School trust lands swapped near the Boundary Waters

Acres for America announced in November they would provide up to $3.8 million in grants to protect and connect wildlife habitat across more than 100,000 acres in several state, including Minnesota.

The Minnesota project focuses largely on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, including sections in Cook County. Minnesota’s branch of the Conservation Fund will receive a $500,000 grant for Phase 1 of this project to serve as a key catalyst toward the ultimate goal of acquiring 50,000 acres of land within and around the BWCAW.

This project will also enable up to an additional 50,000 acres of privately held land to be transferred to the State of Minnesota to provide wildlife habitat, recreational uses and sustainable timber production.

WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs spoke with Steve Hobbs, the Minnesota State Director for the Conservation Fund about this project.