Forest North

Jamie Chopp, West Zone Fuels Planner on the LaCroix District, and Kawishiwi District Engine Captain and Wildland Firefighter Luke Macho talk about the logistics on the ground and in support of wild land firefighting.

Episode Links:

National Situation Report – Fires across the Nation
Fire Weather Forecast – Briefing info for daily preperation
Minnesota indexes – tell us how likely a fire will start/grow
Incident Information System
Crew Video – Used for end of season

Liz Anderson from Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District, and Matt Santo from the 1854 Treaty Authority join Forest North to talk about Aquatic Invasive Species in our area waters and how to help stop their spread. Steve Robertsen returns to talk about the arrival of summer on the Superior National Forest and some of the new baby critters making their appearance in the Northwoods.

Time Stamps:
(1:27) Liz Anderson and Matt Santo
(36:00) Steve Robertson

Show Notes:
Lake County AIS Program
Project page for the spiny waterflea research
Project page for the rusty crayfish and wild rice research
Minnesota DNR’s AIS homepage
1854 Treaty Authority website

Nicole Selmer, Fire Prevention Specialist with the Kawishiwi Ranger District and Gloria Erickson, Fire Adapted Communities Project Manager with Dovetail Partners, talk about fire strategies on the Superior National Forest.

Episode Links:

Minnesota Fire Adapted Communities: 
https://minnesotafac.org/index.php 

Minnesota DNR Firewise Program
 
Wildland Fire Ready, Set, Go

Woodland Stewardship Plans (DNR)

Find Your DNR Regional Forester

Find your Soil and Water Conservation District

UofM Guidebook to Woodland Stewardship 

Tools for Living with Fire Event Registration

Administrative Operations Specialist Renee Frahm joins Forest North to talk about how to apply for a US Forest Service job and begin a career working on the forest.

Episode Links:

USAJOBS - The Federal Government's official employment site
Classification & Qualifications (opm.gov)
Classifying General Schedule Positions (opm.gov)
Superior National Forest Homepage

 The North Country Trail which will stretch 4,800 miles across eight states from North Dakota to Vermont and will traverse the superior national forest along the border route trail, through the wilderness on the Kekekabic Trail and a new section that will bring hikers directly to Ely. We're joined by Matt Davis, Regional Trail Coordinator for the North Country Trail Association, Eric Campbell, President of the Kekekabic Trail Club, and Carl Skustad, Kawishiwi Ranger District Recreation/Wilderness and Trails Manager on the superior national forest.

Steve Robertsen returns to talk spring bird migration, identification and banding on the forest.

Episode Links:

https://northcountrytrail.org/volunteer/ways-to-volunteer/
https://www.borderroutetrail.org/volunteer-opportunities
www.kek.org
www.nct.org

Forest service wilderness crews are a vital part of the management of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Tom Yankowiak from the LaCroix ranger district and Chris Maher from the Kawishiwi District manage those wilderness crews, and today they join us to talk about some of the nitty gritty of the job.

A podcast from the Superior National Forest in Northeastern Minnesota, Forest North is created by the Ely Tourism Bureau, in partnership with the USDA Forest  Service- Superior National Forest. Find out more about the Superior National Forest at FS.USDA.GOV/superior

Remember to subscribe, share and leave a review on  your favorite listening platform, and email your comments, questions or suggestions to [email protected]

 This week, Wilderness Operations Lead Megan McClanahan and East Zone Wilderness Specialist Dan Disch join us to talk all things camping on the Superior National Forest. Steve Robertsen also stops by to talk about some sure signs of spring in the Northland.

Episode Links:

Home - Leave No Trace - Leave No Trace (lnt.org) 

Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) - ID, MT, WY, WA (igbconline.org)

ax2239ad.aw (igbconline.org) - This is the approved list of bear resistant containers (updated 2/2024 from IGBC)

Superior National Forest - Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (usda.gov) Link to direct info on the BW including Rules and Regs as well as our trip planning guide.

Wilderness Connect - Great info for all things “Wilderness”

Partnership Coordinator Emily Munter, along with Retired Forest Supervisor Jim Sanders and Northwoods Volunteer Connection Director Jo Swanson discuss the value of volunteerism on The Superior National Forest. Plus, Steve Robertson returns to share an update on his outreach efforts, the early sap run for maple trees and some skunk behavior that’s right on time.

Episode Links:

Volunteer in the Superior National Forest

volunteer.gov

Northwoods Volunteer Connection

February 13th, 2024 is the 125th birthday of the Superior National Forest. In honor of that, Forest Archeologist Lee Johnson joins us to talk forest history. Aaron Kania talks about the role of the District Ranger and gives some updates on the Kawishiwi Ranger District.


Episode Links:

Timeline of Superior National Forest History-Includes some the relevant legislative history
Superior National Forest - History & Culture (usda.gov)

 Arthur Carhart’s 1922 Recreation Plan for the Superior NF-Photos and summary
Superior National Forest - News & Events (usda.gov)

 BLM Government Land Office Survey/Patent Records-Search a Township and Range to see the original patent holders for lands in the Superior NF
Search - BLM GLO Records

 Evolution of the Superior NF-John Wesley White
fseprd532398.pdf (usda.gov)

Faces in the Wilderness 2019 Article on Culturally Modified Trees in the BWCAW & 2021 BWCAW Fire History Article
Faces in the Wilderness: a New Network of Crossdated Culturally-Modified Red Pine in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of Northern Minnesota, USA | Human Ecology (springer.com)

 Human augmentation of historical red pine fire regimes in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness - Kipfmueller - 2021 - Ecosphere - Wiley Online Library

Careers | US Forest Service (usda.gov)
USAJOBS - The Federal Government's official employment site
Agency Organization | US Forest Service (usda.gov)