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“Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness
BWCA Wilderness E-Update #111
August 6, 2003

ACTION ALERT - Protect Superior National Forest
* Encourage Forest Service to emphasize land protection, not logging


Urge Forest Service to emphasize land protection, not logging

As you know from recent Friends action alerts, the U.S. Forest Service is reviewing its 15-year management plan for the Superior National Forest. Many of you have already written the Forest Service in support of the Friends' recommendation that nearly 90,000 additional acres receive
federal wilderness designation.

The Forest Service just extended its public comment deadline to Sept. 11, 2003, so there is still time to submit comments in support of wilderness designation if you have not already done so. In June, the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness released a study documenting the wilderness qualities of nearly 90,000 acres of federal land near the
Boundary Waters. To view the study, visit
www.friends-bwca.org.

Sadly, the draft plan weighs heavily on the side of using the forest for economic gain, largely through logging. The agency's mission directs them to manage the land for long-term protection, which demands a different approach, one that considers the ecological health and viability
of the ecosystem. The draft plan fails to emphasize the importance of protecting the forest, and concentrates on exploiting its resources.

We invite you to submit comments on the overall draft plan, and have provided a number of talking points below on which comments could be based. Comments must be received by the U.S. Forest Service by Thursday, Sept. 11, 2003. Send comments to: Forest Plan Revision, c/o Chippewa
National Forest, 200 Ash Avenue NW, Cass Lake, Minnesota 56633-8929, or
tstruecker@fs.fed.us.

* The plan places too much importance on the economic benefits of the forests, namely through logging. In its final plan, the Forest Service
must be more supportive of preserving habitat, trees, wildlife and all the other "benefits" of the forest.

* The plan de-emphasizes the importance of silent sports like canoeing, camping, hiking, and birdwatching receive little to no mention in the plan. The plan must ensure continued opportunities for these
activities.

* The plan provides no remedy for off-highway vehicle damage. Despite promoting off-highway vehicle and motorboat use in the plan, the Forest Service fails to address resulting damage caused to streams, plants,
and wildlife habitat. The final plan must describe how the forest will accommodate new trails and motorized use without damaging sensitive land and waters.

* The plan fails to protect remaining wild areas. A citizens'
inventory released by the Friends shows that nearly 90,000 acres, many of them adjacent to the BWCAW, qualify for wilderness protection and should be
included in the final Forest Service plan.

* The plan increases noise in the wilderness. By increasing motorboat access to lakes, the plan subjects the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to more chaos. Instead, some large lakes outside the wilderness should be designated as carry-in access only.

* The plan opens too much land to logging. From 1992-2002, timber companies cut an average of 75 million board feet in Superior National Forest per year. Under the proposed plan, that amount would increase to 82 million board feet per year for at least the next 15 years.

* The plan damages the landscape by allowing logging on sensitive soil. It proposes to increase commercial logging in lowland and old-growth forests, which are the most vulnerable stands in the forest and also the
most subject to soil run-off.

* The plan emphasizes clear-cutting at the expense of preserving wildlife habitat. Logging roads and timber cleared from large swaths break up the forest, leaving it barren and uninhabitable for birds and
wildlife.

* The plan fails to protect waters from pollution and run-off. In several areas, the plan encourages the construction of roads, bridges, and trails near lakes, streams, and rivers, thus exposing them to pollutants.

* The plan incorporates the goal of restoring the natural variation of the forest but makes insufficient progress toward this goal. The Forest Service must be more aggressive in restoring the balance of various tree species, ages, and patterns.

* The plan wisely recognizes fire as an essential process. Fire plays an integral role in regenerating a forest, like in the case of the jack pine, which can only reproduce with the aid of fire that opens its cones.

The Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness is a non-profit
organization whose mission is to protect, preserve and restore the wilderness character of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the
Quetico-Superior Ecosystem. We are supported by more than 4,000 members and donors.

The Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness provides BWCA Wilderness E-Updates free of charge to you. Show your support; join the Friends by becoming a paying member! We need your membership dues to continue
our work. Membership dues start at $20. As a member, you will receive a subscription to our quarterly newsletter and be notified of upcoming events and attractions.”

“Thank you for posting this. I have paddled the lakes of northern Quetico for the last 10 years. My check is in the mail.”

“Thanks Lizs, that place needs to be protected!”