I see one of our new immigrants to Ely, Mr. Reid Carron, is putting our more misinformation on the proposed BWCA/state/federal land exchange. Let me enlighten your readers.

First, Mr. Carron states “current law adequately provides for dealing with school trust lands, no additional legislation is necessary.” If so I ask Mr. Carron whey, after 35 years, has no exchange taken place? I’ll tell you my opinion why, because the feds, DNR, and most environmental organizations have never wanted an exchange. It’s too big a headache for the feds and the DNR. And, as for the environmentalists, the real truth is that they don’t want federal land to become state land because they know they’ll have a tougher time suing in state court than in federal court over activities they don’t like, such as logging, snowmobiling, and ATV use.

Next, let’s talk about this absurd statement in Mr. Carron’s letter claiming the bill is “a giveaway to multinational mining companies.” The 93,000 acres of school and University trust land in the BWCAW will become federal land, and the 93,000 acres of federal land in the Mesabi Purchase portion of the Superior National Forest will become state trust land and will be managed in perpetuity to raise income for public education. What bogeyman do you see under your bed here, Mr. Carron? An acre for acre exchange where state land becomes federal land and federal land becomes state land will result in no net loss of public ownership. Why is this such a hard concept for the environmental community to grasp? It certainly isn’t a giveaway to any mining company.

Next, let’s talk about Mr. Carron’s claim that “Ely area residents…will lose scores of thousands of acres of Superior National Forest land that are now available for hunting, snowmobiling, hiking, snowshoeing, and many other recreational pursuits.” While many of the “old immigrants” from the Ely and Tower area must be thinking that he’s talking about the original Boundary Waters Act, Mr. Carron, let me assure them that this claim about the land exchange is an absolute lie. In fact, Ely and Tower area residents will have an easier time recreating on the new state land. But that’s really why environmentalists oppose this bill— because they know it will be easier to put in a snowmobile trail or cut down a tree on state land than on federal land.

Mr. Carron’s letter, to put it in Range-speak, is just a bunch of BS. To imply that any member of the Iron Range delegation is supporting this legislation because we are stoolies for “multinational mining companies” is nuts. I am always going to be on the side of the miners and our mining communities, and not the big companies. But while I am no economic genius, I know that without mining and mining companies, we have no Iron Range.

Ely, tower, Winton, Cook Grand Rapids, and the North Shore couldn’t exist without our taconite industry. And the truth is, we are currently mining in the Superior National Forest, and we haven’t harmed it, have we? Minntac, Arcelor Mittal, North Shore Mining, and Mesabi Nugget are all currently operating in the Superior National Forest and it’s their taconite taxes that keep all our communities, including Duluth, alive.

So while Mr. Carron is worried about the Range turning into a “banana republic,” I’m worrying about a bunch of hypocritical environmentalists who want to turn our proud, productive, mining-based Iron Range into a Bangladesh where we can all be “sherpas” carrying bags and canoes for tourists, and existing on their tips and leftovers!

Tom Rukavina

State Representative

District 5A