It is nearly the end of July and what a great month is has been.  We had plenty of warm weather, a fair amount of rain, no wildfires, lots of blueberries and what seems to be a great bunch of visitors.  That last comment may be a bit hard to explain.  Part of my job is providing public services within our National Forest.  And there are times when I’m not sure if it’s the air or water but that “I’m not feeling that friendly today” comes out and then my phone rings…….. a lot.  But it seems the air this month has been really clean and the water has flowed pure; a really good month and I’m OK with that.

Now, I’m not asking for a change in that friendliness, I’m really not, but I do want to let you know what is going on.  We should have our Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the South Fowl Lake Snowmobile Access published by the middle of August.  If you remember, that project started back in 2003 where we found that snowmobile trail was inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.  I had to close that but said we would replace the trail outside the Wilderness.  For two years we talked about it, studied it and had field trips to the site to share ideas and thoughts about it.  In 2005 I published the Environmental Assessment and the Decision Notice in 2006.  Since then we’ve been appealed and litigated.  You could say this project was a little controversial………………just a little.

The issues with the proposed new trail are the impacts it might cause on the Boundary Waters.  Though the alternate routes are outside the Wilderness, the sounds of snowmobiles probably could be heard from inside.  So we completed a fairly comprehensive analysis of snowmobile sound with numbers, graphs, tables, maps, photos and conclusions.  But somehow I’m not convinced that all that analysis will resolve the conflict, there seems to be a lot of passion attached to our National Forest management, and in particular our Wilderness management.  And that’s a good thing.

My job may seem pretty bureaucratic at times; I have to work within law, regulation and policy to provide for the multiple benefits of our natural resources.  Some decisions I have no discretion, I just have to do what the law requires, other times I can use my judgment.  In every way, I want to hear from you folks on how we can do better.

So I will publish the Draft EIS and for 45 days we will take comments on it, which is the bureaucratic part.  In the end, we’ll respond to all the comments and I’ll publish a Final EIS with a Decision on which route we should use.  Our law requires that I do that and I’ll cite that in the Decision.

Between now and then, I’ll reflect on how we’ve come a long way since 2003 and all the partnerships we have going on, whether emergency management, scenic byways, museums, or simply ways to show off our part of the country.  Those efforts were not driven by law, regulation or policy, but more a desire from all of us to find ways to work together.  And we do.

This gives me a glimmer of hope that as I go about fulfilling all my natural resource management responsibilities that we will find a way to work together.  Whether it’s putting in a snowmobile trail, harvesting timber or managing our Wilderness, we too can do this.

So as I think about or propose that we do something a fair question from you is “Why do we need to do this?”  And if I can answer that, my question to you is “What would you do?”  With that in mind, let’s work together to provide “…the greatest good of the greatest number in the long run”, a quote from the first Chief of the Forest Service.

When I first arrived on the Gunflint Ranger District, one of the first places I visited was the Chik Wauk lodge. Under the provisions of the 1978 BWCAW Act from Congress, the Forest Service would acquire resorts if the owners felt that the new law would negatively affect their business. And so it seems did the owners of Chik Wauk and in 1979 we purchased the resort and associated lands.

Ralph and Bea Griffis, the owners, retained a 20 lease on the property so the Forest Service did not take possession of the lodge until 1999, which was just a year before I arrived on the forest.  So as I visited the site, I was given a brief history, I looked at the rather unique lodge building, walked around he site to see the natural beauty of Chik Wauk and pondered what we would do with what is now National Forest land.  I’ll admit a lot of thoughts swirled through my head.  I had a history class in college where we spent time learning about this piece of land.  How through the centuries this land was so important to the American Indians.  At times the Sioux, the Ojibwa, and the Huron occupied the land surrounding Lake Superior.  Later the French fur traders established the Voyageur’s Highway.  More recently how we have struggled with the concept of a modern day wilderness call the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.  And then there is the Gunflint Trail….I wondered if we could tell the history of these lands?

But Chik Wauk was a building in disrepair.  The stone structure might last quite a while but the wood parts and roof system did not look good.  And there were all those “out buildings” that were pretty much collapsing on themselves.  Any way you looked at this site, it was going to be an expensive venture.  But still……..what if?

We, in the Forest Service, found some funds and took action to at least halt the deterioration of the lodge and clean up the rest of the site.  Then we did what is called a “Future Use Determination” which is pretty much what it sounds like.  If I remember, there were several options from simply taking pictures of the site then tearing it down to transforming it into a weekly family rental cabin, a few other assorted options and then there was the concept of a museum. 

In 2004 as it would happen we were talking to the Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway committee of the Gunflint Trail Association.  It seems they had been pondering the same question, and also had dreams of a museum.  I think at just about the same time, we both asked “Do you know how much this would cost?”  But the dreams quickly grew into a proposal from the Association.  I simply asked for a business plan (and it seems coming from an association of businesses, that wasn’t too hard) and we were off to the races. 

Five years, countless volunteers, thousands of hours and one million dollars of donations and grants later, on July 4, 2010 the grand opening of Chik Wauk Museum and Nature Center took place.  The museum truly is a marvel of creativity, imagination, professionalism and plain hard work.  The displays are a walk through time.  Hands on features are available for kids of all ages.  Video screens bring history alive and the technology will keep the stories fresh.  And the library will fill every nook and cranny of brain cells you have left.  Once you’re done inside the museum, hike the numerous walking trails to learn all that nature has to offer in this land of sky blue waters.

Fred Smith the master of ceremonies for both the Saturday open house and the Sunday Grand Opening did a great job recognizing the leadership for the Gunflint Trail Historical Society and those who worked on this project.  Jim Sanders, the Forest Supervisor for the Superior National Forest gave the keynote address which included a fascinating sketch of the Boundary Waters and the Gunflint Trail.  The ceremonies concluded with some door prizes, the Chik Wauk raffle quilt was awarded and then the ribbon was cut to begin tours of the museum. 

Most of us have heard that the Hamm’s beer company filmed many of their commercials of a canoeist and a grizzly bear at Chik Wauk.  One of the great stories of the day was the man who was photographed with that  grizzly bear in the canoe, Rolf Skrien was with us for the Grand Opening.  How cool is that!

I encourage all take a couple hours and visit the upper Gunflint’s newest attraction the Chik Wauk Museum and Nature Center, it is a dream come true.  Check the gallery for more photos.

It’s not really news to anyone that our snow is nearly gone and we’re experiencing an early spring.  And I’m guessing that most of you have memories of spring 2007 when the snow left and strong hot winds visited us in early May I’m not sure you can ever be completely prepared, but we’re working on it.  Our fire and mobilization plans are updated.  The Forest Service, Counties, State and Tribal partners have updated and reviewed our Northeast Minnesota Integrated Response Plan.  I’ve just returned from a couple days in Canada where we met and reviewed our action plans with our counterparts in Ontario.  Our remotely operated weather stations are up and operating to provide 24 hour data on weather parameters.  Plus our equipment is being tested and prepared for this early spring.

Probably one of the greatest concerns this time of year has to do with all those grasses and herbaceous plants that grew so well last year are now dead and “cured” which pretty much means dried out and ready to burn.  They start a fire very easily and burn very fast.  Again that’s probably not news to many of you; I’m guessing you already know that is why you see various groups burning the road sides, ditches and fields.  It gets rid of the “flashy” fuels and recycles the nutrients for the growing season. 

Because we’re at least a month to six weeks from “green up” where the fire danger will go down, we’re taking some steps to help us be prepared.  We have several grassy openings in the forest that are maintained in open conditions for some species of wildlife.  Our maintenance plan may include mowing every few years or burning.  This year we’ve started to burn some of those openings with an additional focus other than the wildlife benefits.  I’ve asked our fire crews to run our fire behavior models before each burn to predict the expected fire behavior on the unit.  Then as they conduct the burn, I’ve asked them to take careful measurements of fire behavior as the burn proceeds.  The information will then serve as a tune up for our fire folks to prepare for the season, but will also help us maintain vigilance on the actual fire danger of our forest setting.  We’ll then use that information to help inform the public and make any necessary decisions for the next few weeks.

As of this moment, the grass is burning pretty mildly and the fires are tending to put themselves out when the fire reaches the edge of the forest.  That’s good because that is what our models are suggesting would happen.  However I’m guessing we all know how fast the temperatures can rise, which also means how fast the grass and fine dead vegetation can dry out.  We’ll be watching the temperatures, relative humidity and winds very carefully over the next several weeks and that is what I’m asking all of us in Cook County to do as well. 

So, when you feel that spring has arrived and it just seems like you want or need to go out and have a fire; maybe that is the time to use a whole lot of extra caution.

It seems that spring comes at least once per year so you would think we should be prepared for it.  The trouble is we’re not that good at predicting just when it arrives.  For most of us that’s not a big deal, but when we’re managing natural resources including gravel roads, the arrival of spring is important.  Or should I say the arrival of breakup or mud season. 

Because our roads are frozen and they do tend to thaw out during this time period, there is a need to put load limits on our roads.  Not a big deal I guess since we work with both the State and the County on the timing of road weight limits and it only takes a couple days to implement those.  But there are the people who make their living in our forests and who use our roads.  As well as having a concern for the roads, we have probably a larger concern for the stability of our forest soils.   Heavy equipment like loggers use works very well on frozen soils but can do some not very nice things during this time of year.

So, with the somewhat sudden coming of breakup there was a flurry of activity where the loggers who work on National Forest lands were rushing to get their equipment out of the woods, plus they kind of wanted to get their harvested wood out as well.  They did so, and our forests are pretty quiet this time of year, waiting for the soils to dry out so woods workers can return. 

Similarly we suspended operations on our hazard tree removal project that was going on near the upper end of the Gunflint Trail.  We needed to get the heavy equipment off from the roads for a while.  I’ll have to add that this operation did leave a bit of unsightly slash along the Gunflint.  It seems those fire killed trees were pretty brittle and the branches easily broke off during the clearing process.  This tells me the trees needed to come down, but it also tells me we’ll need to get some hand crews out to help reduce the slash.  Unfortunately our hand crews don’t come on until the first of May, so I’ll need your patience until then.  By the first of June we should have the shoulders of the Gunflint cleaned up.  That is two and a half months, but I’m hoping that’s not too bad a price if our actions prevent a serious injury.

On Monday of this week I participated in a celebration called “Canoe the Heart”.  To back up a bit, about three years ago, the agencies along the border started thinking about a collaborative relationship.  At the start there were Voyageurs National Park, Quetico Provinical Park and the Superior National Forest.  Now there are about 25 entities that are members of the group that call themselves “Heart of the Continent“.  They do not talk policy but rather they are a partnership  of  Canadian/American land managers and local stakeholders working together on cross-border projects that promote the economic, cultural and natural health of the lakes, forests and communities on the Ontario/Minnesota border.

This year is our Centennial celebration and it is also the centennial celebration for Quetico Provincial Park. So the folks at Heart of the Continent decided to do a canoe trip from Atikokin Ontario, over to International Falls and back to Saganaga Lake.  From there they would move to Grand Marais and canoe to Grand Portage then onto Thunderbay.  All was done in a nine person “Voyageur” style canoe.  Stops were made along the way in various small towns to celebrate the centennial for both the park and the national forest. The celebration for Cook County took place at Chik Wauk, in the Grand Marais Recreational Park, and at the National Monument in Grand Portage.

All rather fitting I would say.  As I think about the eons of time, the one connection we all have is water.  Humans have traveled the oceans for centuries.  The Great Lakes and the Sweetwater Trail provided a link first for Native Americans, later for Voyageurs, settlers and present day shipping between Minnesota and the eastern part of our continent.  And then there are the lakes of the Boundary Waters that provided a canoe highway for early Natives, Voyageurs and today’s recreationists.

Voyagers Arrival

The waters that provided life and mobility to early Americans still provide a connection for the people of the United States and Canada.  And what better places to celebrate that connection than Grand Portage, Grand Marais and Chik Wauk?  All places on the water established so many years ago and remain to serve people of today.  I thought it particularly relevant to celebrate at Chik Wauk, a place built to serve people who came to use the land and waters.  Through the efforts of the community of the Gunflint Trail, it will continue to serve to tell the story of the connection of the people to the lands and waters of northeastern Minnesota and Canada.

Staff from the Wilderness Canoe Base and Gunflint Wilderness Camp provided voyager canoes  to ferry  visitors from the County parking lot on the Sag Trail to Chik Wauk.  And then those same voyageur canoes paddled up the Sag Corridor to escort the expedition canoe back to Chik Wauk. 

There were about 150 people in attendance on a bright sunny day.  Included were a  few activities for the kids and then a great meal provided by Gunflint Lodge.  After lunch there were short presentations by Quetico’s Dave Maynard and Superior National Forest’s Lee Johnson on the history of each.  The celebration was capped by a special recognition of Janice Matichuk, who has staffed Quetico’s  Cache Bay Ranger Station for the past 25 years.

Check out the photos on the side bar of this post.

I was fortunate that I got to participate in one of the “Becoming a Boundary Waters Family” seminars that the Gunflint Trail Outfitters are putting on this summer.  By now I’m hoping most people have heard of the activities that are offered free of charge at various locations up the Trail. We have partnered with the Outfitters to see if we can reach our urban populations that may have never had the chance to visit the north woods or the Boundary Waters for a wilderness trip.  I am using this post to also spread the word that those opportunties are available to all.  There is a list of events and a schedule on http://kite.boreal.org/gunflint-trailCF/becomingaboundarywatersfamily/ so please visit and tell your friends about the good times that can be had here in Cook County.

The seminar that I participated in is called paddle and lunch, where the folks at Norwester and Rockwood teach you to paddle a canoe, set up a camp and fix a lunch over a campfire.  I didn’t count but I’m thinking we had 20 or so people along of which we had three generations in one family.  Of course that group would be too big to go into the BWCAW together but since we were on Poplar Lake in a seminar together on an island, the group size was just fine.  And what a great way for grand parents with their kids and grandkids to share a day and get the grandkids started on a life of camping memories.    Check out the photos on the side bar.  Thank you Gunflint Trail Outfitters!!

Thought I’d write a quick note to remind folks that we’re into summer now and we all need to think about wildfire potential.   Last Saturday we had our fourth human caused fire of the season, this one out on Northern Light Lake.  I realize this year has had its share of rain, cool and cloudy days that make having a campfire a great thing.  However practicing good camping habits now will pay dividends for those times when conditions are a little more serious.  

Speaking of fire conditions, the following graph displays one of the indices that we watch  when determining how serious the fire danger is.   The blue line shows where we are presently and you can see that we’re pretty much running along the average line.  You can also see that our average for this time of year is an upward trend indicating that the fire danger overall is increasing.   When we start getting above that “90%” line, then conditions are such that larger fires can occur,,,,,, if they get started!

That is where we all come in.  This is a great place to live, work and play.  Let’s enjoy that, hike, boat, fish and have our campfires.  But then let’s put the campfires completely out.

Thanks!!