The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Minnesota Office of School Trust Lands, and the U.S. Forest Service – Superior National Forest are working together on a strategy to transfer approximately 80,000 acres of school trust lands within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to federal ownership. This decision will benefit Minnesota’s public education system.
The state, U.S. Forest Service, and The Conservation Fund had been working for years on a proposal to exchange school trust lands inside the BWCAW for lands outside of the BWCAW. That process, despite being underway for many years, has yet to yield an outcome. Therefore, the DNR recently withdrew its land exchange proposal, originally submitted to the U.S. Forest Service on Aug. 22, 2012, involving school trust lands within the BWCAW. Additionally, the U.S. Forest Service has announced the cancellation of the Environmental Impact Statement for the original exchange proposal. The cancellation notice was posted to the Federal Register (https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2024-15122/environmental-impact-statements-availability-etc-superior-national-forest-school-trust-land-exchange ) at 8 a.m. on Friday, July 12.
In the new proposal, the DNR would remove the school trust designation from approximately 80,000 acres of state lands within the BWCAW. The federal government would then purchase those lands from the DNR using federal Land and Water Conservation Funds.
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. Upon completion, funds from the sale would be deposited in the Permanent School Fund, which supports 850,000 students in K-12 public education by distributing revenue to every public and charter school in the state. The DNR’s website (https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ aboutdnr/school_lands/school-trust-lands-projects.html) provides more information about the project.
As a result of the cancellation of the original land exchange, TCF 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 also is evaluating TCF lands in consultation with the U.S. Forest Service, counties, and Tribes to identify parcels suitable for state acquisition. Funding will be needed for the DNR to purchase TCF lands outside the BWCAW.
“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,” said Sarah Strommen, commissioner of the Minnesota DNR. “This important land transaction ensures that the DNR can fulfill its fiduciary responsibility to the school trust. We are pleased to work 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.”
“The purchase of these lands will help reduce administrative issues the state and the Forest Service have faced for a long time,” said Tom Hall, forest supervisor, Superior National Forest.
The state’s school trust lands have been a reliable source of revenue for the Permanent School Fund for over a century, from activities like mining and timber harvesting. However, 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 for Minnesota’s public and charter schools.
“The resolution of this longstanding land management issue is a major win for Minnesota’s public school students,” said Aaron Vande Linde, Minnesota Office of School Trust Lands director. “The project’s culmination will result in millions of dollars deposited into the Permanent School Fund. 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.” The DNR will soon begin work with OSTL to remove the school trust land designation from state lands within the BWCAW, appraising approximately 80,000 acres for acquisition by the U.S. Forest Service.
