Northwoods Adventure: Forestland Near Camp Ripley Purchased For Conservation

Camp Ripley National Guard Base has partnered with the City of Baxter, Sylvan Township, and The Conservation Fund to acquire a total of 718 acres within the Camp Ripley Army Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB) priority area, which is a critical component of the larger Sentinel Landscape—a roughly 805,000-acre boundary around the installation deemed high priority for protection.

Camp Ripley is an important economic engine of central Minnesota, and its Sentinel Landscape is critical for providing both ecological conservation and public recreation opportunities. The forestlands within the Sentinel Landscape not only protect the headwaters and water quality for the Mississippi River, but allow Camp Ripley to complete training with few impediments.

In recent years, this land has faced high risk of being sold and converted to private development, which impacts its ecological value and hinders the installation’s mission to train soldiers.

To avoid this outcome, the partners supporting Camp Ripley, including the City of Baxter, Sylvan Township, The Conservation Fund and others, have united to acquire and protect land in the Sentinel Landscape’s borders.

The partners have a near term goal of purchasing and conserving roughly 1,500 acres within and near the boundary from PotlatchDeltic Corporation across both Cass County and Crow Wing County.