VOYAGEURS REGION NATIONAL PARK ASSOCIATION:

In 1961 the state of Minnesota asked the U.S. National Park Service to study the area around the Kabetogama Peninsula as a possible site for a national park. The Voyageurs National Park Association was formed in April 1965 to encourage the development of this national park site. Funds for the association were initially provided by the Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce. Former Minnesota Governor Elmer L. Andersen headed the group, and the association was allowed to locate at the H.B. Fuller Company's Department of Civic Affairs in St. Paul until 1966 (Andersen was the president of H.B. Fuller).

A parallel group, the Citizens Committee for the Voyageurs National Park (sic), was formed about 1967. This group eventually merged with the Voyageurs National Park Association. The association lobbied state and federal legislators, formed local chapters, produced films and other promotional materials, and solicited contributions to support its work. Rita F. Shemesh served as secretary of the organization. The group's primary objective was to have Congress enact a law authorizing the establishment of the Voyageurs National Park.

Opposition to the park came mostly from local residents and the forest products industry. Most of the arguments opposing the park related to the decreased tax base that would result from increasing government ownership of Minnesota's land, the increased traffic and congestion that the park would promote, and the displacement of private land owners. Congressional hearings were held in 1969 and 1970, and in spite of the strong opposition, an act authorizing the park was passed on January 8, 1971.

This act, however, did not establish the park. Minnesota was required to transfer certain state lands before the creation of the Voyageurs National Park could proceed. It was not until 1975 that a taxpayer suit blocking the transfer of these lands was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. The park was formally established in April of that year.

A Citizen's Committee for Voyageur National Park was soon created by the state legislature to monitor all matters relating to the establishment and operations of the national park. This group does not seem to have had any relation to the Voyageurs National Park Association or to the earlier citizens' committee.

Since the establishment of Voyageurs National Park in 1975, the association has served as an informal advisory board to the National Park Service in the planning and development of the park. In 1985 the organization was renamed the Voyageurs Region National Park Association to reflect the broadening of its mandate to include conservation issues relating to the St. Croix National Scenic Waterway.

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The records contain correspondence, minutes, news releases, newsletters, grant applications, printed material, newspaper clippings, and related material of the Voyageurs Region National Park Association. The records pertain to the legislative establishment of the park (1968-1975), and subsequent planning and development issues relating to Voyageurs and the St. Croix National Scenic Waterway.

The correspondence includes letters of former Minnesota Governor Elmer Andersen, Rita F. Shemesh, Martin N. Kellogg, Mary Kenny, Judge Edwin P. Chapman (association board member), Congressman John A. Blatnik, and other government officials. Also included are Executive Board and Council correspondence and related papers, minutes, and reports.

Bills and legislation include various bill drafts and the final 1971 act authorizing the park, as well as subsequent attempts to alter or augment legislation affecting the park and waterway. Meetings, Minutes, and Events notebooks contain a wide range of information on association activities, as well as background information and clippings.

The subject files include information on various issues, including snowmobile and aircraft use in the park; on partnerships with other conservation organizations; and maps, membership information, and printed material, including brochures, government studies and reports, and magazine articles. Black and white photographs are included in the Executive Biography file, and in the Subject files under "Photographs" and "VNP Interpretive Article Series."

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Voyageurs Region National Park Association Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 11,582; 12,373; 15,313; 15,986

Processing Information:

Processed by: Bruce Bruemmer, April 1982; Robert Teigrob, August 1996; Alex Kent, December 2009.

Catalog ID number: 990017162950104294

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See also Meetings, Minutes, and Events notebooks.

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For further information on the Association, see the Friends of the Wilderness Records, also in the MHS manuscript collections. Two films produced by the Voyageurs Region National Park Association are in the MHS sound and visual collections.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Environmental policy.

National parks and reserves -- Minnesota.

Wilderness areas -- Law and legislation.

Places:

Voyageurs National Park.

St. Croix National Scenic Waterway.

Persons:

Andersen, Elmer L., 1909-2004.

Blatnik, John A., 1911-1991.

Chapman, Edwin P.

Kellogg, Martin N.

Kenny, Mary.

Shemesh, Rita F.

Organizations:

Citizens Committee for the Voyageurs National Park.

Izaak Walton League of America.

National Park Association.

Sierra Club.

National Parks and Conservation Association.

Types of Documents:

Photographs.

Press releases.

Occupations:

Conservationists.

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