Superior National Forest Update: March 17

Hi. This is Renee Frahm, administrative assistant, with this week’s National Forest Update - information on conditions affecting travel and recreation on the east end of the Superior National Forest. For March 17, here’s what’s going on in the Forest.

It’s a holiday weekend! While most of the country is excited about St Patrick’s Day, around here we are also celebrating St Urho’s Day. March 16th celebrates the day St Urho chased the grasshoppers out of Finland and saved the wine crop. There will be a parade on Saturday, March 18, which will shut down Hwy. 1 in the town of Finland at noon. Even when the parade is not happening, expect people to be on the road in that area as well as vehicles parked on both sides of the street.

Joining the people on the road are lots of deer. With the shift to daylight savings time, your morning or evening commute may have shifted into prime deer time. Traveling at 55 miles per hour from Grand Marais to Silver Bay is only 5 minutes longer than traveling at 60 miles per hour, and it will reduce your chances of hitting a deer considerably. It will also reduce your chances of hitting an owl, and increase your chances of seeing one. There have been several great gray owls along the roadways. They like hunting along roads where there is a nice open area to swoop down onto mice. Unfortunately, part of the open area is the road itself, which puts the bird in danger of being hit by cars. Driving slower means you can avoid hitting these birds, and give yourself a chance to take a picture instead.

You’ll see a lot of other bird activity as well, particularly in the ravens and crows. They are fixing up nests and establishing pair bonds, so you will see them flying around right now with large sticks and doing displays for both their potential mates and their rivals.

Off the highway, on the Forest roads, you’re going to also want to slow up. The freezing and thawing that has been happening have left some roads literal ice rinks. Signs have been posted in some places, but there are plenty of icy spots which are unmarked. The Greenwood Road on the Gunflint is particularly glacial. If you must travel in these ice covered areas, use extreme care. We recommend using alternate routes if possible.

Greenwood has the added hazard of truck traffic. On the Gunflint District, trucks are on the Greenwood, Shoebox Roads, and Gunflint Trail. On the Tofte District, trucks are on The Grade, Cook County 3, the Sawbill Trail, Trappers Lake Road, and Lake County 7. The logging operation is finished on the Honeymoon Trail, so that is now free of most truck traffic.

Enjoy your holidays! Even if you are not Irish or Finnish, it is great time to celebrate the winding down of winter and the beginning of spring in the Northland! This has been Renee Frahm with the Superior National Forest Update.