it's too bad that the a mining company decided to go around public opinion by getting a sweetheart deal in Washington. If polymet wanted to play by the rules they should have arranged for a land exchange with the Forest Service like everyone else has to. Lots of people would like a nice chunk of the National Forest but they have to go through a review process so that all the impacts of selling off public lands are looked at. I guess that Polymet figured they could legislate a sweetheart deal by working the backrooms of D.C.
A bunch of info from the state , Polymet, and the enviros is at:
Polymet Lands