歪歪漫画

DETROIT LAKES 鈥� The Becker County Board voted unanimously on Tuesday for a resolution opposing the transfer of 155,000 acres of the White Earth State Forest over to the White Earth Band of Ojibwe.

Then the commissioners upped the ante by approving up to $15,000 to pay for a lobbyist to fight the bill in St. Paul.

鈥淚 just don鈥檛 know where to start with this 鈥� this is so overwhelming with such a short time frame,鈥� said Commissioner Barry Nelson, noting that the first hearing on the bill is set for Thursday in St. Paul.

鈥淚t has moved so fast,鈥� added Board Chairman John Okeson. 鈥淚t went from no (legislative) hearing date Saturday, and here we got a notice yesterday that there鈥檚 a hearing on Thursday 鈥� Businesses in the area are very, very concerned about losing that property up there.鈥�

The bill also gives the White Earth Band the first option to buy any tax-forfeited land offered for sale in the forest.

The bill (Senate File 3480 and House File 4304) was sponsored by state Sen. Mary Kunesh, DFL-New Brighton, and Rep. Aisha Gomez, DFL-Minneapolis.

鈥淭he bill is changing as we speak,鈥� Nelson said. 鈥淭hey are now wanting first right of refusal on (the sale of) private property 鈥� I just don鈥檛 know how you can do that. And the DNR has not been brought in. There are so many red flags on this, it鈥檚 just mind-boggling.鈥�

State Sen. Rob Kupec, DFL-Moorhead, on Saturday, called looking for feedback on economic impacts to Becker County, said Interim County Administrator Carrie Smith.

鈥淲e need to inform the legislature of the fiscal loss,鈥� to townships and the county, said Commissioner Erica Jepson.

鈥淚f we lose tax-forfeited land, we鈥檝e lost revenue to schools, the townships and the counties just through (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) and timber sales,鈥� Nelson said. 鈥淗unting, camping, hiking, picnicking, snowmobiling, ATV, UTV, horseback riding, bird-watching 鈥� we have a huge bird-watching event in Detroit Lakes 鈥� boating, access to boat ramps, kayaking, swimming, canoeing, cabin leasing 鈥� the list is huge.鈥�

Most of the White Earth State Forest is within the borders of the White Earth Nation. Property there is a mix of state-managed and county-managed tax-forfeited land, tribal land, and privately-owned homes and land.

There is a lot of concern about people losing access to hunting land and trails and even losing access to their property.

鈥淭he tribe has closed access to roads before, well-established roads,鈥� Nelson said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e putting your head in the sand if you don鈥檛 think it could happen. It鈥檚 a systematic way of getting what they want in the end. What is the gain? Native Americans have full access now 鈥� the only thing is to close this off to others.鈥�

Contributed / Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

The White Earth State Forest is split roughly evenly among Becker, Mahnomen and Clearwater Counties.

In its resolution, Becker County listed several reasons for opposing the bill:

• The transfer of state-managed forest lands to the White Earth Band would restrict legal access to Becker County-managed tax-forfeited land.
• Access to public and privately owned land would be restricted if state lands were transferred to tribal ownership.
• The transfer would affect a host of recreational activities and businesses that depend on them in the area, hurting the local and regional economy.
• Access over state forest roads, forest trails and lake accesses would be restricted, making it more difficult for local emergency responders to provide help in the area when needed.
• Counties and other local units of government would lose out on current PILT funds paid to them by the state.

Several Becker County commissioners and department heads plan to attend the hearing in St. Paul on Thursday, some in person and some remotely over Zoom.