Forest fail
The University of Minnesota quietly tries to surrender a treasured natural resource.
The 115-year-old Cloquet Forestry Center (CFC), operated by the University of Minnesota, has long been recognized as one of the premier timber research, education, and outreach field stations in North America. The 3,400-acre forest, located just west of Cloquet in northeastern Minnesota, serves as the outdoor laboratory for numerous studies that can never be replicated or replaced.
Among them are a century-old study of a stand of 200-year-old white and red pines, 400 large study plots initiated in the 1950s to improve the genetics, ecology, and productivity of Minnesota forests, and a 30-year-old climate adaptation project underwritten by the National Science Foundation.
It’s the go-to forestry training center in the region, drawing not only forestry and wildlife students but also U.S. Forest Service professionals, scientists, and timber industry experts that log an estimated 10,000 visitor days a year, not to mention having an estimated land value of $25 to $75 million.
Yet the future of this “nationally recognized gem” suddenly hangs in the balance. For several years, the University of Minnesota has been quietly meeting with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (FDL) on a plan that caught many by surprise. The “U” has begun the process of relinquishing the forest and research center, which lies within the reservation’s boundaries, to the FDL as a gesture of goodwill.
“The proposal has the potential to destroy a century of research on forest and wildlife protection, management, and conservation. In brief, if we lose the CFC, we all lose,” according to Alan Ek, a U of MN School of Forestry alum, professor emeritus, and retired Department of Forest Resources head. “The list of those losing begins with the U of MN’s forestry education, research and outreach program and stakeholders …from all walks of life who value Minnesota’s forests.”
It’s an outcome of former university president Joan Gabel’s MPact 2025 initiative, which aims to “rebuild trust with Indigenous communities in a way that addresses the past and creates a shared future that benefits all. Those goals naturally extended to discussions about returning this land,” a page on the university website states.
“The university has to be more transparent and public about these talks and agreements with folks,” said Sen. Jason Rarick (11-R), who represents the area and opposes the land giveaway. “Most of the commissioners I’ve talked to in Carlton County and other folks, they are pretty opposed to this. They just know nothing about what is happening.”
In addition to questions regarding the secrecy surrounding the process, concerns extend to the state’s $17 billion timber industry, the fifth-largest manufacturing sector in Minnesota. While the university insists current research and education projects could continue posttransfer, the Memorandum of Understanding between the “U” and the tribe contains no guarantee.
“Given the importance of the forest for research, teaching and outreach, and the forest products industry’s involvement in creating the CFC, we strongly encourage the University of Minnesota to retain the land base around the Cloquet Forestry Center,” Minnesota Forest Industries Executive V.P. Rick Horton said in a letter to U of MN officials.
The controversial land deal caught the attention of the Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC). The nonprofit, public interest law firm fired off a letter to university officials questioning the deal’s legitimacy.
UMLC claims the transfer is in “direct contravention” of the 1909 state law directing the Board of Regents to maintain the land as a forestry station. The legal challenge additionally notes that the university does not have an appraisal for the property, much less two, as the institution’s real estate procedures require for transactions exceeding $250,000 in value. UMLC attorneys also inquired about the role in negotiations of Fond du Lac resident and former tribal chairman Karen Diver, now the university’s senior advisor to the president on Native American affairs.
In response, University officials rejected UMLC’s concerns across the board in a four-page letter that included a pointed defense of Diver.
“Ms. Diver has been an invaluable resource to the University when it comes to Native American affairs,” wrote U of MN general counsel Douglas Peterson. “And to imply that she must recuse herself from any matters relating to Native Americans, including but not limited to the Fond du Lac Band, because of her (or her family members’) background is misplaced.”
UMLC president Doug Seaton remains opposed.
“As is hopefully apparent, our concerns regarding this transaction have only grown as we have studied your response and the MOU,” wrote Seaton. “…We request that this transfer not proceed and that the land remain dedicated to its current academic purposes.”
University officials had hoped to get the Board of Regents’ final approval for the transaction later this summer. But those hopes were dashed when state legislators ran out of time to give the “U” the necessary title to 400 acres of state land within the CFC and failed to pass a bonding bill containing $1.3 million to pay off remaining debt.
That leaves the fate of the transfer in the hands of the legislature. It’s not much of an opening, but the CFC’s supporters will take it.
“If your goal is teaching, education, research, and outreach to the community, Cloquet could not be better,” said Fred Cubbage, a U of MN forestry graduate and professor of natural resources at North Carolina State University. “And its passing to any type of owner could not be worse.”