Voyageurs National Park

Parks & Trails Council partners with Voyageurs National Park Association to secure privately owned land within park boundaries, ensuring it will remain forever publicly accessible

It is no secret that there is more privately owned land being put on the market within authorized park boundaries than there is available state and federal funding to purchase that land for our public park systems. That is why the work of organizations like the Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota and Voyageurs National Park Association (VNPA) is so critical to ensuring that our parks are protected from private development and nurtured to complete public ownership as originally intended.

On Oct. 17, 2007, the two organizations, which have a shared history dating back to the early 1960s, announced they had joined forces to acquire a 3.4-acre Kabetogama Peninsula shoreline property.

“The property was the highest land acquisition priority for the park because of its high visibility to visitors entering the park from Rainy Lake,” said VNPA Executive Director Cory MacNulty. “Acquiring land that goes up for sale is critical because the park has no authority over how private lands within the park are managed.”

The acquisition is also significant because it represents a new area of focus for the 42-year-old VNPA. The group has historically served the park through citizen advocacy and by providing direct financial and volunteer support to maintain park programs harmed by budget cuts.

But with 54 private properties totaling 913 acres still within park boundaries and a National Park Service with no budget to acquire them, VNPA is feeling a sense of urgency to establish a land fund to purchase these critical lands as they go up for sale. All of the private properties that remain within the park are either shoreline properties or islands that are highly visible from the water.

“We are pleased to have had the funds to purchase a property so critical to the integrity of Voyageurs National Park,” said Parks & Trails Council Executive Director Dorian Grilley. “We look forward to exploring opportunities to expand our land acquisition program so that we might assist VNPA with future in-holding purchases as willing sellers put their lands up for sale.”

Located 300 miles north of the Twin Cities and stretching across 55 miles of border country between Minnesota and Ontario, Voyageurs National Park is Minnesota’s only national park. The water-based park is one of the nation’s wildest, most remote and unique national parks, and it is widely loved for its beauty, wildlife and recreational opportunities.

About Voyageurs National Park Association
Voyageurs National Park Association (VNPA) was formed in 1965 to establish Voyageurs National Park. That vision became a reality in 1975. As the primary citizen support and advocacy group for the park, VNPA works to protect and promote the natural, recreational, and historic resources of Voyageurs National Park.