Dear MN Parks...

Summary

The essays and reports on this website speak directly to the future of parks and protected areas in present-day Minnesota. The authors are University of Minnestota students with passions and growing expertise in environmental sciencesenvironmental sciences, policy, and management. Each student participated in the Parks and Protected Area Management Field Studies course taught by Dr. Mae Davenport in in northeastern Minnesota and the 1854 Treaty Area. Here, they reflect on their experiences, present novel ideas, and demonstrate their commitment to a more sustainable and just future for all of Minnesota’s land-water-human relationships.

DISCLAIMER: This website presents work by University of Minnesota students. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Minnesota Department of Forest Resources. Likewise, the University of Minnesota Department of Forest Resources does not guarantee the accuracy of information presented in these pieces. 

About 

In August 2023, fourteen students spent 10 days engaging with cultural and natural resource stewards across the 1854 Treaty Area, what is now called northeastern Minnesota through the University of Minnesota’s Parks and Protected Areas Field Studies course. Together with Professor and Center for Changing Landscapes Director Mae Davenport, they explored critical issues in parks and protected area management, including:

• Tribal sovereignty and Treaty Rights;

• disparities and inclusion in outdoor recreation management;

• holistic stewardship of culturally significant beings (species)

• balancing the benefits and impacts of resource extraction and eco-tourism; and

• honoring multiple human-nature relationships and identities. 

The students met and walked the land together with land managers and field staff, including knowledge holders at Tribal and treaty-area stewardship agencies, U.S. public land management agencies, and state parks, as well as representatives of county, municipal, and university departments.

They encountered difficult stories of cultural oppression, land displacement and violence, and the complex consequences of climate change. Together with community partners, they also shared profoundly spiritual connections at sacred places, awe and wonderment at ecologically rich sites, and land-water-human relationships across organizations, cultures, experiences, and ways of knowing.

Each day, the students came together to write and reflect on their experiences across all senses and with their minds, hearts, and spirits. They supported and challenged one another. They asked questions, sought answers, and deliberated meaning together.

The essays and reports featured on this website speak directly to the future of parks and protected areas in present-day Minnesota. Each demonstrates a commitment to a more sustainable and just future for Minnesota land-water-human relationships.

About Park and Protected Area Management Field Studies

In this 10-day field study course, students travel to Ely, Minnesota, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, where they gain hands-on training, meet with professionals in the field, and enjoy a wilderness canoe trip. 

Students in this field session:

• Learn about park and wilderness management, indigenous stewardship, environmental policy, and tribal treaty rights.

• Engage in hands-on training in cultural resource protection, wildlife population estimates, campsite impact analysis, water quality monitoring, camping, canoeing, and orienteering.

• Enjoy a 3-day wilderness canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota.

• Meet with tribal, federal, and state natural resource managers and tourism officials to learn about careers in recreation, natural and cultural resource management, and sustainable tourism.

The 2-credit course is taught by Professor Dr. Mae Davenport and offered every August.