Superior National Forest Update: June 9

Hi. I’m Renee Frahm, visitor information specialist, on the Superior National Forest, with the National Forest Update - information on conditions affecting travel and recreation on the Tofte and Gunflint Districts of the Forest. For the week of June 9, here’s what’s going on in the woods.

Schools are out in most of the state, and people are heading north! Expect some road congestion on Hwy 61 and Hwy 1 on Fridays and Sundays as people travel to and from the south. There can also be some congestion at our offices as people stop in to pick up Boundary Waters entry permits. Our offices are open from 8 to 4:30 every day during the summer, but there are often multiple groups picking up permits first thing in the morning, so there could be a wait. You may want to plan to get your permit at a later time of day to avoid the line.

There’s been an increase in people using emergency locator devices in the Boundary Waters. These small devices use a satellite system to send a location and pre-recorded help message in an emergency. If you plan on having one with you, make sure you know how to properly operate it so that you don’t accidentally trigger an emergency response. Pack these devices in a way so that the buttons can’t be accidentally pressed, and program them with different levels of concern, such as a ‘we’re late, but don’t worry’ message, or ‘there’s a problem, but don’t send help,’ or ‘send help immediately.’ Usually these devices contact a friend or family member, and those contact people should be prepared to respond by knowing the names of people in the party and what their itinerary was. They also should know that the correct next contact is the county sheriff, as search and rescue operations are run out of the sheriff’s department. In this area, that would be either the Lake or Cook County Sheriff, so the contact should find out which county the party will be in, and what the phone number for the sheriff is. The sheriff will contact the Forest Service if necessary. Remember, false alarms are expensive, and can needlessly risk emergency responders.

We are welcoming a new temporary ranger to the Tofte District. If you are passing by, stop in and say hi to Ben South who will be here for a few months. He’s coming from Colorado, so the Sawtooth Mountains may not impress him, but our 10,000 lakes are pretty spectacular.

While we are looking at some rain this weekend, we have had a recent dry spell and fire danger is moderate. During the summer, fire danger can change quickly as warm weather dries the forest quickly. Calculating the fire risk uses many factors. High temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds will all increase fire danger, so it is more than a measure of how long ago the last rain was. The drier forest did allow the fire crew to do a prescribed burn last Wednesday near Isabella. The underburn we conducted will allow for better growth of pine seedlings beneath the mature pines, and used up the fuel beneath the pines in a controlled way. That fuel could otherwise have created a major wildfire. As always, check for any fire restrictions before you head out camping, and be sure campfires are totally out before you leave the area.

Our roads are in pretty good shape, although they have yet to be graded this year. In fact, the dry weather has made them so hard that they can’t be graded right now. There is some logging traffic. On the Gunflint District, you may find trucks on the Greenwood Road, Firebox Road, Gunflint Trail, FR 1385, and Trestle Pine Road. On the Tofte District, logging traffic will be around the Grade and Trapper’s Lake Road.

Enjoy the woods this weekend, and until next week, this has been Renee Frahm with the National Forest Update.