Superior National Forest Update - June 1, 2018

National Forest Update – May 31, 2018.
 
Hi.  I’m Brandee Wenzel, administration and support assistant, with this week’s edition of the National Forest Update - information on conditions affecting travel and recreation on the Tofte and Gunflint Districts of the Superior National Forest. For start of June, here’s what’s going on in the Forest.

With the start of the summer months, we are getting some good thunderstorms.  Just a reminder to everyone, lightning is nothing to play around with.  Most lightning strikes occur in front of the rain, so if you are out on the water and hear a storm approaching, don’t wait until the rain starts – get off the lake and seek a safe place to ride out the storm, immediately.  If you are on land, avoid sheltering under tall trees, and minimize your contact with the ground.  If you’re in your house, well, have a second cup of coffee and enjoy the show.

The rain we have been getting has helped a bit with fire danger, but it is still pretty dry.  We need a good soaker to really relieve the fire danger.  Green up has also helped a lot as wet live vegetation is pretty resistant to fire, and the rain is also helping forest green up to progress.

Rain is also letting us start to grade some roads.  Many roads are still in pretty rough shape from winter and spring – the 600 Road, in particular, has some large sinkholes in it, so drive with caution until we can make some repairs.  If you run across any particularly noteworthy road problems while you are out driving, please take note of where the problem is, take some photos if you have a phone with you, and report it to either the Tofte or Gunflint Ranger Stations.

There is still not a lot of timber hauling going on out on the roads.  You can expect truck traffic on the Trapper’s Lake Road in Tofte, and on the Greenwood and Firebox Roads in Gunflint. 

You can start to expect more visitor traffic though.  Be patient and respectful of visitors that might be a bit lost, or are driving a bigger rig than they are used to.  If you are one of those who might become a bit lost, be aware that automobile GPS units often have problems with our roads.  Some snowmobile trails appear as roads on a GPS, and some roads don’t appear at all.  Your best bet is to purchase a visitor map from one of the districts which will have all the roads on it.  Navigate from the map, and don’t trust that calm voice coming from your GPS which tells you to turn down a trail into a lake.

You will also have to be patient on our main street of Highway 61.  Culverts are going to be replaced in several places along the highway causing one lane traffic with flaggers or temporary stop lights.  Just plan for delays, don’t try to make up your lost time by speeding after you pass the construction. 

This weekend is graduation for seniors in both Grand Marais and Silver Bay.  Congratulations to all of them!  Unfortunately, there are often auto accidents associated with graduation, so please celebrate with care.  Don’t let you or your friends become a statistic this weekend by drinking and driving or letting someone else get behind the wheel when they shouldn’t.  We look forward to all of you heading off into life this fall, whether college, job or tech school. 

Enjoy your weekend, and until next week, this has been Brandee Wenzel with the National Forest Update.