In D.C., a Changing Tone on Withdrawal
Mesabi Daily News
Jerry Burnes
The meetings were set in a private hallway on Capitol Hill last week, just outside the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar emerged first, and at a separate meeting time U.S. Sen. Al Franken briefly left the hearing for one of President Trump’s most important appointments.
A coalition of six representatives from the Iron Range were waiting for the lawmakers, packets of information in hand.
The gatherings were orchestrated as part of a larger effort by the Range delegation to persuade Washington to roll back a proposed mining activity moratorium on more than 234,000 acres of federal lands in the Superior National Forest. Less than a week earlier, the U.S. Forest Service collected public comments and extended the deadline by 120 days, but the cordial face-to-face time with senators, congressmen and agencies was a measured lobbying effort to hear the impacts from the Range itself.
Our Views: A Fight Worth Fighting
Mesabi Daily News
Editorial Board
Mining advocates have asked over the last several months, “How do we fight it?” referring to the barrage of opposition to copper-nickel projects. It’s the $1 billion question concerning Twin Metals. Answering it will take a strong chorus of voices to show federal agencies how the project would serve as a leading economic driver for the Ely region, providing a small degree of diversification within the mining industry.
On Thursday the U.S. Forest Service hosts the first of what will now be two public comment hearings on a proposed land withdrawal from future mining leases. More than 234,000 acres are on the chopping block — for potentially 20 years — including acreage the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management already denied Twin Metals from exploratory access to research its concept for an underground copper-nickel mine.
The Range is in This Fight Together, for Our Hometowns
Mesabi Daily News
Arik Forsman
Fortunately, it’s not too late to join our fight and stand up for what’s right. Public comments are being taken until mid-August through a link at jobsforminnesotans.org or via email to the U.S. Forest Service (comments-eastern-superior@fs.fed.us). You’re also welcome to join us in Duluth from 5-7:30 p.m. in Symphony Hall at the DECC for the hearing in a show of support for mining.
Business North
Staff
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management have proposed the withdrawal of hundreds of thousands of acres of federal lands from mineral exploration and mining development.
Duluth News Tribune
Nancy Norr
Sometimes I wonder: Does the federal government know — or even care — that we in the Northland believe in a strong and fair regulatory process and remain committed to building economic prosperity for ourselves and our future generations?
That commitment was put in jeopardy on Dec. 15, a date that won’t soon be forgotten by Northeastern Minnesotans who fought for decades to bring good new jobs and lasting stability to the Iron Range and to the greater Duluth region. On that day, with the politically motivated stroke of a pen, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management enacted a massive federal land withdrawal, a step that could effectively fence off from exploration and development for 20 years or more a vast, mineral-rich expanse of Northeastern Minnesota.