We, the students and community of the University of Minnesota Duluth, call upon the administration to cease aiding Anno AI and Spear AI in the development of the Lake Superior Test Range across all departments. From the reporting that exists and public information requests to the University we know that this project has been in development since at least May of 2024. The University has hired and worked with a private consulting firm Harper-Downing LLC to seek out and aid the process of securing defense contracts with University partnership. The director of MN SeaGrant John Downing, who is a UMD employee, has worked directly with Steven Witt, the CEO of Anno AI and other representatives to bring this project to the University. To our knowledge, this project currently consists of AI enabled buoys from Spear AI that use passive acoustic monitoring to track vehicles and objects in Lake Superior. Anno AI uses this data to train models for autonomous drone systems. Anno AI’s drone development is funded through national defense programs and is explicitly for military use. Much of the project through this point has gone through MN SeaGrant and The Large Lakes Observatory. Lake Superior was specifically selected for its unique characteristics such as deep-water conditions, weather extremes, lack of surrounding population, proximity to University resources, and the ability to replicate arctic climates. According to the documents we’ve received, the future of the Lake Superior Test Range is planned to include military infrastructure and active wargaming in the lake. SeaGrant’s stated Mission “is to engage with communities along Lake Superior and Minnesota’s inland waters to understand water science needs, support scientific research to address those needs, and provide results to communities to help them apply science-based knowledge to solve problems, support and enhance local economies, and sustain ecosystem services for future generations.” The Lake Superior Testing Range is in direct contradiction to this mission. This project has had a severe lack of transparency and should be held under public scrutiny. We oppose the expansion of militarized surveillance in Lake Superior and our community. We do not want our University to be actively courting and facilitating projects that develop infrastructure and support for private military contractors. The University of Minnesota Duluth’s involvement with this project must be halted and the administration held accountable.