For Immediate Release
July 12, 2024
Contact: Libby London, 612-227-8407
Today’s school trust land announcement is positive for the Boundary Waters and Minnesota K-12 students
(Ely, MN) — Today, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Minnesota Office of School Trust Lands (OSTL), and the U.S. Forest Service announced a new plan to transfer 80,000 acres of school trust lands inside of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) to federal management in return for payment into the OSTL Permanent School Fund. A previously proposed Boundary Waters school trust land exchange from 2012 has been cancelled. The U.S. Forest Service’s cancellation of the Environmental Impact Statement for the exchange proposal was announced today in a notice here.
In the new proposal, the DNR would include an independent appraisal to ensure that the Permanent School Fund will receive fair market value for the lands. The federal government would then purchase those lands from the DNR using federally appropriated Land and Water Conservation Funds. This consolidates federal ownership of lands in the BWCAW.
The purchase would result in a payment of approximately 30 million dollars (depending on the final appraised amount) into Minnesota’s Permanent School Fund. This will directly benefit Minnesota students. The purchase is stated to be completed by the end of 2026.
“This is a good day for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Minnesota students. It solves a key issue that has been unresolved for thirty years - this proposal would infuse millions of dollars into the permanent fund supporting K-12 Minnesota schools and consolidates federal ownership on lands in the BWCAW, ” said Ingrid Lyons, Executive Director of Save the Boundary Waters, “Thank you to the Department of Natural Resources, the Office of School Trust Lands, and Forest Service for resolution on this issue.”
Today’s announcement has the support of three Reservation Tribal Councils of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
Leaders within Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness, the 501(c)(3) that oversees the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, have been working on the federal purchase of school trust lands in the Boundary Waters for over 30 years.
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