Comments wanted on Forest Service BWCAW invasive plants plan

Superior National Forest managers are seeking public input regarding a proposed integrated pest management approach to reduce the abundance and spread of nonnative invasive plants (NNIP) in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).

Forest managers have a unique opportunity to minimize the introduction and spread of NNIP in the BWCAW. Compared to many other wilderness areas, the occurrence of NNIP in the BWCAW is relatively low. Most NNIP species are restricted to campsites and portages, yet they are surrounded by thousands of acres of susceptible habitat such as rock outcrops, wetlands, and burned-over lands, thus threatening native plant communities and wilderness character. While hand pulling can kill some NNIP, it is not an effective treatment of most NNIP in the BWCAW. The proposed integrated management approach involves education, manual pulling, and use of herbicides.

Approximately 1,000 known NNIP sites totaling 13 acres are proposed for treatment inside the BWCAW within St. Louis, Lake and Cook counties. These treatments increase the effectiveness of the forest wide strategy to control NNIP and implementation of the Superior National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan.

A scoping report, maps, and appendices describing the status of NNIP in the BWCAW and the proposed treatments are posted, along with directions for commenting, on the Superior National Forest website. Go to www.fs.usda.gov/superior and select “Land and Resource Management,” then “Projects.” Look for “BWCAW Non-native Invasive Plan Management Project.” Paper copies of the scoping documents are available upon request.

Comments are most useful if received by May 23. Scoping comments will be used to determine issues associated with the BWCAW Non-native Invasive Management Project, to develop alternatives to the proposed action, and to refine the analysis of effects. Scoping comments are most helpful when they refer to a specific action or activity rather than general management direction for the Superior National Forest.