The family of the Republican president who helped invent modern conservation is accusing today's Republicans of chipping away at it. Four descendants of Theodore Roosevelt have urged GOP senators in a letter to reject a House-approved measure that would clear the way for copper and nickel mining upstream from Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, reports the New York Times. Ted Roosevelt IV, an 83-year-old investment banker and a self-described moderate Republican, says his great-grandfather would be "appalled" and accused the party of abandoning its conservation legacy.
The Boundary Waters sits inside Superior National Forest, created by Theodore Roosevelt in one of his final acts as president. A proposed underground mine by Twin Metals Minnesota has been fought over for more than a decade, and conservationists warn of potential heavy metal and acid pollution in a vast network of lakes and streams. The Biden administration imposed a 20-year mining ban on more than 225,000 acres there in 2023, but House Republicans recently voted to overturn it, and Senate Republicans are planning a simple-majority vote. The Roosevelts, representing three branches of the family, wrote that they had never before jointly signed a letter, calling this fight significant enough to "get in the arena" alongside their famous ancestor.
On the flip side of that argument are Republicans including Rep. Pete Stauber, whose House district includes the region, per Minnesota Daily. He called Biden's ban on mining "illegal" and said it "threatened our way of life" in the area. "Growing up in the Northland, I've seen firsthand how these radical policies kill jobs and hurt families."
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