Minnesota Agencies

To coordinate exchange of Minnesota public lands for U.S. federal lands or privately owned lands.

The board approves the exchange of lands owned by the U.S. government or private interests for state-owned lands. The board consists of the governor, the attorney general, and the state auditor as ex officio members, with the state auditor serving as its secretary. The Conservation (now Natural Resources) Department is responsible for providing field staff and advisory, appraisal, and other professional support services. It was created under Chapter 382, Laws of 1939 (amending article 8 of the Minnesota Constitution) as the Land Exchange Commission. It met twice under this act, but could not function because of the law's ambiguity. It began regular meetings on September 25, 1941, under a revised law (Laws 1941 c393 s1). Its name was changed to Land Exchange Board in 1975 (Laws 1975 c271 s6). Article VIII of the constitution creates a public lands commission consisting of the governor, attorney general, and state auditor. (Source: Interstate compacts and commissions, 1969)

The 3 members of the Land Exchange Board are the Governor, the Attorney General, and the State Auditor. Any exchange of public lands of the state for any publicly- or privately-held lands must be approved by all three members of the board. A majority of the members of the board must also approve the acquisition by the U.S. Department of Interior of any lands involved in the Waterfowl Production Areas program. Meetings of the Land Exchange Board are held quarterly. The DNR is responsible for preparing and distributing the agenda for the meetings.