Below is a copy of the Friends' letter to Minnesota's Congressional delegation, urging it to increase funding for land acquisition in Minnesota national forests. The letter is signed by 14 organizations.
March 13, 2003
We urge you to support $2.4 million for land acquisition to Minnesota’s national forests in the 2004 Interior Appropriations bill. As you may know, the President’s 2004 budget provides only $500,000 from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the Superior and Chippewa National Forests to acquire threatened land from willing sellers.
The president’s request represents a considerable drop from the $1.6 million appropriated in Fiscal Year 2003 to Minnesota national forests. It is integral that funding be increased to ensure the long-term protection of lands in northern Minnesota, including those which border the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) and other sensitive areas.
Moreover, it is critical that Minnesota maintain funding parity with Michigan and Wisconsin. From Fiscal Years 1997 through 2002, Superior and Chippewa National Forests received $1.9 million; during that period Michigan and Wisconsin received $2.5 million and $8.8 million, respectively. This discrepancy is more glaring given that Michigan has slightly more federal forest acreage than Minnesota, and Wisconsin has considerably less than Minnesota.
In Fiscal Year 2004, the Minnesota national forests hope to acquire six properties. These properties would be valuable additions to the Chippewa and Superior National Forests, protecting important fish and waterfowl habitat. Failure to secure more than $500,000 for land acquisition would allow some of these properties to be sold to private owners, thus risking development.
We request your continued support for the acquisition program in Minnesota forests and urge you to support $2.4 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for this purpose in the final Interior bill. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness
American Lands Alliance - Upper Midwest
American Public Information on the Environment
Audubon Minnesota
Duluth Audubon Society
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Izaak Walton League of America, Minnesota Division
Minnesota Catholic Conference
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
Minnesota Ornithologists' Union
Scenic Minnesota
Sierra Club, North Star Chapter
Superior Wilderness Action Network
Voyageurs National Park Association