Hardrock mining is one of the most poorly regulated uses of public lands, largely governed by a law that is well over a century old. Right now, over 10 million acres—including in roadless forests and wilderness areas—have been locked away with no oversight or clear benefit to the public.
Apparently unsatisfied with these already lax regulations, members of Congress allied with the Trump administration’s reckless “energy dominance” agenda are pushing legislation that would put millions more acres at risk of a mining free-for-all.
Under the current Bureau of Land Management mining regulations, companies are free to "explore" on five-acre parcels of public lands merely by filing a notice. These exploration operations are fundamentally intrusive and destructive: they build roads, deploy equipment, conduct blasting and drill thousands of holes to sample earth.
H.R. 7458 would dramatically increase the size of these exploration parcels to 25 acres, putting hundreds of millions of additional acres at risk. To make matters worse, the bill would extend this system to Forest Service lands for the first time. At best, this bill is misguided and poorly conceived—but at its core it prioritizes short-term corporate interests over the long-term wellbeing of our public lands.
Thank you for your advocacy and support.
Sincerely,
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