Walz uses executive authority to shield Boundary Waters from copper mining

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz issued an executive order directing state agencies to block copper, nickel and other nonferrous mining within the Boundary Waters watershed, halt new environmental reviews for such proposals, and refrain from cooperating with federal reviews. The move effectively ends the Twin Metals project near Ely, underscores a political clash over mining in the Duluth Complex, and is non-permanent, potentially reversible by future administrations or legislation. The action follows a complex history of federal decisions on mineral withdrawals and mining bans in the BWCA region.