In the final days of December, Boundary Waters champion U.S. Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota succeeded in passing a critical piece of legislation through the U.S. Senate: the Thye-Blatnik Amendment. This Amendment would provide a significant and stable source of funding for the Boundary Waters counties—Lake, St. Louis, and Cook—ensuring financial support for key community projects like road maintenance and public services.
Senator Smith demonstrated steadfast leadership and an unyielding commitment to Boundary Waters communities by dedicating her time and resources to reevaluating outdated Thye-Blatnik appraisal methods. Her tireless efforts reflect a deep dedication to ensuring that Northeastern Minnesota counties receive the fair, stable funding they deserve to thrive and support their residents.
How does Thye-Blatnik work?
For more than 75 years, the Thye-Blatnik Act has provided financial support to the three northeastern Minnesota counties affected by federal ownership of lands within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), which are exempt from property taxes. Thye-Blatnik payments-in-lieu of taxes have funded vital projects in local communities, from road and bridge maintenance to health and human services. However, the current appraisal system leaves communities vulnerable to funding cuts—an issue highlighted by a 2018 appraisal that threatened to slash annual county payments by nearly $2 million.
Senator Smith’s Amendment would lock in Thye-Blatnik payment levels at the historic high appraisal value while implementing future reappraisals to ensure that Thye-Blatnik PILT payments either remain steady or increase—never decrease. Senator Smith’s Amendment allows the critical revenue funds to keep streaming into the counties. It passed out of the Senate on December 20.
In 1948 Congress passed the Thye-Blatnik Act. The Act directed the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire lands within the future Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. In return, annual payments in lieu of taxes based on the value of federal lands were promised to the three Boundary Waters counties of St. Louis, Lake, and Cook.
Approximately $150 million has been paid to the counties since 1948. As additional lands within the Boundary Waters are acquired by the Forest Service, they are added to the Thye-Blatnik payment system, increasing annual amounts paid to the three counties at the next 10-year adjustment.
The impact on State School Trust Lands:
These annual payments to the counties will also increase after the sale of approximately 80,000 acres of state school trust lands located within the Boundary Waters by the State of Minnesota to the Forest Service. In addition to adding to Thye-Blatnik payments, the sale of the school trust lands will immediately deliver about $33 million of federal funds to the State Permanent School Fund, providing payments in perpetuity to Minnesota’s school children. In 40 years, sale proceeds of $33 million will grow to $528 million (based on the earnings on the Permanent Fund over the past 10 years). Congress has fully appropriated funding for the purchase of the Boundary Waters school trust lands.
Unfortunately, Representative Stauber opposes the sale of the Boundary Waters school trust lands and instead argues for a land exchange that would generate only $33 million from logging revenues (based on the DNR’s contributions to the Fund from logging on state school trust lands) to the Permanent School Fund after the same 40 years. The choice is - after 40 years of investment growth - $528 million (sale to the Forest Service) or $33 million (logging receipts after a land exchange) for public education. Instead of supporting Minnesota’s school children, once again Stauber fights for extraction industries at the expense of his constituents and Minnesota’s children.
What’s next for Senator Smith’s Amendment?The bill didn’t pass the U.S. House. Despite bipartisan support in the Senate, the Amendment stalled in the U.S. House. Representative Pete Stauber failed to act in the best interests of his own constituents, preventing the bill from even being brought to a vote.
As we step into a pivotal new year, the fight to protect the Boundary Waters intensifies. This year, we face monumental new challenges in the work to safeguard the watershed of Canoe Country against the threats of toxic copper mining pollution.
That’s why the Boundary Waters Action Fund plays such a vital role. As the electoral wing of the coalition to Save the Boundary Waters, we’re a federally recognized 501(c)(4) dedicated to defending this irreplaceable wilderness. Your support enables us to influence candidates, elected officials, and voters to ensure that the Boundary Waters is preserved for generations to come.