Judging by the feedback I have been getting, many of you are aware of the proposal to create a new national park in southern Minnesota. The park would have been called Driftless National Park, and it was the brainchild of a man named Sean Macaday, a meteorologist at KIMT in Rochester. It would have been created over the area of Whitewater State Park and the Dorer Memorial Forest but would extend into parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. These areas were not covered by ice during the last ice age, so they are free of deposits known as drift – hence the name, ‘Driftless’.

To be blunt, the opposition to this project has been fierce. In addition to the high volume of calls and emails, I recently co-hosted a town hall meeting with Representative Jacob about this subject. More than 250 residents attended, and almost every single person was against it. As best I could tell, one person was possibly on the fence or a silent supporter. Everyone else was clear and vocal in their opposition.

The only true supporter of the project was Mr. Macaday himself. To his credit, he accepted our invitation to hear directly from locals about his idea, and he listened to the criticism and feedback. He jumped into the lion’s den, and he deserves credit for doing so.

But I have been in office for a while now, and very rarely do you see an issue where such unanimity emerges. From the meeting and the overwhelming number of calls and emails I have received, it is abundantly clear that with this issue the opposition was about as close to unanimous as you’ll ever see. The people have spoken in one voice, and that voice said that this is a very bad idea.

Residents who attended the meeting expressed a number of concerns including how the proposed park would affect property values; the likelihood of dramatically higher property taxes; the impact on the environment caused by potentially hundreds of thousands of additional visitors, the impact on Whitewater State Park and Dorer Memorial Forest, and the potential of private property being taken for the park. Even the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources opposes the proposed park, and the National Parks Service was not consulted.

I think Mr. Mcaday’s heart was in the right place, but this project was undertaken without the due diligence that is needed for something of this size and scope. At a couple of points in the meeting Mr. Macaday acknowledged this, saying that the overwhelming opposition gave him something to think about and that he would consider withdrawing the proposal. Less than a week after the meeting, Mr. Macaday officially withdrew his proposal.

Like many of you, I am an avid outdoorsman and I believe we have a duty to be good stewards of our environment. In fact, Minnesotans do a great job of this already – we have several wonderful state parks and a forest here in southeast Minnesota, and we have a successful track record of protecting those resources. The Driftless National Park proposal is simply not well thought out and not necessary. 

Contact me

I love hearing your feedback! If you ever have any comments, questions, or concerns about what we are working on here at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can reach me by phone at 651-296-5612 or email me at sen.steve.drazkowski@senate.mn. 

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It is a privilege to serve you.

Draz