrats deprived thousands of Minnesotans of good-paying jobs and economic prosperity for the sake of an extreme agenda. The truth is that we can protect our environment while securing robust growth within the region; this is not a zero sum situation. This decision accomplishes exactly that. I applaud President Trump, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, and DOI Secretary Ryan Zinke for working with the Western Caucus to overturn President Obama’s Minnesota land grab. This is a historic win for the Caucus and the people of Minnesota.” 

Congressman Bruce Westerman said, “Unilateral decision making has no place in federal land management. When Washington bureaucrats pass down sweeping regulations to please special interests, they ignore the needs and the expertise of the local communities who survive off of these lands. We see time and time again that local control results in the best management, more family-wage jobs, and the greatest prosperity for local economies. I am pleased with USDA’s decision to cancel the Obama-era land withdrawal in the Superior National Forest. It is a win for Minnesotans, and a win for those who believe that Americans have the right to manage their own backyard. I applaud Secretary Purdue for prioritizing local control and want to thank the Trump Administration for putting local economies first in their decision making.”

Congressman Andy Biggs stated, “The previous administration’s regulatory overreach harmed countless Americans, including many around Minnesota’s Superior National Forest.  By canceling the political regulation for this region, President Trump and his administration have taken another bold step that will produce jobs and sustain a booming economy for the American people.  I applaud Congressman Emmer and Chairman Gosar for winning this fight.”

Congressman Frank Lucas said, “I applaud USDA’s announcement that they are canceling the application for the Rainy River Watershed Withdrawal. This withdraw application was a last ditch effort by the Obama administration to stop the people of Minnesota from developing this land for the next twenty years. If allowed to continue, this withdraw would have done incredible harm to the local economies that depend on this projected development. I thank Secretary Perdue and Congressman Emmer for their leadership on this issue.”

Background:

On September 6th, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, specifically the U.S. Forest Service, announced that it has canceled the application for the Rainy River Watershed Withdrawal, which would have drastically impeded mining in Northern Minnesota and caused significant harm to local economies.

To see the 9/6/18 letter from Northeastern Area and Regional Forester Kathleen Atkinson making this announcement click HERE.

Under the December 14, 2016 withdrawal application, approximately 234,000 acres of federal land in the Superior National Forest was proposed to be removed from mineral leasing laws for a 20-year period, immediately placing this vast area off limits to development for up to two years while the 20-year withdrawal was considered. The total withdrawal application boundary spanned approximately 425,000 acres, including 95,000 acres of state school trust fund lands.

17,000 jobs, $3 billion for education, $1.5 billion in annual wages, $2.5 billion annually for our economy and a total of four billion tons of strategic-and-critical-mineral-containing ore were at risk if the withdrawal application was not canceled. The Obama Administration’s arbitrary termination of two hardrock mineral leases and politicized mining withdrawal – coming only the day before President Obama left office – aimed to set a terrible precedent for sweeping executive power grabs that could threaten the livelihoods of communities throughout the country.

Congress passed two separate laws authorizing mining in the Superior National Forest, and the 1986 Forest Service and 2004 Forest Plans both concluded that mining is ‘a desired condition.’ No one is proposing to mine in the 1.1 million acre Boundary Waters Wilderness Area, an area that already has significant buffers, and mining in the forest will occur only after job creators have gone through the full NEPA environmental process.

An awesome video produced by the people of Minnesota on these issues can be viewed HERE.

In June of 2017, Reps. Gosar, Emmer, Westerman and Nolan toured several mining operations, held a stakeholder meeting and visited the proposed federal withdrawal area. The comments they heard on the ground from American families, businesses and individuals who want good-paying jobs and support mining projects in the area led to a Congressional effort to overturn the Obama Administration’s land grab.

Accordingly, Members of the Western Caucus took several actions to reverse the previous administration’s proposed mineral withdrawal including:

• A press release and letter signed by 26 Members calling for rescission of the 234,328-acre mineral withdrawal application and renewal of two improperly terminated leases can be found HERE.
• An Interior Appropriations Request signed by 9 members including House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop can be viewed HERE.
• The press release on the Natural Resources hearing on H.R.3905 can be found HERE.
• A press story on Rep. Emmer’s Interior Appropriations Amendment passing the House can be found HERE.
• A press release on passage of H.R. 3905 through the House of Representatives can be found HERE.
• A press release and letter supported by more than 50 Members and Stakeholders calling on the Trump Administration to review the 30+ mineral withdrawals from the Obama Administration can be found HERE. 

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