When Upper Sioux Agency State Park was closed and transferred to the Upper Sioux Community in 2024, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources was obligated to ensure the federal protections that encumbered the lands would be transferred to a reasonable replacement. The nonprofit Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota (P&TC) says the MNDNR’s specified replacement, Keystone Woods Wildlife Management Area (WMA), doesn’t fit the bill.
The federal protections on Upper Sioux Agency State Park originated from when the land was originally purchased using federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) dollars. Although many Americans are unfamiliar with this fund, it is regarded by many parks advocates as one of the most important programs for conserving irreplaceable lands and enhancing outdoor recreation nationwide. The key strength of this program is that once land is acquired with these funds, it is permanently protected for outdoor recreation. In rare cases, such lands can be sold, but only if replaced according to strict standards that include equivalency.
P&TC believes that Keystone Woods WMA is neither reasonably equivalent in usefulness nor in location. Upper Sioux Agency was a state park that offered 72 campsites, 16 miles of trails, picnic areas, fishing opportunities, a nature play area, and interpretive programs. In contrast, the replacement property at Keystone Woods WMA is located 160 miles away, and its planned recreational amenities are limited to a gravel parking lot and about two miles of hiking trails.
Beyond the equivalency mismatch, P&TC points out that since the Keystone Woods property was purchased with the Outdoor Heritage Fund, it’s already legally protected for perpetuity. “Using the LWCF protection here is duplicative and effectively dilutes the program’s intended impact by restricting this valuable tool from being used on recreation land that is not being protected for perpetuity,” says P&TC president Brett Feldman.
P&TC has maintained that this LWCF protection should remain within the state park system. WMAs and state parks differ in purpose as defined in state law. “WMAs play an essential role in Minnesota’s conservation system, particularly for supporting wildlife habitat and regulated hunting and fishing,” says Feldman. “But they don’t provide the same broad-based recreational opportunities while also preserving, perpetuating, and interpreting Minnesota’s natural resources the way state parks do.”
Minnesota has over five times more acreage dedicated to WMAs than state parks. “We cannot afford to lose any of the hard-earned protections for any of our state park lands,” says Feldman.
P&TC supported the conveyance of Upper Sioux Agency State Park to the Upper Sioux Community Pezihutazizi Oyate. “There are times when it is appropriate for the state to take meaningful action to acknowledge and address historic injustices experienced by Native Nations with whom it shares geography,” Feldman says. “At the same time, the state must continue to show its commitment to state parks, and finding a replacement for the LWCF within the state park system is an important way to do that.”