State Opens New Recreation Area Near Bemidji
BEMIDJI, Minn. (AP) -- Minnesota has opened a new state recreation area, a 1,000-acre parcel near Bemidji that features the state's second-deepest lake.
The La Salle Lake State Recreation Area will be managed as a satellite unit of nearby Itasca State Park.
A Pioneer Press report says the land deal concluded Thursday, and the area was immediately opened to the public. It will be open for hunting and trapping starting next weekend.
The land had been privately owned. The Trust for Public Land obtained an option to buy the area. The national land-conservation organization then helped transfer it to the state, which paid $8.5 million in the deal.
The state Department of Natural Resources says the land has white cedar swamp, red and white pine, open hardwoods areas, lakeshore, wetlands and steep topography.
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