INTERNATIONAL PEACE GARDEN - A historic wood-and-stone lodge beaten down by 75 years of time, weather and wear is in line for both a makeover and a move to designate it a national treasure.

The lodge in the botanical garden that straddles the U.S.-Canadian border north of Dunseith and south of Boissevain, Manitoba was built during the Great Depression by Civilian Conservation Corps workers. They used granite from throughout North Dakota and timber from Manitoba's Duck Mountains.

The building has a sinking foundation and needs major floor and ceiling work inside. "There's no preservative on the wood. It's just the original finish," said Doug Hevenor, the Peace Garden's chief executive officer.

Decay also is evident outside, where a cellar stairway leads to a mud pit and a bird has built a nest in an open space created by the rotting of a roof rafter. The roof shakes also are in need of a preservative.

The group Preservation North Dakota considers the building the most endangered historic property in the state.

"Every sitting governor has been in this building since it was built," Hevenor said.

The lodge, which has two main rooms, each with a stone fireplace, needs about $250,000 in repairs. About $85,000 of $933,000 in Peace Garden repair money approved by North Dakota lawmakers over the next two years will be used this summer to do floor repair work, Hevenor said.

"We're going to lift the tongue-and-groove floor, repair joints and trusses, take out 3,000 cubic feet of dirt (where) the mold has dropped down," he said.

The wooden floor top then will be put back in place, Hevenor said.

Peace Garden officials are seeking federal grant money to cover ceiling repair costs. The effort might be made easier if the state Historical Society of North Dakota succeeds in getting the lodge listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Register is the federal government's list of properties it considers worthy of preservation and recognition.

"The majority of the grants that are specifically for use on historic buildings require that the building be listed," said Mary Kate Ryan, the society's architectural historian.

Ryan said the historical group had considered seeking a Register listing for the entire U.S. portion of the 2,300-acre Peace Garden, but that would require surveys on the entire property - from buildings to walking trails. The garden has nearly 200 structures.

"We decided we'd concentrate on one building," Ryan said. "That doesn't mean the rest of it won't happen eventually."

A summer intern will be documenting the historical aspects of the lodge, while Ryan will be working on the building description. The state's Historic Preservation Review Board is to vote in October on whether to recommend the lodge for the Register.

If the recommendation is made, Ryan said, a decision by federal officials should come by next February at the latest.

Marsha Gunderson, president of Preservation North Dakota, said she is glad to see repair work starting on the lodge, one of many structures built by the CCC.

"It's an important part of how (the garden) was built in the first place," she said.