Walz: 'The Fight Is Over' As He Moves To Block Mining Near Boundary Waters

ST. PAUL, MN — Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order Monday aimed at blocking nonferrous mineral mining, including copper and nickel, in the watershed that feeds the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Executive Order 26-10 directs the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to stop all permitting and environmental review work on nonferrous mining proposals in the Rainy River Headwaters Watershed.

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The order also bars the DNR from issuing new leases or permits for such projects and requires the agency to review all existing nonferrous mineral leases in the watershed.

The action comes months after the U.S. Senate voted 50-49 in April to roll back a 20-year federal ban on mining near the Boundary Waters, reopening the door to mining proposals that supporters of the wilderness area say threaten its water, wildlife and nearly $1 billion outdoor recreation economy.

President Donald Trump signed that measure into law in late April.

"I'm using my executive authority to ban nonferrous mining in the Boundary Waters," Walz wrote on X.

"As far as my administration is concerned, the fight for the future of the Boundary Waters is over. The verdict is in. The decision is made. We will protect this place."

Under the order, the DNR will halt new environmental review and permitting work alongside the MPCA until the Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness v. DNR lawsuit is resolved, decline to serve as a cooperating agency on any federal environmental review of nonferrous mining proposals in the watershed, and offer no new state mineral or surface leases for mining operations there.

The agency will also draft legislative language aimed at permanently banning nonferrous mining in the watershed.

DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen called the Boundary Waters "a Minnesota treasure" that the state has "a responsibility" to protect long-term.

Becky Rom, national chair of Save the Boundary Waters, praised the order, saying copper mining and the wilderness area "cannot safely coexist."

Spanning more than 1.1 million acres and containing roughly 1,175 lakes and nearly 2,000 designated campsites, the Boundary Waters drew 149,723 visitors in 2024, according to the U.S. Forest Service, making it the most visited wilderness area in the country.