A Minnesota state lawsuit claims the officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have illegally enforced the 1978 BWCA Wilderness Act. Environmental activist groups are expected to intervene in the suit if motor restriction is eased in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
LEE AXTEL: The language of the suit claims officials of the US Department of Agriculture are illegally enforcing the 1978 BWCA Wilderness Act. DNR Commissioner Joe Alexander says the suit should answer the question of federal versus state control of Minnesota waters. If the state wins the suit, motor restrictions could be eased on peripheral lakes of the Boundary Waters. This has environmentalists upset, upset enough to intervene in the suit. Bud Heinselman is a spokesman for Friends of the Boundary Waters, one of the groups expected to intervene.
BUD HEINSELMAN: The state lawsuit is not only very poorly based, legally. And we feel that we can win the case. But we feel that the motivation for the case is largely political on the part of the governor. And we feel it's extremely important that the national interest be represented in the case with very competent legal counsel.
LEE AXTEL: Bud Heinselman, former chairman of Friends of the Boundary Waters. Close to a dozen environmental groups are expected to intervene in the suit. The state suit will likely be combined with a suit filed this summer by the Boundary Waters Conservation Alliance, arguing the constitutionality of the 1978 BWCA Act. This is Lee Axtel, in Duluth.
Views and opinions expressed in the content do not represent the opinions of APMG. APMG is not responsible for objectionable content and language represented on the site. Please use the "Contact Us" button if you'd like to report a piece of content. Thank you.
Transcriptions provided are machine generated, and while APMG makes the best effort for accuracy, mistakes will happen. Please excuse these errors and use the "Contact Us" button if you'd like to report an error. Thank you.