DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service is giving the public more time to weigh in on a proposal to swap state-owned land within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area for federal land elsewhere in the Superior National Forest.
Citing high public interest, the Forest Service has extended the comment period through May 15.
About 83,000 acres of state-owned "school trust land" lies within the protected BWCA. The state and federal governments propose to trade a third of that for other federal land that the state could then use to generate revenue for public schools via logging, mining or other development.
Some environmentalists oppose the land swap because it would shrink the Superior National Forest by 47 square miles. Some of that land is now open for recreation, while other parts are high-quality habitat.
(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Forest Service Extends Comment Period On BWCA Land Swap
/ CBS Minnesota
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service is giving the public more time to weigh in on a proposal to swap state-owned land within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area for federal land elsewhere in the Superior National Forest.
Citing high public interest, the Forest Service has extended the comment period through May 15.
About 83,000 acres of state-owned "school trust land" lies within the protected BWCA. The state and federal governments propose to trade a third of that for other federal land that the state could then use to generate revenue for public schools via logging, mining or other development.
Some environmentalists oppose the land swap because it would shrink the Superior National Forest by 47 square miles. Some of that land is now open for recreation, while other parts are high-quality habitat.
(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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