Boundary Waters Land Swap Passes U.S. House

Though wildfires continue in the north woods, it is legislation, not flames, that may most extensively remake the landscape of northern Minnesota this year.

A moose surfaces in the Superior National Forest

The U.S. House passed a bill on Wednesday to trade 86,000 acres of state-owned land in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to the federal government, in exchange for an equivalent value of federal land outside of the BWCAW. The deal, which involves some $100 million of real estate, would open land currently under federal protection to economic uses as part of the state's school trust fund. Much of that land is in the southern portion of the Superior National Forest.

When the 1.1 million acre BWCAW was formed in 1978, a patch of land belonging to the state education trust fund was included in the protected area. This cut it off from extractive industry uses such as mining or logging. With the trade, however, the federal government would officially take the patch, while handing over a part of the nearby federal lands to the state for use in the trust fund. Forests held by the school trust fund fund, which at around $27 per student per year generates less than one percent of the state's education budget, are traditionally managed intensively for revenue.

"They can choose to sell the land, they can choose to mine the land, they can choose to lease the land," said Rep. Chip Cravaak, R-North Branch, the bill's sponsor. "Whatever they choose to do will be up to the state and how they want to create revenue. But one thing is for certain, it must create revenue."

BWCAW and Superior National Forest

The vote was 225-189, split primarily along party lines. Twin Cities Democratic Representatives Keith Ellison (Minneapolis) and Betty McCollum (St. Paul) led the effort in the House against the act. Ellison proposed an amendment which would have forbidden the Forest Service from trading the land if fishing, hunting, or recreational uses were lost, but this amendment was defeated.


The swap is generally supported by northern Minnesota's politicians, mining and timber interests, and the state government. The Minnesota Legislature authorized the deal in April, and Governor Dayton signed the legislation shortly thereafter. Cravaak, whose re-election platform includes bringing more mining jobs to his northern Minnesota district, said the bill was important for boosting the economy and funding education.

"In my school district, there are 40 kids in a classroom. Our school district is down to four days a week," Cravaack said.

Environmental groups, however, oppose the the swap, as do the Fon du Lac band of Ojibwe. Opponents say that the bill is an effort to hand over greater land to mining and timber with less regulatory oversight. In addition, they have criticized the clause in the bill exempting the traded land from the National Environmental Policy Act, and the loss of protections such as the Weeks Act that would come with moving the land to state hands.

Advocates have concerns over sulfide mining

"The bill threatens to open the door for mining companies to conduct dangerous sulfide mining near the Boundary Waters and inside the Superior National Forest," said Samantha Chadwick of Environment Minnesota.

In addition, concerns have been raised over the effects of logging and mining on the businesses that support and furnish the recreational use of the area. "This bill puts recreation at risk and the industry that supports it," Ellison said, accusing the trade of placing multinational mining firms above local businesses.

A compromise agreement was proposed last winter, negotiated by the Minnesota DNR, environmental groups, and Superior National Forest. Such a compromise would allow 40 percent of the state land in the BWCAW to be traded, and the other 60 percent to be purchased by the federal government. The revenue of the sale could go the School Trust Fund. The compromise was rejected by lawmakers, however, who opted for a full trade. Representative McCollum criticized the legislature's decision, saying that further negotiation between industry, government, residents, and environmental advocates is necessary.


"There is a stakeholders group in Minnesota that is working to determine if the land proposal is fair and transparent," McCollum said. "They're not at the table, folks."

It is not yet clear if the U.S. Senate will address the issue this year, or whether the executive branch will sign such legislation. Minnesota senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, both Democrats, say that they support the trade and are working on a companion bill to Cravaak's.

Image Sources: Wikimedia, Go Wilderness Journey, and Ecowatch

Quick Hits: Fire Approaches Blowdown Area, Anoka Wildlife Corridor, Pesticides v Zebra Mussels

Fire Approaches Blowdown Area
The Superior National Forest has expanded a closure area, as the Wooden Leg Fire moves towards the high-risk 1999 blowdown area. The Wooden Leg Fire, which is only a quarter acre in size, has already sparked the closing of Ensign Lake some twenty miles from Ely. The closure has been epanded to several other lakes, in response to the fire's progression towards a tract of land that contains a great amount of highly flammable dead wood, the result of a wind storm over a decade ago.

Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow

Anoka Wildlife Corridor

John and Barb Anderson, fourth-generation Anoka landowners, have joined with the Minnesota Land Trust to protect valuable wildlife habitat in the urbanized county. The 80 acres of grasses and wetland provide key habitat for species identified by Minnesota's Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, including the red-headed woodpecker, smooth green snake, and Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow. Along with the 92 acre easement made by the family in 2005, over half of the 260 acre farm is preserved for wildlife. Funding for the project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund through their Metro Conservation Corridors program, which seeks to connect the disaparate patches of high-quality habitat throughout the metro, creating more resilient wildlife communities.

Pesticides v Zebra Mussels
The experimental use of pesticides to control zebra mussels may be working in one northern Minnesota lake, according to the DNR. The agency applied the treatment to Rose Lake in Otter Tail County last autumn when a small population of the invasive species was found in the lake. No zebra mussels have been found in the water samples from Rose Lake this summer, says DNR Invasive Species Specialist Nathan Olson. He urges caution, however. "From my experience with zebra mussels, they seem to have a really big increase in about two years,once they're found in a lake," Olson said. "If I don't see any zebra mussels for about two years, then I'm going to be more excited about our success rate."

Image Source: Phil Jeffrey

Boundary Waters Ablaze

There's smoke on the water up north, as dry conditions fuel fire in the Boundary Water Canoe Area.


Crews battled the fire through the day Monday

The blaze, called the Cummings Lake Fire, started at a camp site between Cummings and Otter Lake on Sunday afternoon, some twelve miles from Ely. It spread rapidly, scorching over 30 acres of pine and spruce forest by Monday afternoon. A team of fourteen firefighters and a helicopter fought through the day to contain the blaze. A control line was completed Monday on the eastern flank of the fire, while aerial suppression held the west until ground crews were able to build another control line there. Crews are working to contain the head of the fire on its northern flank.

The response was immediate, as the Forest Service, already stretched by fires in the western states, fears the blaze may spread out of control given the extremely dry conditions of the wilderness following this long, arid summer.



The fire has burned over 30 acres



Thirteen months of drought conditions in the north woods have produced challenging conditions, with fires spreading quickly through green and cured grasses. Even the peat and organic soils are igniting rapidly and burning deep into the ground, said the DNR.

The number of campers in the area is unknown. According to Superior National Forest official Becca Manlove, no structures are immediately threatened by the blaze.



Last year, the BWCA was hit by the Pagami Creek fire, which burned 145 square miles of the north woods after growing out of control. The Forest Service had initial allowed it to burn, believing that the wet conditions at the time would keep it under control as a natural fire. Such natural fires are a normal part of the north woods ecosystem, and help to prevent greater fires by using up fuel and temporarily depleting areas of trees. Sixty to seventy fires affect the Superior National Forest annually. However, the Pagami Creek fire exceeded expectations, becoming Minnesota's largest fire in 93 years.



A view from Cummings Lake



A second, smaller fire has been spotted in Quetico Provincial Park, across the border in Ontario. It has burned some 20 acres and is moving north, away from the Boundary Waters. Another small fire was put out near Duluth.

While the Boundary Waters remain open, officials do not recommend camping near the fire area.

Image Source: KSTP and The Star Tribune

Cell Phone Tower To Be Built Near Boundary Waters

The sunrise over the Boundary Waters will soon have a companion on the horizon- the blinking light of a cell phone tower. Construction of the tower was effectively approved in August as the Minnesota Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by environmental advocates to block its construction, ending a long legal struggle over the wilderness area's skyline.
 

A sunrise on Pipestone Bay

A tower over the wilderness

The tower site lies on a high ridge in Ely, just outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. From atop the ridge, the top of the tower will reach 600 feet above the waters of Pipestone Bay, making it visible from ten nearby lakes. Because of federal aviation rules, such a tall tower requires blinking lights attached, to warn planes.
 
The BWCAW, established in 1964, covers over a million acres and contains more than 1,000 lakes, with hundreds of miles of streams and rivers. It lies in the heart of the Superior National Forest, on the border with Canada. It is the most heavily visited wilderness area in the country, attracting visitors with what the Minnesota legislature calls its “surpassing scenic beauty and solitude, free from substantially all commercial activities and artificial development.”
 
AT&T officials say that the tower is vital for public safety, improving emergency phone service for campers and canoers in the wilderness, as well as to under-served local residents. They say that a tall tower on the ridge is necessary for the needed coverage given the hilly topography of the region. In addition, court findings state that the ten lakes from which the tower would be visible constitute less than one percent of the BWCAW’s 1,175 lakes.

"We believe the limited impact of the tower is greatly outweighed by the benefits -- including health and safety benefits -- of the improved service it will provide residents and visitors," AT&T spokesman Marty Richter said.
 
Opponents such as Friends of the Boundary Waters counter that the tower will spoil the scenic value of the Boundary Waters, and that a shorter tower could provide adequate services while preserving the area's skyline.

"We understand the need and would like the tower builders to examine alternative methods to providing service without affecting the BWCAW.", said the environmental organization.

According to District Court findings a pair of unlit 199 foot tall towers could provide more coverage than a single, lit, 450 foot tower, and the increased coverage between a single short tower.
 
Analysis by AT&T, cited in the findings, found that while the taller tower could be profitable within 38 months, the shorter one would take 63 months to cover costs- three months longer than the company's guidelines for the project.

A long legal battle

Certain campers enjoy cell phone coverage

The Lake County Board approved the tower in February 2010, in hopes of improving the wilderness's cell phone coverage. The decision of the County Board was made without analysis to the view impacts, and on the basis of statements by AT&T-later found to be false- that the taller tower would deliver 16 times the coverage.
 
In June of 2010, Friends of the Boundary Waters filed a lawsuit, heard by Hennepin County District Judge Philip Bush, who ruled on the side of the activists, limiting the tower's height to 199 feet and forbidding it from bearing lights. The rationale for that ruling was that a taller tower would violate the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act, which allows citizens to sue for legal action to protect natural resources, including scenic areas. Judge Bush ruled that the area's scenic value would be deteriorated and that a taller tower would pose a risk to birds.

That decision was overturned, however, in June of 2012, when the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled in favor of AT&T. While the appeals court did not dispute any of the facts of the the District Court decision, it did reframe them. Citing precedent from Schaller v. Blue Earth County the court judged the case based on five factors:

"(1) The quality and severity of any adverse effects of the proposed action on the natural resources affected; (2) Whether the natural resources affected are rare, unique, endangered, or have historical significance; (3) Whether the proposed action will have long-term adverse effects on natural resources, including whether the affected resources are easily replaceable (for example, by replanting trees or restocking fish); (4) Whether the proposed action will have significant consequential effects on other natural resources (for example, whether wildlife will be lost if its habitat is impaired or destroyed); and (5) Whether the affected natural resources are significantly increasing or decreasing in number, considering the direct and consequential impact of the proposed action."
 
With these criteria, the appeals court faulted the district court for not addressing the first criteria. It further found fault with the district court's conclusions on the third, fourth, and fifth factors. On the third, regarding permanence, the court noted that removing the tower would remove the damage to the view, and thus the damage was not permanent. Regarding the fourth, effects on wildlife, the court concluded that the number and species of the birds that would be killed by the tower was unknown. Finally, regarding the fifth, the court said that scenic Boundary Water views “are limited and finite resources” that “are not increasing and unless protected they will decrease over time,” but faulted the district court for failing to weight whether this was "significant".


The Boundary Waters contains over 1,000 lakes


The appeals court ruled that while the second factor, the rareness of the resources affected, was compelling, it alone was not enough to bar the tower's construction, and the 450 foot tower's impacts were therefore insufficient to have "a materially adverse effect on the environment". 
 
Commenting on the decision, environmental advocate and former Friends of the Boundary Waters director Ron Meador said, "By narrowing its review to this single aspect, the appeals court spared itself the trouble of considering such pesky questions as whether one or two shorter towers wouldn’t serve AT&T and its customers just as well as a 450-footer, without any impact on the BWCA."
 
Although Friends of the Boundary Waters appealed the case to the Minnesota Supreme Court, their request for a hearing was denied, allowing the June 2012 decision to stand.

"We're glad the matter is resolved," said Alex Carey, head of corporate communications for AT&T in Minnesota. "We have believed all along that the larger tower will provide an overall improvements for the residents and visitors of the Boundary Waters."

Friends of the Boundary Waters director Paul Danicic disagrees. "The Supreme Court's decision not to review this case is a disappointment and loss for all of Minnesota's protected natural resources," he said. "This tower is contrary to Minnesota's values of environmental stewardship."

The environmental organization says that they are examining options for next steps.

Image Sources: Capture Minnesota, 123RF, and Quiet Journey,