Federal offices in Minnesota devoted to the Mississippi River recreation area and the state’s water quality are among five sites targeted for closure in the Trump administration’s massive cost-cutting campaign, according to a recently released list.
A government agency that manages federal property is under orders to reduce leases across the country. It has targeted the headquarters of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and the park’s visitor center at the Science Museum of Minnesota, both in St. Paul.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) also plans to terminate other Department of Interior land management agency offices in Minnesota, including one already slated to be replaced at a Voyageurs National Park site on Crane Lake.
The Minnesota sites were included in a long list distributed by the Democratic representatives on the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources and shared by the National Parks Conservation Association.
The Mississippi River recreation staff of 20 is based at an office in Kellogg Square in St Paul. The Trump administration plans to end that office lease Dec. 31. The visitor center and its exhibits are maintained at the Science Museum. Its lease termination is scheduled for Sept. 30.
It’s unclear whether the federal government will set up new space elsewhere. The firings of a river recreation area planner, cultural resources manager and biotechnician have added tension to the park offices, some parks supporters said.
“At the end of those lease dates, they don’t have a place to go,” said Christine Goepfert the park conservation association’s Midwest campaign director. “Are they meant to move somewhere else? That is the big question here.”
A Science Museum spokesperson said Wednesday that the museum hasn’t been informed of the visitor center’s fate.