This winter’s lack of snow is leading to a high level of fire danger in the spring, Superior National Forest District Ranger Dennis Neitzke reported to the county board on February 14, 2012. “We’re in a kind of long-term drought,” he said.
The Forest Service could put a fire ban on, but Neitzke hopes people will think through the possibility of wildfire on their own whether a fire ban is on or not. “There’s no replacement for common sense,” he said. “Don’t rely on us to tell you you can’t have a fire. If it’s hot, dry, and windy, don’t have a campfire. Right now it’s dry, and everyone knows it’s dry.”
Posters go up at Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) entry points when a fire ban is on, and notices are posted on the Boreal Accessweekand Forest Service websites.
Commissioner Fritz Sobanja suggested that they put a flashing sign up on the Gunflint Trail by the golf course when a fire ban goes on. Sheriff Mark Falk said they can rent them from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), but they’re not always available in the summertime. They cost about $20,000. Sobanja suggested that given the cost of a wild fire, the expense might be worth it.
South Fowl snowmobile route
Ranger Neitzke reported on other Forest Service business, including his decision on a South Fowl Lake snowmobile route which has been delayed by appeals. An evaluation will be done to determine if the Forest Service’s sound analysis regarding potential effects to the BWCAW was done properly, he said. “We’re working on it,” he said.
Landscape restoration
The Forest Service is looking at restoring the landscape along the shore of Lake Superior where the birch and aspen are dying of old age, Neitzke said. They are considering planting pine and possibly paper birch.
Gunflint tower
AT&T will be funding a new tower at the Gunflint Magnetic Rock site. It will be a “self-supporting” tower, 190 feet tall including equipment installed on the top, according to Sheriff Mark Falk. He said it will be more visible but better for the environment than other types of towers.
The tower will be on Forest Service land but owned by Cook County. AT&T will receive rent abatement for 25 years in exchange for putting up the tower. Sheriff Falk thought other companies would be able to lease space on it as well. Cook County has proposed exchanging some of the land it owns in the BWCAW for the Forest Service land some of its towers are on.
Re-introducing Secure Rural Schools Acts
A bill to reauthorize the federal Secure Rural Schools Act, which expired in 2011, is being introduced into the House and Senate, Neitzke reported. The act was a way to provide funding for schools and counties upon the decline of revenue-generating activities such as logging in national forests.
A membership appeal from the nonprofit National Forest Counties and Schools Coalition states, “We are a coalition of organizations concerned about national forest and BLM [Bureau of Land Management] forest land management, and the relationship of these lands to the people in states and counties that have a heritage of common interests. Due to changes in forest land management over the last decade, the relationships have changed, negatively impacting a large number of local communities.
“…The coalition concurs in their belief that the creators of our national forest and BLM timberland system expected that forest resources would be managed in such an environmentally responsible manner that they would produce long-term sustainable revenue to share with schools and counties as well as products for the nation, [and] that the revenue loss to counties because of this land removal from potential private development was to be mitigated by the federal government with the funds used for schools, roads, and other local purposes….”
Compensation to counties in many cases was 25 percent of all gross receipts received from activities taking place within national forests.
New forest planning rule
Jennifer Yezak, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Office of External and Intergovernmental Affairs, released an update on the process of updating the USDA’s national forest planning rule. A final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement was released on January 26, and a final planning rule will be released in early March.
According to Yezak, the rule will “update planning procedures that have been in place since 1982, creating a modern planning process that reflects the latest science and knowledge of how to create and implement effective land management plans.”
Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said, “Under our preferred alternative, plan revisions would take less time, move us forward in managing our forests and grasslands, and will create or sustain jobs and income for local communities around the country.”
Boot brush signs
Cook County Invasive Team Coordinator Michael Lynch of the U.S. Forest Service reported on efforts to slow the spread of invasive species taking place via footwear.
A letter from Lynch to the county board states, “The Cook County Invasive Team has coordinated with the Kekekabic Trail Club, Border Route Trail Association, North Country Trail Association, and the Boundary Waters Advisory Committee on a project to create and install invasive species boot brush signs at trailheads in northeastern Minnesota.” The signs include information about invasive species, and near them are “boot brushes” for cleaning seeds off boots and shoes before and after taking a hike.
Signs were installed last fall at Chik-Wauk Nature Center, Sugarloaf Nature Center, Eagle Mountain, Caribou Rock, Oberg Mountain, Magnetic Rock, and Pincushion Mountain with money from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
The county agreed to be the fiscal agent for a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources grant of $4,250 to install more signs and boot brushes. If awarded, volunteers would match that amount in labor.
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