{"timestamp":1794443620,"status":"SUCCESS","message":"Normal execution.","result":{"maps":[{"type":"pdf","for":"sft00053","url":"https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/state_forests/sft00053.pdf","title":"state forest map and guide"},{"url":"https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/state_forests/sft00053_geo.pdf","title":"state forest map","type":"geopdf","for":"sft00053"}],"nearby_destinations":[{"name":"Paul Bunyan State Trail","url":"/state_trails/paul_bunyan/index.html","type":"state_trail"},{"type":"wma","url":"/wmas/detail_report.html?id=WMA0013900","name":"Steamboat WMA"},{"type":"state_forest","url":"/state_forests/sft00038/index.html","name":"Paul Bunyan State Forest"},{"name":"Bowstring State Forest","url":"/state_forests/sft00009/index.html","type":"state_forest"},{"name":"Heartland State Trail","url":"/state_trails/heartland/index.html","type":"state_trail"}],"notes":[],"events":null,"counties":["Cass"],"last_updated":"2026-06-09 14:53:34.808808-05","area":19798,"id":"sft00053","alert":{"general":null,"ohv_trails":[],"forest_roads":[]},"activities":{"ohm":0,"cross_country_ski_miles":0,"horseback_miles":0,"horseback":1,"snowmobiling_miles":0,"campground":0,"hunting":0,"hwt_miles":0,"mountain_biking":1,"cross_country_ski":0,"boat_ramp":0,"snowshoeing":0,"atv_class_1_miles":0,"dog_sledding_miles":0,"mountain_biking_miles":0,"fishing_pier":0,"atv_class_1":0,"snowmobiling":0,"hwt":0,"dog_sledding":0,"camping_dispersed":1,"picnic_area":0,"picnic_shelter":0,"fishing":0,"boating":0,"hiking_miles":0,"orv":0,"ohm_miles":0,"orv_miles":0,"hiking":1,"canoe_kayak":0,"atv_class_2":0,"swimming":0,"atv_class_2_miles":0},"narratives":{"introduction":["Located north of Steamboat Bay on Leech Lake, Welsh Lake State Forest has two great recreational facilities: <a href=\"https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_trails/heartland/index.html\">Heartland State Trail</a> and <a href=\"https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/results.html?lake=11020300\">Leech Lake</a>. "," Heartland State Trail runs through on the west side of the state forest and is known for being the first rail-to-trail project in the country. ","Leech Lake is known for its walleye, muskie, largemouth bass, black crappie, and bluegill fishing. "," There are no campgrounds within the forest. However, camping is available at <a href=\"https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_forests/sft00038/index.html\">Paul Bunyan</a> and <a href=\"https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_forests/sft00009/index.html\">Bowstring</a> state forests and in the Chippewa National Forest."],"landscape":["Bisected by the Mississippi River and dotted with innumerable small lakes, as well as the large Leech and Winnibigoshish lakes, this area is home to spectacular forests of towering trees, abundant game, and seasonal berries. Bowstring, Battleground, and Welsh Lake state forests are located between Bemidji and Grand Rapids and popular for cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, hunting, fishing, boating, and birdwatching."],"management":["From year to year, you may see changes in these forests. The DNR manages the trees, water, and wildlife in state forests to keep them healthy and meet recreational, environmental, and economic goals. Trees are harvested to make a variety of products, such as lumber and building materials, pulp for making paper, pallets, fencing, and telephone poles. Through careful planning, harvesting, and planting, land managers work to improve wildlife habitat. The DNR manages state forests for everyone, while preventing wildfires and ensuring forests continue to keep air and water clean."],"history":["The two large lakes in the area - Leech and Winnibigoshish - were formed around 10,000 years ago by huge blocks of ice left behind by receding glaciers. Abundant wild rice grows in the area's many lakes and rivers. Evidence of Indigenous presence - hunting, fishing, settling, and harvesting wild rice - date back at least 1,000 years. In the 1600s, the Dakota had communities on Leech Lake. Beginning in the middle 1700s, the Mississippi and Pillager bands of Ojibwe arrived, along with French fur traders who set up Northwest Company trading posts in the area. Treaties in 1847, 1855, and 1864 later ceded lands to the new state of Minnesota and established the boundaries of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Indian Reservation. The Battle of Sugar Point was fought in 1898 between the 3rd U.S. Infantry and members of the Pillager Band of Chippewa (Ojibwe) in a failed attempt to apprehend Bugonaygeshig (\"Hole-in-the Day\") as a result of a dispute with Indian Service officials on the Leech Lake Reservation. The Ojibwe victory began a chain of events that eventually led to federal control of national forest lands and the creation of the Chippewa National Forest. Today, the actual site is located in the Battleground State Forest. Soon after, timber barons claimed the land and removed millions of board feet of pine timber between 1880 and 1920. The forests received a boost in the 1940s as Civilian Conservation Corps members planted millions of trees and improved opportunities for recreation and sustainable future harvests. Also, dams constructed in the early 1900s greatly increased the area of Cass Lake and Lake Winnibigoshish. As forests recovered, tourists arrived, attracted by great fishing and a burgeoning hotel, resort, and cabin industry."]},"facilities":[],"name":"Welsh Lake State Forest","bbox":{"epsg:4326":[-94.664636,47.207044,-94.553493,47.319331]},"established":1963,"forest_id":106}}