DNR begins public engagement for replacing state park recreational opportunities in western Minnesota

Tom Cherveny, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·4 min read

Jul. 1—GRANITE FALLS

— What could be a lengthy — but potentially exciting — process lies ahead as the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources works to transfer the

Upper Sioux Agency State Park

to the

Upper Sioux Community

.

Ann Pierce, parks and trails director for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said the legislation transferring the park also offers the possibility of "exciting opportunities" to provide replacement recreational values in the western Minnesota River Valley. Pierce and DNR representatives on Thursday in Granite Falls hosted what will be the first of a series of engagement sessions to gather public input on those potential opportunities.

Pierce and Scott Roemhildt, regional director for the DNR, told audiences in two sessions in Granite Falls that the legislation provides $5 million toward those new opportunities. Both pledged that the funds will be committed to opportunities in the area.

Land for the 1,280-acre state park was acquired with federal Land and Water Conservation Fund monies.

Federal rules require that an equal recreational "value" be provided if the land is no longer used as a park.

Pierce said the federal designation on the park land could be placed on new land being acquired with other funds by the DNR. That would open up greater flexibility for using the $5 million on enhancing recreational opportunities through expanding existing parks or other possibilities, including acquiring new land in the river valley area.

It is even possible to develop a new park, but Pierce and Roemhildt acknowledged that the allocated funds would not be able to replace the acreage in the park.

Both urged that the area consider seeking legislative support for obtaining more state funding for replacing the recreational opportunities.

The legislation requires the DNR to develop a report by early January describing the obstacles to the land transfer. It is not known when the transfer will occur, or how long the process to find replacement opportunities will take. Pierce said the DNR is hoping to develop a list of potential opportunities by later this year.

While the DNR representatives expressed optimism about the upcoming process, their enthusiasm was not shared by all those attending the Granite Falls afternoon session.

Greg Renneke, a member of the

Yellow Medicine County Board of Commissioners

, expressed his displeasure. "We're all here because we don't want this to happen," he said.

No legislators were present for the session, and questions raised by attendees as to why there were no opportunities for public input prior to the the legislation's approval were not answered.

Roemhildt said that the DNR did not know in advance that the legislation was going to be introduced. The area's two local legislators — Sen. Gary Dahms, R-Redwood Falls, and Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent — were not authors of the legislation.

Another frequent question raised by the public — how the Upper Sioux Community will use the land— has not yet been decided, according to Kevin Jensvold, tribal chairman of the

Upper Sioux Community

. He told attendees that it will not be used as recreational land. The community believes it should never have been designated as recreational land, he explained.

The transfer has brought criticism. "The tribe seems to be the target of all the discussion," he said.

But Jensvold pledged his community's ongoing support for the process of finding replacement recreational opportunities. He said tribal representatives successfully obtained approval from the National Park Service to allow more than the one-year time frame normally allowed for finding replacement value.

"We can be the best allies and active participants," he said of the process to obtain replacement opportunities.

The two DNR-sponsored sessions on Thursday also offered participants opportunities to work as small groups to identify the types of recreational opportunities — and potential locations for them — in the western Minnesota area. The ideas will be reviewed by DNR staff as the process continues.

Participants at meetings hosted by the Land Stewardship Project in recent weeks indicated that many residents want to find the types of recreational opportunities now provided by the park.

At an LSP-sponsored session held on Wednesday evening in Granite Falls, participants said they appreciated the park for its wilderness, quiet and solitude, along with the opportunities for activities like hiking, camping, horseback riding and fishing.

For many, it came down to the wilderness values the park situated at the meeting of the Minnesota and Yellow Medicine Rivers offers.

"It's great to have something so close and yet feel like you are so far away," said Virginia Homme, a resident of the valley since the 1970s, at the Land Stewardship meeting.