Continued: Dave Durenberger: If we act, we can witness the birth of a state park

Minnesota is a special place. Our parks and trails, lakes and rivers, forests and wilderness areas are an important part of who we are. We are blessed to live in a state with so many spectacular natural resources and a long line of visionary leaders who have steadfastly protected them for current and future generations.

One of those places is on the eastern shores of Lake Vermilion in northern Minnesota. As the 2008 legislative session winds to a close, its future as a park hangs in the balance. The proposed 3,000-acre Lake Vermilion State Park, combined with the adjacent Soudan Underground Mine State Park, would provide more than 10 miles of recreation shoreline, 40,000 acres of water, 365 islands and 3,700 acres of land for the public to enjoy on one of the state's most beautiful and pristine lakes.

The clock is ticking on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. United States Steel, the owner of the land, has agreed to halt for one year its plans to build a private 150-unit luxury-home development on the land. That agreement expires on Aug. 1, so funding for the park must be appropriated before this legislative session ends on May 19.

I am proud to have been part of the creation of numerous parks, trails and wilderness areas during my 40 years of public service to Minnesota and to the nation. I can't imagine Minnesota without the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness or Voyageurs National Park. Nor can I imagine Minnesota without Afton, Itasca, Whitewater or Tettegouche state parks. But there was a time in our history when it was imaginable that each of these places would not be preserved. By saving them, we have created a living legacy linking generation to generation.

The late Samuel H. Morgan, who was president of the Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota, used to speak of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that once stood in the way of a park that is near and dear to many Minnesotans.

Morgan stood on a bluff overlooking the lower St. Croix River in 1967, knowing that a planned housing development meant that no future generation would ever again experience the view he was enjoying. Morgan and the 1969 Legislature couldn't imagine Minnesota without what is now Afton State Park. With miles of winding trails, topography that varies from deep woodland to sunlit prairie, deep ravines that drop 300 feet to the river and some of the best beaches along the St. Croix River, the park is today a popular destination for Twin Cities residents.

More than 8 million people visit Minnesota's state parks each year. With 1.2 million more people expected to make Minnesota home in the next 25 years, even greater pressure will be placed on our parks, trails, waterways, wildlife habitat and natural areas. This opportunity to secure Lake Vermilion State Park now is a wise investment for our future.

As Minnesotans we have a duty to be good stewards of our great outdoors. We have an obligation to our children and grandchildren to protect and pass on the natural heritage left to us by previous generations. Minnesota lawmakers should rise to the occasion and ensure that this critical crown jewel is added to Minnesota's legacy. Let's not have to imagine Minnesota without Lake Vermilion State Park.

David Durenberger, the former U.S. senator from Minnesota, is a senior health policy fellow at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis and chair of the National Institute of Health Policy.

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