| Groups go to court hoping to block snowmobile
trail - Boundary Waters: The trail would link two lakes, but the groups
say it's too close to the wilderness area.
(Note: The article below seeks to make the reader jump through six hoops, beginning with the Forest Service Home Page, in order to locate the 'snowmobile access plan.' Here it is: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/sf.php Of course, there's more to this 'plan' than one mere URL/website address: In their own words: "We encourage interested individuals to read the entire Decision Notice and accompanying documents, including the cover letter, to fully understand the decision. The Decision Notice provides not only an overview of, and the rational [sic; should be "rationale"] behind, Ranger Neitzke's decision but also an informative discussion of the history of this project and management of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness [BWCAW].") Cover Letter http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/documents/1Coverletter.pdf [2 pages; 110 KB] Decision Notice http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/documents/ADecisionNotice.pdf [43 pages; 136 MB] Appendix A, Photo Series of Decision Routes http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/documents/AppendixASeries.pdf [14 pages; 1.67 MB] Appendix A photo points [1 regional map] http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/documents/AppendixAphotopoints.pdf [1 page; 837 KB] Appendix B, Design Criteria and Mitigation http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/documents/AppendixB_001.pdf [6 pages; 57 KB] Appendix C, Project Map http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/documents/AppendixC_000.pdf [1 page; 146 KB] Appendix D, Substantive Comments Identified From Letters Received During the 30-Day Comment Period for South Fowl Access EA [Environmental Assessment] http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/documents/AppendixD_000.pdf [34 pages; 450 KB] South Fowl Lake Snowmobile Access Project Environmental Assessment (EA) http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/documents/SoFowlEA_001.pdf [78 pages; 137 MB] South Fowl Lake Snowmobile Access Project MAP http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/documents/SouthFowl11-7-05.pdf [1 page; 842 KB] South Fowl Lake Snowmobile Access Project Biological Evaluation (BE) http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/documents/BA_BE_SouthFowlLkSnowmobileAccess_11_1_05.doc [24 pages] TES Matrix http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/TES_matrix_11_1_05.htm [This contains several spelling and grammatical errors, beginning with the word "occuring" [sic; should be "occurring"] and continuing through "Cummulative" [sic; should be "Cumulative"] Effects, quoting: "Increasing human population seems emanate [sic; should be "imminent"], and settlement in the area is likely leading to more potential for human wildlife contact with negative effects. However, except for Alt 2, most of the trails are proposed on existing rds [roads] and trls [trails]. Crosscountry snowmobile travel is allowed on the Superior NF [National Forest]. But, most snowmobile use occurs on groomed and/or designated routes. The intent of this proposal is to provided [sic; should be "provide"] a route to travel between two lakes. Except for the currently illegal route into the BWCAW, there is no advantage to traveling off the designated route. No matter which alternative is chosen, these trails would continue to channel snowmobile travel as it has been for many years. The condition of the fishery in South Fowl Lake could be affected by overexploitation and/or from pollution. This effect is difficult to judge; other lakes in the surrounding NF can maintain heavy visitation and successful eagle nesting. It seems very unlikely the trails could foreseeably increase human visitation to the decidedly increased levels to actually alter the lake."]
August 19, 2006
Duluth News Tribune 424 West First Street Duluth, Minnesota 55802 800-456-8282 or 218-723-5300 Fax: 218-720-4120 To submit a Letter to the Editor: letters@duluthnews.com
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/multimedia/duluthsuperior/archive/0819trail.jpg Probably adapted from this map: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/documents/AppendixAphotopoints.pdf
The Izaak Walton League of America, Sierra Club North Star Chapter, Minnesota Chapter of the Sierra Club, Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness and Wilderness Watch filed the suit Thursday in federal court in Minneapolis. The suit seeks to alter construction of a new snowmobile trail that would provide access from McFarland Lake to South Fowl Lake, just east of Royal Lake. Snowmobiling around and on McFarland Lake and South Fowl Lake -- near the U.S.-Canadian border -- is legal on both sides of the border. However, snowmobiling on Royal Lake, below the proposed trail, is prohibited because it's within the federally designated wilderness. A cliff above Royal Lake on which the trail would be built isn't within the BWCAW. But environmentalists say snowmobiles traveling along the trail could be seen and heard from within the BWCAW. They also say the trail could affect rare plant species and Canada lynx. "We're convinced the trail in that location would really endanger the wilderness character of Royal Lake," said Kevin Proescholdt, Izaak Walton League wilderness and public lands program director in St. Paul. "We're asking the Forest Service to rethink this whole thing. Is there really a need for a trail along this cliff for a relatively small number of snowmobilers who might want to fish at South Fowl Lake?" U.S. Forest Service officials on Friday hadn't yet seen the lawsuit and couldn't comment, said Kris Reichenbach, a Forest Service spokeswoman. She said the Forest Service undertook an extensive public process, including two comment periods, public meetings and tours of the proposed site. As approved, the trail would provide public access to the border lakes without threatening private land or damaging wilderness resources, according to a U.S. Forest Service decision notice prepared by Gunflint Ranger District manager Dennis Neitzke. The trail could be built without harming two plants of a species on a state list of concern, he said. In deciding trail locations, Neitzke said, officials must consider the effect on wilderness. However, "buffers are not to be placed around wilderness borders and... clearly not every acre of wilderness needs to be isolated from human disturbance and protected from human sights and sounds," he said in the notice. The search for a new, safe and legal route began in 2003, when the Tilbury Trail, a trail that had crossed Royal Lake since about 1970, closed after it was determined that it passed through a corner of the wilderness. Selection of a new route stirred an emotional debate. Two public comment periods were held, the second drawing 540 comments. "This decision will be fully welcomed and completely rejected, absolutely right and horribly wrong," Nietzke wrote in his decision. "A portion of the public will cheer, the rest will jeer. Some will cry victory, others will cry foul." Four alternate routes also were studied. None are within the BWCAW. One of the routes, which would go from the south shore of McFarland Lake across Wooly's Bluff Road and then along the Stump River Road to the Arrowhead Trail and along South Fowl Lake Road, also was approved. However, only one of the two approved routes could be built or used at one time. Proescholdt says environmental groups are watching wilderness borders for similar conflicts with all-terrain vehicle (ATV) users. "We're very concerned about the growing development of TV trails along the edge of the BoundaryWaters," Proescholdt said. "We're worried about the impact of noise and illegal entrance into the wilderness. In this instance, the impact will definitely be felt within the wilderness." Native trees would be hand-planted along the proposed snowmobile trail,mechanical grooming disallowed, barriers erected to prevent ATV entrance and snowmobiling monitored by the forest service or a local group.
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/local/15312681.htm
Go to the U.S. Forest Service Web site at http://www.fs.fed.us Click on regional offices link http://www.fs.fed.us/contactus/regions.shtml, then click on map of state of Minnesota (Region 9) http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/, select Superior National Forest http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/, click on projects and plans http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/, and click on South Fowl Lake snowmobile access project http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/projects/sf.php http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/local/15312685.htm |
