Boundary Waters Land Swap Passes U.S. House

Though wildfires continue in the north woods, it is legislation, not flames, that may most extensively remake the landscape of northern Minnesota this year.

A moose surfaces in the Superior National Forest

The U.S. House passed a bill on Wednesday to trade 86,000 acres of state-owned land in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to the federal government, in exchange for an equivalent value of federal land outside of the BWCAW. The deal, which involves some $100 million of real estate, would open land currently under federal protection to economic uses as part of the state's school trust fund. Much of that land is in the southern portion of the Superior National Forest.

When the 1.1 million acre BWCAW was formed in 1978, a patch of land belonging to the state education trust fund was included in the protected area. This cut it off from extractive industry uses such as mining or logging. With the trade, however, the federal government would officially take the patch, while handing over a part of the nearby federal lands to the state for use in the trust fund. Forests held by the school trust fund fund, which at around $27 per student per year generates less than one percent of the state's education budget, are traditionally managed intensively for revenue.

"They can choose to sell the land, they can choose to mine the land, they can choose to lease the land," said Rep. Chip Cravaak, R-North Branch, the bill's sponsor. "Whatever they choose to do will be up to the state and how they want to create revenue. But one thing is for certain, it must create revenue."

BWCAW and Superior National Forest

The vote was 225-189, split primarily along party lines. Twin Cities Democratic Representatives Keith Ellison (Minneapolis) and Betty McCollum (St. Paul) led the effort in the House against the act. Ellison proposed an amendment which would have forbidden the Forest Service from trading the land if fishing, hunting, or recreational uses were lost, but this amendment was defeated.


The swap is generally supported by northern Minnesota's politicians, mining and timber interests, and the state government. The Minnesota Legislature authorized the deal in April, and Governor Dayton signed the legislation shortly thereafter. Cravaak, whose re-election platform includes bringing more mining jobs to his northern Minnesota district, said the bill was important for boosting the economy and funding education.

"In my school district, there are 40 kids in a classroom. Our school district is down to four days a week," Cravaack said.

Environmental groups, however, oppose the the swap, as do the Fon du Lac band of Ojibwe. Opponents say that the bill is an effort to hand over greater land to mining and timber with less regulatory oversight. In addition, they have criticized the clause in the bill exempting the traded land from the National Environmental Policy Act, and the loss of protections such as the Weeks Act that would come with moving the land to state hands.

Advocates have concerns over sulfide mining

"The bill threatens to open the door for mining companies to conduct dangerous sulfide mining near the Boundary Waters and inside the Superior National Forest," said Samantha Chadwick of Environment Minnesota.

In addition, concerns have been raised over the effects of logging and mining on the businesses that support and furnish the recreational use of the area. "This bill puts recreation at risk and the industry that supports it," Ellison said, accusing the trade of placing multinational mining firms above local businesses.

A compromise agreement was proposed last winter, negotiated by the Minnesota DNR, environmental groups, and Superior National Forest. Such a compromise would allow 40 percent of the state land in the BWCAW to be traded, and the other 60 percent to be purchased by the federal government. The revenue of the sale could go the School Trust Fund. The compromise was rejected by lawmakers, however, who opted for a full trade. Representative McCollum criticized the legislature's decision, saying that further negotiation between industry, government, residents, and environmental advocates is necessary.


"There is a stakeholders group in Minnesota that is working to determine if the land proposal is fair and transparent," McCollum said. "They're not at the table, folks."

It is not yet clear if the U.S. Senate will address the issue this year, or whether the executive branch will sign such legislation. Minnesota senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, both Democrats, say that they support the trade and are working on a companion bill to Cravaak's.

Image Sources: Wikimedia, Go Wilderness Journey, and Ecowatch