A Test of Leadership for America’s Public Lands

By Ryan Callaghan and Steven Rinella

Editor's Note: This commentary was originally published by the Billings Gazette on January 18, 2026. The version shown here is abbreviated as a courtesy to BHA members and supporters. BHA encourages Montana residents to please consider supporting local journalism by reading the original in the Billing Gazette.

 

Like millions of other Americans, we and our families have hunted, fished, and paddled Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It’s one of the last places in the Lower 48 where you can still find that kind of backcountry experience: cold, clean water you can drink from, grouse in the woods, and fish that seem to live in every lake.

The Boundary Waters exists in part because leaders—across party lines—chose to protect it. President Theodore Roosevelt set it aside in 1909. And in 1964, Republicans in Congress unanimously voted to strengthen protections that would conserve wild places like this in perpetuity.

Today, the Boundary Waters faces one of the most serious threats in its history.

In 2023, after years of rigorous review and overwhelming public support, a 20-year mineral withdrawal was established in the Rainy River Watershed—the headwaters of the Boundary Waters. It was a decision rooted in science and common sense: some places are too important to gamble with.

But a Chilean mining conglomerate, Antofagasta, continues to push the Twin Metals project: a proposed sulfide-ore copper mine immediately upstream of the Boundary Waters. At the behest of this foreign company and Rep. Pete Stauber of Minnesota, the Department of the Interior recently took steps that could facilitate a Congressional Review Act (CRA) vote to overturn the mineral withdrawal.

The CRA is a blunt tool. It’s infrequently used and intended to challenge agency rules—not to dismantle public-land management decisions grounded in decades of law, science, and public engagement.

On January 12, Rep. Stauber introduced HJR 140, which would revoke critical Boundary Waters protections and fast-track the Twin Metals mine. The goal is clear: reopen the door for a foreign company to profit, while putting one of America’s most iconic public-land landscapes at risk.

We understand that America needs minerals, and we support sensible development of domestic resources. But this is not the way to do it—and it’s not the place.

If this maneuver succeeds, it won’t just reopen the door to Twin Metals. It would set a dangerous national precedent: Congress using the CRA to unravel public-land protections anywhere in the country, with a simple majority vote, no filibuster, and little public scrutiny.

That’s why this is bigger than Minnesota. It’s a test of whether cherished public lands across the country can be stripped of protections through procedural shortcuts.

This is also where the bipartisan Public Lands Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives comes into the picture. Created to help shield America’s public lands and waters from dangerous ideas in Congress, HJR 140 is exactly the kind of proposal they must work together to stop.

Montana has an important role to play in what happens next. Our state is shaped by mining, timber, and other extractive industries. Montanans understand the legacy of mining—both positive and sometimes damaging. We know mines can work in some places, and that in other places they are simply unacceptable.

Hunters and anglers are uniquely positioned to help determine what happens next—not just for the Boundary Waters, but for the future of conservation in America. We know the value of public lands, public access, and the outdoor economy. Now is the time for Congress to prove that commitment in a meaningful way.

We urge all Members of Congress—including Montana’s delegation—to oppose HJR 140 and its wrongheaded goal of dismantling Boundary Waters protections.

Some places are worth fighting for. And just like Theodore Roosevelt and the conservation-minded leaders who came after him, we believe the Boundary Waters is one of them.

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Ryan Callaghan is president and CEO of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. Steven Rinella is an outdoorsman, writer, conservationist, and founder of MeatEater Inc. Both live in Montana.

 

Source: Billings Gazette