Local Forest Service office aims to save by upgrading Internet capabilities

In a move that will ultimately save taxpayer money, the Gunflint Ranger District office has upgraded its Internet connection capabilities. The wiring and cables to allow the project to happen were recently installed along Highway 61 near the local Forest Service office in Grand Marais.

According to Debbie Brookins, the Supervisory Billing and Ordering Specialist based in Atlanta, Georgia, the hookup and installation of the 10M Ethernet service at the station cost the Forest Service $20,000. And while the actual project costs are much higher than that, the Forest Service is paying only $20,000 of the overall cost, while CenturyLink covers the rest. Brookins noted that the long-term savings will come in the form of a lower monthly bill to have Internet service at the local Forest Service office.

Funds for the installation of the new Internet service come from a general fund that the Forest Service delegates toward information and equipment upgrades. It does not come from the budget of the Gunflint Ranger District.

Construction crews have been lining Highway 61 near the Forest Service building for weeks as the cables were put in the ground. There was perhaps some confusion on the local level as to why CenturyLink was routing the fiber optic cables when True North already had a box on the Forest Service building for faster Internet.

Following the guidelines of a national contract, the Forest Service was required to use an AT&T affiliate to provide Internet to the station. In this case, CenturyLink is the third-party affiliate installing high-speed Internet to the Gunflint Ranger station. Brookins confirmed that True North was not an option for providing the faster Internet connection to the local Forest Service station due to the guidelines of the national contract with AT&T.

In addition to the confusion as to why CenturyLink was digging the ground to install the cables, there were also reports of local business owners not appreciating having to be impacted by the project. These reports include the closing of access to their business driveways while the construction crossed near their property.

Nancy Larson is the Gunflint District Ranger, USDA Forest Service, Superior National Forest. She said in a statement sent to WTIP that the local ranger district is “glad to have improved internet service at a cheaper rate to the Gunflint Ranger Station. Work productivity will be improved with the higher speeds as we work with data and large files for maps or use the internet for our work.  I regret any inconvenience the community experienced as contractors installed the line to our office in Grand Marais. We, however, are very excited and believe we will be better able to serve the public in our stewardship of the national forest.” 

In addition to having faster Internet capabilities at the Gunflint Ranger Station, the Forest Service will be saving up to $700 per month later this year by having this new type of Internet service, according to Brookins. Again, this savings will come in the form of lower monthly bills for the Internet.

The Internet project at the Gunflint Ranger District station is expected to be completed soon.