Who We Are

The Izaak Walton League was founded in 1922 to conserve outdoor America for future generations. The League's 54 founders, who were avid anglers, named the organization after Izaak Walton, the 17th century author of The Compleat Angler, a classic book about the art and spirit of fishing. We are one of the earliest conservation organizations to set an aggressive course to defend wild America by changing public policy. Almost every major, successful conservation program that America has in place today can be traced directly to a League activity or initiative.

Minnesota Division Izaak Walton League Pledge

To strive for the purity of water, the clarity of air, and the wise stewardship of the land and its resources; to know the beauty and understanding of nature, and the value of wildlife, woodlands and open space; to the preservation of this heritage and to our sharing of it, I pledge myself as a member of the Izaak Walton League of America.

The Minnesota Division of the Izaak Walton League has played a leading role in the protection of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from the 1920s until the present-day fight to stop sulfide mining on the borders of the BWCA. The IKE's leadership has been based on partnerships with other organizations and the role played by activists who were eminent biologists and ecologists.