MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A group called Environment Minnesota says bills moving through the U.S. House of Representatives are a danger to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

At a news conference overlooking the Mississippi River, the group highlighted five bills that would allow roads, logging and mining in the Superior National Forest.

All of the legislation is sponsored by Republican members of the House. Environment Minnesota says any development in the BWCA will pollute the air and water.

“Representative Cravaack and other members of Congress seem bent on trashing these treasures,” said activist Samantha Chadwick, of Environment Minnesota. “They’re pushing extreme measures to abolish, circumvent or otherwise water down the environmental laws that govern these public lands.”

On Thursday night’s 10 p.m. newscast, Liz Collin has a report on how mining claims in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area are impacting homeowners and business there.