Boundary Waters Congressional Review Act
Debate over the future of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the surrounding Rainy River watershed remained a top federal policy issue for BHA in February. Following passage of Representative Pete Stauber’s H.J.Res. 140 in the House, BHA has been actively engaging in Senate offices and preparing for the possibility that this Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution could be taken up in the Senate at any moment
H.J.Res. 140 would overturn a 20 year mineral withdrawal in the Rainy River watershed, directly upstream of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, reopening the area to potential copper-sulfide mining proposed by Twin Metals Minnesota, a company owned by the Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta which has a zero dollar copper smelting agreement with China. While BHA is by no means opposed to mining, this proposal represents the wrong mine in the wrong place, given the region’s interconnected waters and potential for sulfuric acid pollution in this legendary area.
In addition to encouraging members to contact their home-state senators to oppose this upcoming vote, BHA has conducted targeted outreach to several key offices, including Senators Klobuchar, Collins, Murkowski, Johnson, Young, Tillis, McCormick, Risch, Graham and others. BHA’s Minnesota Chapter Coordinator Aaron Hebeisen also held a one-on-one call with Senator Klobuchar, during which she reaffirmed her commitment to vote no on this CRA.
As BHA continues working with Senate offices and partners such as Save the Boundary Waters and Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters, we encourage members to keep making their voices heard. CRA resolutions can move through the Senate quickly, so it is important for lawmakers to hear from hunters and anglers now.
So far, 30,491 hunters and anglers have spoken up on this issue and reached out to their elected officials.
Visit BHA’s Action Alert to make your voice heard.
The Roadless Rule
The future of the Roadless Rule continues to be top of mind for BHA’s federal policy team.
In August, the U.S. Forest Service published a Notice of Intent (NOI) announcing that the agency will begin preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) evaluating a potential rescission of the 2001 Roadless Rule. Found in 39 states, the rule conserves roughly 58.5 million acres of roadless areas, representing about 30 percent of all National Forest System lands. The Forest Service also recently published a Notice of Intent to begin revising the Tongass National Forest Land Management Plan which references the rescission of the Roadless Rule.
According to the timeline outlined by the agency- and what we have been hearing on Capitol Hill- a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is expected to be published at the end of March, which will open a public comment period. This will be a critical opportunity for hunters and anglers to make our voices heard about the importance of roadless areas for wildlife habitat, watershed health, and backcountry access.
When the rule was first developed in 2001, the Forest Service conducted one of the most extensive public engagement processes in the agency’s history, including hundreds of public meetings and more than a million public comments- roughly 90 percent of which supported establishing the rule. Now, Hunters, anglers, and public land users deserve the same level of public engagement- not just a short comment window, but meaningful opportunities for public meetings and discussion about how proposed changes could affect wildlife habitat and hunting and fishing opportunities across the country.
In February, BHA teamed up with The Wilderness Society and flew in Beth Brennan (BHA Montana Chapter, Mack Long (Backcountry Horsemen), and Tyson Running Wolf (Montana state representative) to DC to meet with the Montana Delegation offices and Forest Service Chief Schultz.
Roadless areas provide some of the most important fish and wildlife habitats in national forests. Nationwide, about 70 percent of roadless areas contain native trout or salmon waters, and more than 70 percent of roadless areas in Utah, Wyoming, and Montana provide habitat for elk. BHA recognizes that the Roadless Rule is not perfect. However, a blanket rescission is not the way forward- it will be costly, haphazard, and will lead to a greater deferred maintenance backlog of our public lands.
BHA will continue tracking developments in the environmental review process and will notify members when the public comment period opens later this spring, so their voices can be heard.
Steve Pearce BLM Nomination
In February, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a confirmation hearing for former Representative Steve Pearce (R-NM), the nominee to serve as Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) which oversees over 245 million acres of public lands. During the hearing, Pearce faced pointed questions from Senators Risch, Wyden, Heinrich, and Hickenlooper regarding his past support for public land sales and his concerning views on federal land ownership.
Ahead of the hearing, BHA surveyed its members to ask what questions hunters and anglers wanted the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to raise with the nominee. Those results were delivered directly to the committee to ensure the voices of the sporting community were represented during the confirmation process. BHA members also engaged directly with lawmakers throughout the month. In February, BHA’s Southwest Idaho Chapter leader Kirk Adams flew to DC to meet with Idaho congressional offices. During his trip he urged Senator Risch to hold Pearce accountable for a clear commitment that public lands will not be sold if he is confirmed as BLM Director.
During Mr. Pearce’s confirmation hearing, BHA held a “Superbowl watch party” and posted a video review of Pearce’s performance in collaboration with the Conservations Land Foundation CEO Chris Hill and Cal.
While BHA is willing to work with everyone to advance conservation on public lands, several of Pearce’s responses during the hearing were evasive and raised concerns about how he would approach the long-term stewardship of America’s public lands for hunters & anglers.
Pearce’s nomination was reported out of committee on March 4 with a vote of 11 to 9, and BHA is now monitoring when it may come up for a vote on the Senate floor.
BHA will continue engaging with lawmakers and ensuring that hunters and anglers have a voice as the confirmation process moves forward.
Watch Cal and Chris Hill discuss Mr. Pearce’s nomination hearing here.
Read more about Pearce’s nomination and record in BHA’s blog post.
Legislative Movement
In February, the House Natural Resources Committee held four hearings and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held three hearings of particular interest to BHA.
Throughout the month, BHA engaged on 19 pieces of legislation through views letters, vote recommendations, and direct outreach to congressional offices. While many proposals were considered, several bills stood out as particularly important for conserving wildlife habitat and maintaining access for sportsmen and women- BHA expressed support for S. 282, the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument Access Act; S. 1319, the Pecos Watershed Withdrawal Act; S. 1341, the Sarvis Creek Wilderness Completion Act; S. 1476, the M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act; S. 3526, the California Public Lands Protection and Investment Act; S. 462, the Washoe County Economic Development and Conservation Act; S. 1349, the Ruby Mountains Protection Act; and others. These bills would conserve key wildlife habitats, protect important watersheds, and maintain high-quality hunting and fishing opportunities on public lands.
BHA also opposed S. 3527, the Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act, and S. 90, the Historic Roadways Protection Act, due to concerns that these bills could weaken habitat protections or constrain the ability of land managers to responsibly steward public lands relied upon by hunters and anglers.
For more information on S.3527, see our action alert here.
17