in Minneopa and Jay Cooke State Parks, but much effort was also expended on creating historical monuments relating to the Dakota War of 1862 and the Great Hinckley Fire. Moreover, most of the sites were being administered by the state auditor, who had many other duties. Itasca State Park, meanwhile, was being administered as a state forest. In 1923, state auditor Ray P. Chase excoriated this situation, calling for wiser selection of park lands and a dedicated commissioner. Chase's comments had an impact, and two years later the Department of Conservation was created to manage the state's natural resources, including the state parks. Originally part of the forestry division, the state parks received their own division in 1935 to take advantage of federal programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). In 1971, the department became the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The state parks were closed for almost three weeks in July 2011 due to a shutdown of the state government. State parks and recreation areas State waysides The state park system includes nine waysides, most of them along Minnesota State Highway 61 on the North Shore. These are parcels of land too small to be full-fledged parks, but with cultural or natural resources greater than would be overseen by the Minnesota Department of Transportation as highway waysides. Generally development is limited to a parking area and a short trail; sometimes there are sanitation facilities and picnic tables as well. State trails Future trails Since Minnesota state parks and trails are authorized by the state legislature, some trails have been established in state statute, yet no usable mileage has been constructed. Former parks Several units added to the Minnesota state park system over the years have since been redesignated or transferred to other agencies, including the system's very first unit, Camp Release State Memorial Wayside, created in 1889. In most cases these decisions were due to the unit being too small for a state park with little chance of expansion, or largely local use rather than attracting visitors from all over the state and beyond. Four of these units were redesignated as state waysides and are listed above. The other former units were: See also List of hiking trails in Minnesota List of Minnesota state forests List of U.S. national parks References Further reading Arthur, Anne. Minnesota's State Parks. Adventure Publications, 1998. Meyer, Roy Willard. Everyone's Country Estate: A