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