— In Becker County, residents at the Forest Township annual meeting recently voted unanimously to protest bills in the Minnesota Legislature that would turn over state land and administration of the White Earth State Forest to the White Earth Band of Ojibwe.
Forest Township, home to Bad Medicine Lake, is located in northeastern Becker County and is within the boundaries of both the White Earth Reservation and the White Earth State Forest.
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Bills proposed in the Minnesota House — HF3783 and HF4304 — and in the Minnesota Senate — SF3480 and SF3557 — “should be tabled in committee for the remainder of the legislative session,” according to a news release from the township.
Forest Township Chair Tim Holzkamm said in an interview that residents are concerned that the “quicky” legislation was not carefully drafted, does not adequately address the real issues, and will unnecessarily result in additional land problems.
“It’s all come up very, very fast,” he said. “Three weeks ago we were not even aware of this as a legislative issue.”
One big concern in Forest Township is “access of residents to their property,” Holzkamm said. “Most access roads in this area at some point go through land that would be transferred to the tribe.”
Most people in the area have basic right-of-way permission to use the roads, but no formal right-of-way agreement, he said. “A number of people want (formal) right-of-way, and that should be resolved before any transfer takes place,” Holzkamm said.
Another concern is loss of annual state PILT (payment in lieu of taxes) funding, which currently makes up about 18% of the township budget. “There’s a lot of state-owned land in our area,” he said.
That’s one of the reasons residents “are concerned about the potential loss of recreational opportunities,” Holzkamm said, citing hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, ATV use, hiking and more. “People within Forest Township have used the proposed transfer lands for recreational purposes for generations,” he added. “The North Country National Scenic Trail, for example, crosses proposed transfer lands.”
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Township property owners have also put a lot of money into the extensive aquatic management areas on Bad Medicine Lake.
The aquatic areas were acquired by the Bad Medicine Lake Area Foundation through financial contributions by property owners, other concerned parties, and grants, and then given to the Minnesota DNR to protect sensitive areas of shoreline.
Those aquatic management areas would be transferred to the tribe under the proposed legislation. “People are saying ‘Why should we contribute to something like that if the state is just going to give it away?’” he said.
The current White Earth tribal government is pledging not to block road access or close recreational opportunities to non-tribal members following a land transfer. “ I have no doubt they mean what they say,” Holzkamm said. “But it doesn’t bind a future Reservation Business Committee — that’s the concern.”
The Forest Lake Town Board believes that “the legislation has been rushed in, without enough thought given to it. A lot of our concerns could be resolved if they took care of those problems first.”
Those issues should be worked out on the federal and state level and encoded in the legislation prior to any land transfer being approved, he said. The proposed legislation calls for a five-year window to work out any issues, but it would set up “a powerless commission to give advice on it. It has no real authority, just advises,” Holzkamm said.
Forest Township called for lawmakers to table the proposed legislation “until the public has been fully informed of its impacts and, if the legislation is continued in the future, that it be fair to all parties involved.”
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According to the news release, other issues of concern to Forest Township include:
- Transfer or sale of land to the White Earth Tribe will likely have implications for the tax status of the land and other factors. Tribal land held in trust by the Federal government can not be taxed by counties or townships. Trust status for land generally involves action by the U.S. Congress. Until the transferred or sold land is accepted by Congress as “trust-status,” it may be subject to taxes by Becker County or Forest Township levy. There may also be legal questions regarding the impact of Becker County and Forest Township zoning ordinances for the tribe.
- Concurrent with the proposed land transfer legislation, White Earth is asserting management control over resources within the reservation boundaries. Currently, those management issues appear to be focused on agricultural activities (irrigation and pesticide uses) but may extend to other resources in the future.
- Currently, there is a dispute between Minnesota and White Earth regarding White Earth Reservation boundaries. Following allotment legislation for White Earth in the late 19th Century, the four northeastern Clearwater County townships north of Forest Township were ceded by the tribe for sale of land and timber, after the federal government deemed those lands were surplus to allotment needs. Minnesota state maps exclude the four townships from the reservation, federal maps include them. Jurisdictional issues are affected.
- It is Forest Township’s position that the four bills under consideration by the state Legislature be tabled until these issues are fully resolved and that any land transfers of Minnesota state land or sales of tax-forfeited land to the White Earth Tribe require permanent legal access for affected property owners (and for emergency responders) prior to transfer or sale. Further, any such transfers or sales would require permanent access for recreational use by non-tribal members.
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