Volunteers are needed to help tend the young trees planted in the years following the 2007 Ham Lake Fire, which burned 76,000 acres. This year’s annual clearing event will be held beginning at 10 a.m. June 28 at Trail’s End Campground.
The Ham Lake Fire started in May 2007, seven years ago. It burned 76,000 acres in northeast Minnesota and western Ontario. Since then, nearly 100,000 trees have been planted by volunteers at the annual Gunflint GreenUp events.
Now it is time to tend those trees by clipping away brush and hardwoods that are competing for sunlight and water. One person armed with a pair of nippers can really make a difference to a conifer seedling that is overtopped by surrounding vegetation.
The Forest Service, along with the Gunflint Trail Association and the Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway Committee, invite you to help keep these trees alive. Meet at the Trail’s End Campground boat landing at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 28, where the Forest Service will be clearing or “releasing” trees along the Seagull Nature Trail. Volunteers are encouraged to bring lunch, gloves, and clippers or loppers.
Volunteer planting of pine trees over the years, such as white, red and jack pine, has had a substantial impact on the Superior National Forest’s plan to increase long-lived conifers in this area while improving visual quality along the Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway.
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