Minnesota Senate Advances Resolution Opposing Federal Border Lands Bill

Sen. Grant Hauschild authored SF 3880, and the resolution he wrote is now one step closer to a full Senate vote after clearing a key committee threshold.

The Senate Rules and Administration Committee voted to give the resolution a "do pass" recommendation, meaning it will now move to the Senate floor for a vote. The resolution urges the federal government not to pass the Border Lands Conservation Act.

The federal act would allow the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to inventory roads within federally-owned land near the U.S. border, and to create more roads as needed to "gain operational control of the southern border and northern border." The act would directly affect Minnesota's Boundary Waters area, where motorized vehicles and watercraft are restricted.

The bill would also allow Homeland Security to install technology and other infrastructure to discourage illegal border crossings, and would give the agency authority to fly in and out of federal wilderness areas, even if existing laws normally wouldn't allow it.

Hauschild, who represents the northeastern Minnesota district that includes the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, framed the resolution as a defense of foundational wilderness protections. "Allowing federal infrastructure and enforcement operations inside the wilderness would set a precedent and create lasting impacts far beyond this moment," he said.

"This resolution sends a respectful, but firm, message that Minnesota believes this unprecedented legislation to allow surveillance and infrastructure inside the Boundary Waters goes against everything this wilderness area stand for."

Alongside the Border Lands Conservation Act, the U.S. Senate is also considering House Joint Resolution 140, introduced on January 12, 2026, which seeks to void a 2023 executive action that withdrew 225,504 acres of the Superior National Forest from mining for 20 years. Opponents argue that overturning the withdrawal would allow sulfide-ore mining to threaten the BWCAW watershed, and while the House passed the resolution in January, it has remained in the Senate throughout March.

The two federal measures together represent the most concentrated legislative pressure on the Boundary Waters in years. SF 3880, which is nonbinding and advisory in nature, reflects the Minnesota Senate's effort to put Congress on notice before any permanent changes reach the wilderness's edge.