by Fred T. Witzig
Foreword by Elmer L. Andersen
$24.95 Paperback
ISBN 0-8166-4050-5
A chronicle of the legislative process that made Voyageurs National Park a reality.
When President Nixon signed the legislation authorizing the establishment of Voyageurs National Park on January 8, 1971, almost eighty years had passed since Minnesota’s government
initially petitioned to create a national park in the northern portion of the state.
Voyageurs National Park chronicles the complex legal and political campaign to found Minnesota’s only national park. Witzig’s thoroughly documented and referenced research allows him to offer a detailed view of the unanticipated disappointments and defining moments of achievement that accompanied this complicated legislative battle. Concentrating on the period from 1962 to 1975, Witzig identifies and explains the central issues surrounding the campaign including land acquisition policy, local concerns and opposition to the park, interagency conflict over inclusion of U.S. forest lands, antifederal attitudes in northeastern Minnesota, and the overstated case for the economic benefits a national park would bring. Witzig covers of the dispute over the inclusion of Crane Lake in the park and focuses on the many individuals and groups who were instrumental in the establishment of Voyageurs National Park, such as Governor Elmer L. Andersen, John A. Blatnik, Sigurd F. Olson, and Rita Shemesh.
Fred T. Witzig is professor emeritus of geography at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
This article appeared in the Fall-Winter 2005 issue of Wilderness News