Letter: Forest center status remains uncertain

I am frequently asked whether or not the University of Minnesota’s Cloquet Forestry Center is now under the operation of the Fond du Lac Band. No, it is not. There has been no land transfer, although rumors and misinformation continue to be abundant.

The following is based on my knowledge, which is l

imited because all of the

meetings are still held with

no transparency.

In the recent legislative session, bills were introduced in the House and Senate to satisfy the state’s obligation to settle the bonding debt involved and transfer the land titled by the state to the university, since a small portion of the land is under state ownership. This was covered in the May 3 issue of the Pine Knot. The bill was placed in the general bonding bill, which was not acted upon by the legislature — so the CFC issue remains in limbo.

The previous U of M president, Joan Gabel, was a very strong advocate for returning the forestry center land to the Band, but with no guarantee that the research and education will continue for any length of time beyond the transfer. The university installed a new president, Rebecca Cunningham, on July 1, who has yet to speak publicly about the proposal. The Board of Regents has yet to officially vote on the transfer, but the university’s director of public relations, Jake Ricker, indicated that the university firmly supports the transfer in this statement: “Returning the land is the right thing to do and we will continue working with with Fond du Lac Band leaders toward our mutual goals of returning this land to the care of the Fond du Lac while also collaborating on important research and community outreach programs.”

The university has also established a new policy for Native American research: “Researchers must follow the guidelines for indigenous research, establish data sovereignty parameters, acquire Tribal consent, and take the University’s Tribal Relations training module, among other requirements.”

That policy will likely be the end of research at the forestry center, since I doubt that any faculty member will establish a research project under those conditions. Ethical research, authorship and academic freedom issues are all involved.

Given the current liberal administrations at both the state and federal levels transferring lands in Minnesota to tribes, it is highly likely the Cloquet transfer will take place in the near future. It’s unfortunate more consideration hasn’t been given to the value of ongoing public research and education, especially with climate change affecting all peoples.

Al Alm, Cloquet

Professor emeritus and longtime CFC staff member