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Conservation
Issues LOCAL/REGIONAL ISSUES
NATIONAL ISSUES
Duluth Ikes Represent State Division on USFS "Chain of Lakes" Environmental Assessment October 11, 2001 Mark
Van Every Dear
Mr. Van Every, I
am writing today on behalf of the Minnesota Division of the Izaak Walton
League of America regarding the Chain of Lakes Environmental Assessment. While
the League fully understands the need to adjust the current situation to
reflect the intent of the 1978 BWCAW Act as it relates to motor use for
exempted parties, we are troubled by the large increase in motor traffic
that your proposed action will entail. Although
we are quite confident that the staff of the Superior National Forest
attempted to carefully re-calculate the numbers of exempt parties, we
are not convinced that the such re-calculation would result in the
substantial new motor use as laid out in preferred alternative #2. Even
if these numbers are correct, the League suggests that the USFS has the
discretion to set standards below the allowable maximum amount of motor
use. Since the BWCAW is not only governed under its own act, but also
the Wilderness Act, and since that act requires the Forest Service to
err on the side of wilderness values, we respectfully suggest that
rather than granting the maximum amount of motor use possible
calculated almost 30 years after the fact that the agency instead
adopt Alternative 4. This alternative would still increase motor use by
a factor of 1 to 3 (depending upon entry point) above current status,
but fall at about 1/3rd less use than your preferred
alternative would create. This
solution would provide legitimate parties with increased opportunity to
use motors, yet partially mitigate the impact on wilderness values. We
hope that upon reflection, the USFS sees the wisdom of balancing the use
of motors with the wilderness values for which the BWCAW was
established. Thank
you for your consideration of our comments. Sincerely,
Izaak Walton League Seeks Solution For National Forest Roadless Areas Battle! As environmentalists and the forest products industry prepare for an all-out legal, administrative and legislative war over the Clinton Administration's Roadless Area Conservation Policy prohibiting new road construction in 58.5 million acres of roadless National Forests, the Izaak Walton League of America today (3/28/01) proposed a common sense compromise that would be better for the environment, the forest products industry, local communities and our National Forests. "We believe that roadless areas should remain roadless, but
should be open to emergency entry using temporary roads where
unnaturally high fuel loads pose extreme fire danger to watersheds,
private land or endangered species," said Paul W. Hansen, IWLA
executive director.
MN Division Comments on USFS Draft Environmental Impact Statement for BWCAW Prescribed Burns As most of you are aware, a massive windstorm pummeled the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on July 4, 1999. Winds of over 100 miles per hour left a swath 9 miles wide by 20 miles long, from Basswood Lake to Saganaga Lake, in which 80% of the trees were downed. This has resulted in a massive "fuel load" that could cause devastating wildfires. Wildfires are natural, and beneficial, to wilderness. However, the area just to the east of the blowdown, outside the wilderness, is populated with homes and resorts. The USFS has therefore proposed a series of controlled burns to minimize the possibility of one gigantic, and uncontrollable, wildfire. Burns would be designed to utilize natural landforms (lakes, streams) to create fire breaks. In essence, the agency wants to burn the fuel before nature does. The plan is to burn about 80,000 acres over then next decade or so, in increments of 5-10,000 acres per year. Generally, the League supports this effort, but does have some concerns. Because such an action requires an Environmental Impact Statement, the public is allowed to comment and influence the final decision. The MN Division's comments, prepared by the McCabe Chapter on its behalf, were submitted to the Forest Service in February 2001. You may read the entire Draft Environmental Impact Statement at the Superior National Forest website HERE. You can read the MN Division's comments on the plan by clicking HERE. You need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file. If you do not have the Reader, go HERE to obtain it.
McCabe Chapter Comments on Proposed Angling Bag Limit Changes The MN DNR is accepting comments on wide-ranging changes in angling bag limits. The McCabe Chapter recently sent its comments to the DNR. The Izaak
Walton League supports active management of fisheries resources by state
agencies with the primary goal of protecting habitat, secondary goal of
sustaining fish stocks and the resulting goal of providing quality
public angling opportunity. The
definition of quality public angling opportunity, which is dependant on
diverse angler attitude, should include preservation of public access,
protection of natural shorelines, maintaining natural diversity of fish
species with good size structure and providing acceptable amounts of
fish for consumption. To
maintain quality angling opportunity the John McCabe Chapter supports
regulations based on scientific principles which reflect the best
biological data available, set by trained personnel of fish and wildlife
agencies. Political or
socially based regulations, although not categorically opposed, are
viewed as unnecessary limitations on opportunity. Generally, the John McCabe Chapter believes that fish populations are more efficiently maintained or improved through implementation of length based regulations rather than bag limit changes. There is much peer reviewed literature documenting affects of length based regulations on top level predators such as largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye and muskellunge as well as trout species. Management of panfish with length regulations is less documented. To read the McCabe Chapter's full comments, including species-specific recommendations, click HERE. (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have the Reader, go HERE to obtain it.)
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