Will Minnesota Democrats ban mining near the BWCA?

About 36 hours hours after Minnesotans learned the outcome of last Tuesday’s elections, the Save the Boundary Waters campaign held a webinar with the organization's members and supporters to gear up to push for a state ban on copper mining within the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

"We're in a very strong position heading into next year's legislative session with a pro-Boundary Waters majority,” said Amanda Hefner, state legislative director for the group. "We have a real opportunity to make permanent protection of the Boundary Waters a reality."

A bill that would ban the state from issuing permits to copper mines in an area spanning about 250 square miles south of the BWCA was introduced in the Minnesota Legislature last year. But it never got a hearing at the closely divided state Capitol.

That’s expected to change next session, with Democrats set to hold a 20-seat majority in the House and a nine-seat advantage in...