Avery Hildebrand

In recognition of local governments’ work to protect the Great Outdoors, we launched the Blazing Star Award in 2022. Learn about the 2023 winners!

We're celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day by highlighting a 2023 law that returns the Upper Sioux Agency State Park, a culturally significant site in Southwest Minnesota, to the Upper Sioux Community. Read more about the bill and the history behind this decision.

As we reflect on Juneteenth—an official state holiday as of this year—it’s important to acknowledge the ways that racism has seeped into different parts of our everyday lives. Inequalities and systematic barriers bleed into every system, big and small, of our society. The world of conservation and outdoor recreation is no different. We must do more to intentionally create a welcoming and inclusive outdoor recreation culture in Minnesota.

In January, the US Department of the Interior announced a 20-year moratorium of sulfide-ore copper mining on 225,000 acres of land near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA), but this moratorium can be overturned by future presidential administrations. We need to continue to push for permanent protections for the BWCA and the surrounding area, both locally and nationally. 

This legislative session, Minnesota has an opportunity to establish an office of outdoor recreation, which would inspire interest in the environment and bolster our sizeable outdoor recreation economy. Eighteen other states have already established outdoor recreation offices. Here's why we should join them.