Editing History of Minnesota (section)

=== State and national parks ===
Minnesota's first state park, [[Itasca State Park]], was established in 1891{{sfn|Risjord|2005|p=249}} at the [[source (river or stream)|source]] of the Mississippi River.<ref>{{cite web | title = Itasca State Park | publisher = Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | url = http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/itasca/narrative.html | access-date = May 3, 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080403192641/http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/itasca/narrative.html | archive-date = April 3, 2008 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> By 1925, Minnesota had 23 parks.{{sfn|Risjord|2005|p=250}} During the Depression, with nine of its parks used as housing for the Civilian Conservation Corps, a division of state parks was created to administer the park system.{{sfn|Risjord|2005|p=250}} Modern Minnesota has [[List of Minnesota state parks|72 state parks]] and recreation areas,<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/index.html |publisher= Minnesota Department of Natural Resources |title= Minnesota State Parks and Recreation Areas|access-date= March 6, 2022}}</ref> and [[List of Minnesota state forests|59 state forests]], all managed by the [[Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/index.html |title= Division of Forestry|publisher= Minnesota Department of Natural Resources |access-date= March 6, 2022}}</ref>

[[Christopher C. Andrews]], Minnesota's forestry commissioner in 1902, began to press for federally protected lands in the northern part of the state (now the [[Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness]], or BWCA, area).{{sfn|Risjord|2005|p=254}} [[Superior National Forest]] was created from all federally owned land in northeastern Minnesota in 1909 by President [[Theodore Roosevelt]].{{sfn|Risjord|2005|p=254}} With sawmills shutting down and property owners falling behind on taxes during the Great Depression, the federal government purchased more land to add to the Superior National Forest.{{sfn|Risjord|2005|pp=255–56}} Publicity of the natural beauty of the area led to increased recreational use during the 1950s.{{sfn|Risjord|2005|p=257}} The area was officially named the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in 1958, and the [[Wilderness Act]] of 1964 organized it as a unit of the [[National Wilderness Preservation System]].<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the BWCAW|url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/superior/specialplaces/?cid=stelprdb5127455|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture – Forest Service}}</ref>