Voyageurs National Park faces budget cuts amid 50th birthday revelry

If you ve ever spent time planning a milestone birthday party and then ascertained out you don t have the tools to truly celebrate you might understand what s happening at Minnesota s lone national park in Voyageurs National Park the -acre expanse of water and wilderness on the Canadian territory line just east of International Falls turns this year And the gala celebration planned by the park s myriad fans has been tempered just a bit by the announcement earlier this year of sweeping budget cuts all across the National Park Institution According to various reports the budget reductions reported in February by Elon Musk and his controversial Department of Regime Efficiency have left as several as park staff positions vacant at Voyageurs The park opened in amid fanfare and specific conflict as certain long-time property owners in the area were pressured to sell their lake cabins to the NPS But none of that prospective bad news or a spring cloudburst could dampen the newest celebration of the park s th birthday held at a Minneapolis brewery by the Voyageurs Conservancy which was founded a decade before the park opened and works to connect more people to Voyageurs Hundreds braved a sudden late May rain and turned out for the celebration which featured information about Voyageurs food live music and a silent auction to raise money for the conservancy s efforts Everyone loves a birthday and we re birthdaying the hell out of the birthday We re doing it all year long It s not just one day it s a full year of engagements revealed Christina Hausman Rhode the conservancy s executive director We ve had a couple of bumps in the road with federal changes We ve lost staff and there s particular uncertainty there but through it all this is an fundamental moment to celebrate the park to be thinking about the future and to be thinking about the vision for the national park in our state The park welcomes upwards of visitors per year with a notable uptick during the pandemic when more people were seeking outdoor recreation Those numbers put Voyageurs somewhere in the middle attendance-wise among the country s national parks far below the million visitors the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina saw in and well ahead of Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska which saw just over visitors last year Isle Royale National Park which is in Michigan but located just off the tip of Minnesota s Arrowhead and is accessible only by boat or plane recorded visitors in Hausman Rhode commented that in a state like Minnesota that celebrates the outdoors from the wilderness of the Boundary Waters to the hiking trails of the Driftless area in the southeastern corner of the state a surprising number of people aren t aware that the state has a national park and multiple have never been there Collectively the conservancy is working to change that We are another part of that mosaic of wonderful constituents lands in our state she declared I think Voyageurs kind of completes that mosaic as it s everything Minnesotans love It s the big lakes it s the boats it s the loons it s the wolves And we put it in a national park and it s our gift to the rest of the National Park Amenity In addition to opportunities to view wildlife up close and camp in secluded sites specially designed so you don t see neighboring campers Voyageurs sells itself as a Dark Sky Park popular for stargazers for the lack of light defilement and the opportunity to see a vast cosmic array and even northern lights on clear nights While fishing camping and boating have dependably been staples for Voyageurs visitors Hausman Rhode reported houseboating and sea kayaking are among the programs seeing a latest spike in popularity at the park The DOGE cuts have touched off a backlash from coast to coast with a group called More Perfect Union erecting billboards in Minnesota and Wisconsin noting that the Trump administration s funding reductions could mean reduced staff and increased danger for park visitors in We are down particular staff positions and the next proposed federal budget is looking really grim for the National Park Provision Hausman Rhode commented We don t know totally how that will filter down to the National Park Organization but we know cuts are being proposed The park has visitors centers at Rainy Lake Kabetogema Lake and Ash River all of which can be reached from the Twin Cities in under five hours of driving The park does not require an entry fee although there are separate charges for camping houseboat permits boat tours and on-site equipment rentals More information about the Voyageurs Conservancy and their efforts can be determined at voyageurs org Related Articles No Wi-Fi no issue family-friendly hike-in lodges for a digital detox Skywatch June stargazing the great late show Minnesota veterans with PTSD turn to the outdoors to improve mental healthcare A -pound boulder pins Alaska man face-down in a glacier creek for three 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