Leadership in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced Wednesday that the agency will be closing the Upper Sioux Agency State Park on Feb. 16, with intentions of transferring the 1,300-acre park to the Upper Sioux Community in mid-March.

DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen called the transfer “the right thing to do” on a Wednesday conference call with reporters announcing the plans.

She said the transfer was directed by the Minnesota Legislature in the 2023 session. It approved legislation authored by Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, and Sen. Mary Kunesh, DFL-New Brighton, requiring the transfer of the Upper Sioux Agency State Park to the Upper Sioux Community.

It was opposed by the area’s local legislators, Sen. Gary Dahms, R-Redwood Falls, and Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent.

Strommen said the Upper Sioux Community has had a longstanding request for the transfer of the property. She said the land was the site of starvation and death of Dakota people in the summer of 1862. Its use for recreation is “inconsistent with its unique and profound history,” she stated in a news release announcing the plans.

Strommen said the DNR had been considering the possible closure of the park prior to the legislation calling for the land’s transfer. The park was facing significant operational challenges, she said. The collapse of Minnesota 67 within the park, flooding along the Yellow Medicine River, and the deteriorated condition of some of the park’s infrastructure, including its visitors center, were cited by Strommen and Parks and Trails director Ann Pierce during the news conference.

Both said the DNR will continue the process of finding replacement recreational opportunities within the Minnesota River Valley area served by the park. The Legislature allocated $5 million for the process. Members of the public at DNR-hosted input sessions have charged that the funds are inadequate to replace what an operating state park provides.

Strommen said the DNR is not planning to ask the Legislature for additional funding but could use other funds it has for land acquisition.

The process of transferring the park property to the Upper Sioux Community is moving faster than many in the public had anticipated.

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