Protect Minnesota's Wilderness -- Wilderness is our American heritage --

Wilderness is our American heritage

It’s symbolized by the bald eagle and celebrated in native peoples’ folklore. It’s why Teddy Roosevelt––who protected 235 million acres of national forests, including our very own Superior National Forest––is one of our more popular presidents.

Today, Teddy Roosevelt’s great-grandson tells us we are not living up to our wilderness heritage. “T.R. would be disappointed,” Theodore Roosevelt IV said in 2004. In a speech to the National Press Club, he said, “It is time for Congress to begin providing the investments that would maintain the integrity of our treasured natural legacy…failing to do so is nothing less than an abuse of the public trust.”

Addison Parker and his friend Harry Rogers pose for a photo (right) before voyaging into the canoe country in about 1910. Today, Addison’s granddaughter––Melissa Parker Lindsay––is the executive director of the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. Many generations of Minnesotans have canoed, hiked, camped, hunted and fished in the Superior National Forest roadless areas that are now at risk of being deforested, developed or degraded.