Ian Brickey: (202-675-6270) or ian.brickey@sierraclub.org
Margaret Levin, North Star chapter director, margaret.levin@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C.-- The House Natural Resources Committee today passed out of committee several important pieces of legislation, including the Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act, H.R. 5598, sponsored by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-N.M), the Robert E. Lee Statue Removal Act, H.R. 970, sponsored by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and a bill on the removal of the Albert Pike statue near Judiciary Square, H.R. 4135 introduced by Rep. Eleanor Norton (D-DC). More details on the bills can be found here.
In response, Sierra Club issued the following responses.
“Removing these monuments to white supremacy is long overdue. These statues, installed decades after the defeat of the Confederacy, represent only the hate and bigotry of a movement that has sought to keep Black people oppressed. They have no place on our public lands, and Sierra Club fully supports their removal,” said Jackie Ostfeld, director of Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All campaign.
“There’s an urgent need to protect our water from the threat of toxic sulfide ore mining. We urge Congress to pass this critical legislation. All Minnesota watersheds and public lands, and the communities that depend on them, deserve to be protected from this dangerous copper nickel mining. Permanently protecting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Voyageurs National Park, and their headwaters in the Superior National Forest from toxic sulfide ore mining is the right thing to do,” said Margaret Levin, Sierra Club North Star Chapter Director.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.