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WIThe Senate just voted to strip protections from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, opening the door to toxic mining in one of the most pristine freshwater ecosystems in the country.
This wasn’t a close call about unclear science. The risks are well-documented. The public record is overwhelming. And still, on a 50–49 vote, Congress chose industry over clean water, wildlife, and the will of the public.
After years of science, after hundreds of thousands of public comments (the vast majority in support of protection), after clear findings that sulfide-ore mining would cause irreversible harm to this watershed ... Congress just voted to override all of it.
Not because the science changed or because the public asked for it but because industry pressure won.
Worse, they didn’t even unravel these protections through a normal process. They used an obscure procedural maneuver to bypass safeguards and push it through. That’s not governance; that’s extraction of land, water, and wildlife, and a betrayal of public trust.
Let’s be clear about what Congress just sold out: clean water, wildlife, recreation intact ecosystems, all in millions of acres of habitat that cannot be restored once polluted. And as federal land, it belongs to all of us. It does not belong to a foreign mining corporation, lobbyists, or handful of politicians willing to trade it away for short-term gain.
This betrayal is part of a broader pattern where public lands and wildlife are being opened up, piece by piece, to benefit private interests while the public is sidelined.
They’re counting on us to get tired, forget or give up, and stop paying attention after the vote. Don’t let them win.
Call your Senators and Representatives. Tell them exactly what you think about this vote, and that you’re paying attention to what comes next. Congressional switchboard: (202) 224-3121
Talk about this vote. Share with your network. Make our outrage impossible to ignore because accountability doesn’t stop when the vote is over, it starts there. Congress needs to understand that selling out our wild places has consequences, and they need to really HEAR US.
@wildlifeforall.us
