Update:
The USDA Forest Service Superior National Forest has extended the public comment period until September 17, 2024.
“With only 43 comments received to date combined with requests for an extension during our Open Houses we have extended the comment period through September 17,” says Tom Hall, Forest Supervisor, Superior National Forest. “We also now have a 27-minute video presentation on the project page to help the public better understand the project and the process.” Read the News Release here.
July 16, 2024
State and federal agencies are collaborating to transfer 80,000 acres within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) to the federal government. The parcels known as the “School Trust Lands” originally aimed to provide long-term revenue for Minnesota’s public schools. Managed by the MNDNR, wilderness protection measures have limited their ability to generate sufficient income. Therefore, the USFS plans to purchase the land from the MNDNR. They will manage it under the same Forest Plan as the rest of the wilderness. Ultimately, the sale is expected to benefit the state’s public schools as well as wilderness visitors.
Revenue for public schools
When Minnesota became a state, the federal government parcelled out sections of land in every township. Originally referred to as the “School of Trust Lands”, they provided a steady source of funding for public education. Today, the DNR manages 2.5 million acres of school trust lands on behalf of the state’s public schools.
Revenue-generating activities include mining, mineral exploration leasing, land sales, and timber harvesting. The state expressed its limited ability to maximize revenue due to the wilderness rules and regulations. Subsequently, the resulting sale will profit the Permanent School Fund.
Sarah Strommen, commissioner of the MNDNR, stated, “The state’s school trust lands are designated to maximize long-term economic return for the Permanent School Fund and provide a continual source of funding for every K-12 public school district in the state. This important land transaction ensures that the DNR can fulfill its fiduciary responsibility to the school trust. We are pleased to collaborate with the U.S. Forest Service and The Conservation Fund to remove school trust lands from within the BWCAW and acquire forest lands outside the wilderness for the public.”
New proposal
For many years, the state, USFS, and The Conservation Fund collaborated on a proposal to exchange school trust lands. The hope was an exchange for lands outside of the wilderness. However, the desired results were not attainable. For this reason, the DNR withdrew its land exchange proposal and drew up a new plan.
In their new proposal, the DNR plans to remove the school trust land designation from approximately 80,000 acres of state land within the BWCAW. As a result, the USFS will purchase those lands using monies from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
The USFS sees the transfer as a way to make managing the forest more seamless. Tom Hall, forest supervisor of Superior National Forest, stated, “The purchase of these lands will help reduce administrative issues the state and the Forest Service have faced for a long time.”
In addition, schools also view the transfer as a benefit. Aaron Vande Linde, director of the MN Office of School Trust Lands, said, “The resolution of this longstanding land management issue is a major win for Minnesota’s public school students. This investment will support the state’s public education system in perpetuity, fulfilling our fiduciary duty to ensure that both current and future beneficiaries receive maximum economic returns from school trust assets.”
Finally, state and federal partners are collaborating on the transfer with northern Minnesota Tribes. The sale is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
More info:
- School Trust Lands – Projects – MNDNR
- School Trust, St. Louis County, and TCF Land Purchase
- Federal Purchase of School Trust Lands in the BWCAW – MN Office of School of Trust Lands
- School Trust Lands in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness – USFS
Wilderness guide and outdoorswoman Pam Wright has been exploring wild places since her youth. Remaining curious, she has navigated remote lakes in Canada by canoe, backpacked some of the highest mountains in the Sierra Nevada, and completed a thru-hike of the Superior Hiking Trail. Her professional roles include working as a wilderness guide in northern Minnesota and providing online education for outdoor enthusiasts.