BOUNDARY WATERS — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources proposed the sale of 80,000 acres of school trust lands in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to the U.S. Forest Service.
The partners involved said the move will benefit the state's public education system by depositing millions of dollars into Minnesota’s permanent school fund.
According to a news release, the state, forest service and The Conservation Fund have been working for years to reach a resolution. The DNR initially proposed a land exchange in 2012, but that was canceled earlier this year to instead pursue the sale. The U.S. Forest Service also announced the cancellation of the environmental impact statement for the original exchange proposal.
In the new proposal, the DNR would remove the school trust designation from the land and the federal government would make the purchase with Land and Water Conservation Funds.
School trust lands date back to Minnesota becoming a state in 1858, when the federal government granted sections of every township for the use of schools. Revenue generated on the land from activities like mining and logging is distributed to every public and charter school in the state serving kindergarten through 12th grade.
"The agreement between state and federal partners would uphold Minnesota’s fiduciary responsibility to generate income for the Permanent School Fund and help to provide a continual source of funding for Minnesota’s K-12 schools," the news release stated.
In this case, the 1964 Wilderness Act and the 1978 Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act significantly limit the state's ability to use the 80,000 acres of school trust lands located within the BWCAW as required by the state constitution to generate revenue.
“The resolution of this longstanding land management issue is a major win for Minnesota’s public school students,” stated Aaron Vande Linde, Minnesota Office of School Trust Lands director, in the release. “The project’s culmination will result in millions of dollars deposited into the Permanent School Fund."
The DNR will soon begin work to remove the school trust land designation and appraise the acreage for sale.
As a result of the cancellation of the original land exchange, The Conservation Fund is also proposing to sell up to 15,000 acres within the Superior National Forest proclamation boundary, outside of the BWCAW, directly to the U.S. Forest Service.
The DNR is evaluating those lands in consultation with the forest service, counties and tribes to identify parcels suitable for state acquisition. Funding would be needed for the DNR to purchase Conservation Fund lands outside the BWCAW.