Some of the last remaining roadless areas in northern Minnesota's Superior National Forest would be logged over the next decade under a proposed state timber-management plan.
As many as nine state-owned stands would be cut and a network of roads would be built through larger federal backcountry areas to reach them, according to a coalition of environmental groups opposing the plan.
Not only would such actions further fragment the forest, but they also would degrade wildlife habitat for such elusive creatures as the Canada lynx, diminish recreational opportunities for hunters and bird-watchers, and eliminate any chance those places might one day be eligible for federal wilderness protection, the groups say.
"We're not against logging, but there is plenty of other state land to log," said Joshua Davis, forestry organizer for the North Star Chapter of the Sierra Club. "We are just trying to make sure these special places are still there."
The Sierra Club, the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, Audubon Minnesota and the Wilderness Society recently filed their objections with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which is preparing 10-year timber-management plans on land it owns in 17 subsections of the state. The coalition's comments deal with the Border Lakes subsection in far northeastern Minnesota.
Jon Nelson, the DNR's forest policy and planning coordinator, said he couldn't comment specifically on the coalition's comments because an agency team hasn't studied them yet. But he said plans are far from settled, and any final decision would be made only after consulting with the U.S. Forest Service, which owns the land surrounding the state property.
"We are really going to rely heavily on how the Forest Service responds," Nelson said.
In addition to the1.1 million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the federal government has classified 62,000 acres in northern Minnesota as roadless areas. The Clinton administration established protections for those acres, as well as 58.5 million acres nationally, but the Bush administration dismantled them and has given the state a greater voice in what happens to those lands.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty has asked the Minnesota Forest Resources Council for advice on what should happen to them. Although it doesn't rule out logging its roadless property, the Superior National Forest hasn't made any decisions yet.
State environmental organizations, meanwhile, are promoting wilderness protection, not only for most of those 62,000 acres, but also for an additional 28,000 acres they believe merit special protection, pushing their definition of the state's total roadless acreage to almost 90,000 acres.
Using that combined acreage, the environmental coalition said 22 roadless areas covering 77,000 acres fall within the Border Lakes area. They include more than 10,000 acres of state land.
Nine state sites totaling588 acres have been identified for cutting over 10 years, with286 acres proposed for clear-cutting, 80 acres for thinning and 222 acres for re-examination later. Another 631 state acres of nonroadless land proposed for logging are adjacent to or within a quarter mile of the BWCA Wilderness.
About 22 miles of roads, including six miles within the roadless areas, would be built as part of those logging plans. If the state decides to log the areas, the federal government would be required to allow road access to them.
"That will leave a patchwork of clear-cuts and really fragmented forests outside of these special places," said Davis, contending those areas represent some of the best places in Minnesota to preserve for future generations.
With the increasing proliferation of all-terrain vehicles in northern Minnesota, it also will take longer for the forest to reclaim those roads than the state estimates, he said.
"It would take 10 years to disappear if no one used them," Davis said. "Those roads will become recreational trails for ATVs. They will never disappear."
Wayne Brandt, executive vice president of the Minnesota Timber Producers Association, said the state plan doesn't recommend enough logging.
"This area is in a landscape that has substantial wilderness acreage already, and the state should be placing greater emphasis on maintenance and creating younger habitat for wildlife species that need it and providing wood for society," Brandt said.
The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina only heightens the need, he said.
"There is going to be a huge demand for wood products to help areas that must be rebuilt," he said. "For the public agencies to not be part of the healing process would be just wrong." Superior National Forest officials said they try to coordinate their timber plans with those of other forest landowners.
"But really, the state, or the county or private individuals are pretty much free to do with their lands what they think they should do," said Duane Lula, recreation and wilderness program manager for the Superior National Forest.
And that's what worries Davis.
"The state's last roadless areas will start to disappear, not because they need to be cut down, but because nobody is thinking about protecting them," Davis said. "They are the last places we'll ever have to provide wild forest recreation for future generations."St. Paul Pioneer Press via Duluth News Tribune
