The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has opened a 30-day public comment period on the Keystone Woods Wildlife Management Area Environmental Assessment. This is a federally required assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act that evaluates the environmental impacts of the potential federal action of applying a Land and Water Conservation Fund encumbrance to 455.55 acres of the WMA.

An LWCF encumbrance is created when federal LWCF funding is used to purchase or improve land for public outdoor recreation. The encumbrance specifies that the land be managed for outdoor recreation in perpetuity; however, federal law and regulations allow an LWCF encumbrance to be moved from one location to another if certain conditions are met. The process of moving an LWCF encumbrance is known as an LWCF conversion.

DNR is asking the National Park Service to place the LWCF encumbrance that was removed from the land at the former Upper Sioux Agency State Park in Yellow Medicine County onto a portion of the Keystone Woods WMA. This LWCF conversion was necessitated by the ownership transfer of the land at the former state park to the Upper Sioux Community. As a result of the ownership transfer, that land no longer provides public outdoor recreation, and the LWCF encumbrance must be placed on other land of equal or greater market value that will be used for public outdoor recreation in perpetuity.

The environmental assessment (mndnr.gov/input/environmentalreview/keystone-woods-wma.html) reviews the proposed placement of LWCF encumbrance on Keystone Woods WMA with associated construction of gravel parking lots to support public outdoor recreation. The environmental assessment solely addresses the LWCF conversion triggered by the ownership transfer of Upper Sioux Agency State Park. It does not address the management of Keystone Woods WMA or efforts to provide new and expanded recreational opportunities in the Upper Minnesota River Valley, each of which are separate DNR efforts.

The DNR is taking comments on the environmental assessment through Friday, Aug. 23 at 5 p.m. CST. Mail-in comments must be post-marked on or before Aug. 23, 2025. Comments can be submitted to Sarah Wennerberg, DNR Parks and Trails Division by:

• Email to sarah.wennerberg@state.mn.us; please put “LWCF on Keystone Woods WMA” on the email subject line
• Calling 651-259-5579
• Mailing Sarah Wennerberg, Parks and Trails Division, Minnesota DNR, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155

The environmental assessment can be found on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/input/environmentalreview/keystone-woods-wma.html). In addition, a printed copy of the assessment is available at Carlos-Avery State Wildlife Management Area, located at 5463 W Broadway Ave, Columbus, MN, 55025.