Harvard economist: Protecting Boundary Waters will be better for economy than mining

The professor looked at 72 scenarios. In 69 of them it was better not to mine the Superior National Forest.

Opening up Superior National Forest to more mining would harm northern Minnesota`s economy in the long term, according to an economics professor at Harvard University.

Professor James H. Stock and PhD student Jacob Bradt studied the positives and negatives of the U.S. Forest Service`s proposal to withdraw 234,000 acres of federal land in northern Minnesota from consideration for future mining projects.

During a recent visit to Duluth, President Donald Trump said he intends to rescind this protection, opening up the forest to more copper-nickel mining exploration, though said "we will do it carefully."...