Two bills, HF4304 and SF3480, provide for the transfer of approximately 155,000 acres of state-owned land that lies within what is now the White Earth State Forest to the White Earth Nation. All of the land proposed for transfer lies within the original boundaries of the White Earth Reservation established by treaty in 1867. Like most tribes in the country, White Earth lost vast tracts of its reservation to private and public actions under federal allotment policies that began in the 1880s. The bills require the establishment, by October 2024, of a task force to work through issues with all stakeholders involving forest access, timber practices, and revenue for local government entities, to recommend changes in policy and law, and to facilitate, finally, the actual transfer of the park land by August 2029. The White Earth Nation intends for public access in the forest to continue and be carefully balanced with conservation, restoration, and stewardship goals – a model common in state and federal parks and forests. Preservation of the land for future generations is a priority for White Earth Nation, demonstrated by the Nation’s history of being strong stewards of the land.
Message: Please support HF4304 and SF3480 to justly return approximately 155,000 acres of White Earth State Forest land back to the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
Please contact your Minnesota STATE senator and representative and legislative leadership:
Minnesota House Melissa Hortman – 651-296-4280
Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy – 651-296-5931
MINNESOTA Senators – DON’T KNOW YOUR SENATOR? Look her or him up here: https://www.gis.leg.mn/iMaps/districts/
MINNESOTA Representatives – DON’T KNOW YOUR REP? Look her or him up here: https://www.gis.leg.mn/iMaps/districts/
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