On Wednesday, September 25, 2019 Dean Gettinger, District Manager of the Bureau of Land Management's Northeastern States District; and Bob DeGross, Voyageurs National Park Superintendent, conducted a site visit to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands recently transferred to the national park. The former BLM lands, a series of small islands and parcels within the authorized boundary of Voyageurs National Park totaling 63 acres, were transferred to the National Park Service in March, 2019 when President Trump signed into law the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act.
Transfer of the lands to the National Park Service facilitates ease of management and eliminates future concerns related to ownership, management, and other administrative issues. Recreational opportunities will continue on the parcels under National Park Service policy and management guidelines.
In addition to transferring these BLM parcels the passing of the Dingell Act allows the National Park Service (NPS) to enter into a land exchange with the State of Minnesota. This exchange would transfer NPS to lands outside the park's authorized boundary with a State owned parcel of land within the boundaries of the park.
