Congressional Republicans have sent President Donald Trump a resolution that would lift a federal ban on mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, hoping to clear the way for a South American company to extract precious metals from the region’s pristine forests, lakes and bogs.

House Republicans approved the resolution last month despite conservationists’ warnings that the move would lead to devastating pollution in one of the country’s last remaining wild areas. The Senate followed suit Thursday, voting 50-49 to send the measure to Trump for his signature.

Democrats argued on the Senate floor that lifting the ban would set a dangerous precedent that could lead to lifting protections on public lands across the country. Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith warned Republicans were stealing part of their state’s identity.

Klobuchar, who has supported iron mining in the past but is now running for Minnesota governor, called the Boundary Waters a place of “mist over meadows” and “sunlight on leaves.” Smith said the GOP was ignoring Minnesotans who don’t want to see the wilderness area destroyed.

“You can support mining, but that does not mean you support every mine in every place,” Smith said.

No Republicans spoke on the lifting the ban. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness stretches for about 150 miles in the Superior National Forest along Minnesota’s border with Canada.

It’s a land of crystalline lakes, vast forests of pine, spruce and birch, striking sunsets and clear, star-dusted nights.

For those willing to paddle and portage off the most-traveled routes, the region offers solitude and a silence broken only by the cries of loons and the occasional howl of a wolf.

Logging is prohibited, planes passing over it can dip no lower than 4,000 feet except in emergencies and motorized watercraft are limited to only certain areas. Tens of thousands of canoeists, kayakers and campers explore the wilderness each year, according to U.S. Forest Service data.

Part of the national forest that encompasses the wilderness area sits on what’s known as the Duluth Complex, a rock formation that contains copper, nickel, lead, zinc, iron, silver and gold, according to the Forest Service.