This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_002F_01C7622E.CF27FAF0
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
This is truly heart wrenching knowing one of my favorites places to bird =
in Minnesota is being mowed down for money and also for some lame excuse =
to control some pest! I and a few other birders that have spent a lot =
of time in the Sax Zim bog have grown very fond of it which makes this =
logging very tough on me and others. This area along Owl Avenue has =
nesting Connecticut Warblers, Yellow-bellied Flycatchers and Boreal =
Chickadees. Driving along this stretch of Owl Avenue during the winter =
has produced Great Gray Owls and assortment of winter finches. Other =
than birds that are found along this stretch of bog several species of =
bog plants and orchids were found in this bog as well.
This logging or the so-called "pest management control" practice is far =
from being done! McDavitt Road is currently being logged out, some of =
the bogs along Co. Rd 133 has been logged out. I am sure the foresters =
will eye up Admiral Road as a possible place to control this pest since =
the Admiral Road is just a mile or so east of McDavitt Road.
This group (Friends of Sax Zim Bog) was not a very effective group even =
though I was asked numerous times to come and sit in at their meetings. =
I did not show up because there were to many government people sitting =
in on these meetings and I felt they were there to put on a good face =
and that is all! Nothing productive came from these meetings except a =
lot of wishful thinking and ideas!
I been emailing with and soon will be meeting with the mayor and other =
community leaders of the Toivola-Meadowlands area to discuss several =
projects before I leave for Colorado this April. These projects include =
developing a winter birding festival, create a winter bird feeding =
station where birders from all over can visit the feeders in peace =
without being run off the road and also hanging some deer rib cages out =
in the remaining bog areas to attract Boreal Chickadees and other birds. =
The birding festival so far is creating a lot of excitement to the =
community leaders as I been getting updates that the old Meadowlands =
school can be used as a place to hold the talks, vendors and gathering =
place for birders. I also have been getting updates about a place where =
a bird feeding station would be located. The community leaders are =
aware of the logging and know the logging is not good for the birds but =
on the other hand they are neighbors to the people who are logging the =
areas. Loggers have to feed their families too.
I lost a good amount of respect for the state foresters and who are =
using the larch beetle, the spruce bud worm or whatever as a lame =
excuse to open up tracts of land to make money off it. Sure its good for =
the independent loggers who need the money but the fault lies with the =
state foresters for opening these tracts up for logging. They might as =
well as erect a sign next to every logged out bog that says "brought to =
you by the state foresters". Logging out large expanses of sensitive =
spruce bogs is not the answer when it comes to the flora & fauna of the =
species that are found in these habitats. I got one email last year =
from a DNR guy saying "the mature trees bordering the bog will re-seed =
the bog" That is full of crap! It was 3 years ago that they logged out =
the bog habitats along Co. Rd 133 and I been checking on these bogs to =
see if the above statement was true and so far the aspen trees are =
moving into these logged out areas!
Here is another example of the DNR in the prime action:
I got this email from a concern person last week about the ATVs and the =
Cloquet River State Forest.
The system presently planned is to have the entire forest be managed =
with=20
> a few small areas as non motorized. It leaves a great deal of the =
forest=20
> vulnerable to off trail and new trail development. The DNR officers =
> I've spoken with off the record say they professionally oppose this =
but=20
> that the hierarchy is demanding it - Polaris and Arctic Cat being=20
> Minnesota Companies they are supported by this. The DNR takes in =
over 3=20
> million now per year for just atvs via registration and gas taxes. =
They=20
> spend 1.7 million on ATV enforcement, and they want MORE money for =
this,=20
> despite the fact that they have only two officers specifically tasked =
to=20
> enforce ATV laws. The DNR is getting a LOT of money for their =
programs=20
> by pushing ATVs.
Yep that's our DNR!
You can read more by going to this website: www.friendscvsf.org
I am just plain upset with the management practices that are going on up =
in Sax Zim Bog.
Mike Hendrickson=20
Michael Hendrickson
Duluth, Minnesota
Lake Superior Boat Trips
http://webpages.charter.net/mmhendrickson/
----- Original Message -----=20
From: sparky stensaas=20
To: mou-...@cbs.umn.edu=20
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2007 6:34 AM
Subject: [mou] Owl Avenue: R.I.P.
As Mike Hendrickson had warned, Owl Avenue has been logged. =
Essentially ruined for birding. A 100 foot swath of mature black spruce =
has been clearcut on the west side of the road and in some places, on =
both sides of the road. This will certainly NOT be the place to look for =
Boreal Chickadees. [I recommend the two-mile stretch of mature black =
spruce along CR52 immediately east of Owl Avenue...Boreals can be found =
here.]
What is especially upsetting about this logging is that St. Louis =
County and state Foresters KNEW THIS WAS AN IMPORTANT BIRDING AREA. =
After the Owl Invasion of 2004-2005 there were meetings in Cotton to =
brainstorm on how Sax-Zim could cater to birders and bring in tourism =
dollars to the local communities. The foresters were at several meetings =
alongside the MN DNR Nongame, local business owners and birders. They =
heard the excitement of the locals, of the birders, of the Non game =
DNR...But the foresters attitude from the start was on of "You can tell =
us the value of this area but we are going to log where we want." Their =
solution was always to send birders to other areas where these birds =
could be found. The arrogance was obvious and unproductive to the goals =
of the meeting.
I'm also upset with myself and the birding community for not seeing =
the handwriting on the wall and doing something about it.
So scratch Owl Avenue out of the Sax-Zim section of your copy of Kim =
Eckert's Birders Guide to MN.
Sparky Stensaas=20
2515 Garthus Road=20
Wrenshall, MN 55797 =20
218.341.3350 cell=20
sparkystens...@hotmail.com=20
www.stoneridgepress.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-----
Find what you need at prices you'll love. Compare products and save at =
MSN=AE Shopping. _______________________________________________ mou-net =
mailing list mou-...@cbs.umn.edu =
http://cbs.umn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mou-net
------=_NextPart_000_002F_01C7622E.CF27FAF0
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-8859-1">
<META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.6000.16414" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 size=3D4>This is truly =
heart wrenching=20
knowing one of my favorites places to bird in Minnesota is being mowed =
down for=20
money and also for some lame excuse to control some pest! =
I and a few=20
other birders that have spent a lot of time in the Sax Zim bog have =
grown=20
very fond of it which makes this logging very tough on me and =
others. This=20
area along Owl Avenue has nesting Connecticut Warblers, Yellow-bellied=20
Flycatchers and Boreal Chickadees. Driving along this stretch of =
Owl=20
Avenue during the winter has produced Great Gray Owls and assortment of =
winter=20
finches. Other than birds that are found along this stretch of=20
bog several species of bog plants and orchids were found in this =
bog as=20
well.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 =
size=3D4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 size=3D4>This logging or =
the so-called=20
"pest management control" practice is far from being done! McDavitt Road =
is=20
currently being logged out, some of the bogs along Co. Rd 133 has =
been=20
logged out. I am sure the foresters will eye up Admiral Road as a =
possible place=20
to control this pest since the Admiral Road is just a mile or so east of =
McDavitt Road.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 =
size=3D4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 size=3D4>This group =
(Friends of Sax=20
Zim Bog) was not a very effective group even though I was asked numerous =
times=20
to come and sit in at their meetings. I did not show up because there =
were to=20
many government people sitting in on these meetings and I felt they were =
there=20
to put on a good face and that is all! Nothing productive came =
from these=20
meetings except a lot of wishful thinking and ideas!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 =
size=3D4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 size=3D4>I =
been emailing with and=20
soon will be meeting with the mayor and other community leaders of the=20
Toivola-Meadowlands area to discuss several projects before I leave for =
Colorado=20
this April. These projects include developing a winter =
birding=20
festival, create a winter bird feeding station where birders from =
all over=20
can visit the feeders in peace without being run off the road and also =
hanging=20
some deer rib cages out in the remaining bog areas to attract =
Boreal=20
Chickadees and other birds. The birding festival so far is =
creating a=20
lot of excitement to the community leaders as I been getting updates =
that the=20
old Meadowlands school can be used as a place to hold the talks, =
vendors=20
and gathering place for birders. I also have been getting updates=20
about a place where a bird feeding station would be=20
located. The community leaders are aware of the logging and =
know the=20
logging is not good for the birds but on the other hand they are =
neighbors to=20
the people who are logging the areas. Loggers have to feed their =
families=20
too.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 size=3D4>I lost a =
good amount of=20
respect for the state foresters and who are using the larch =
beetle, =20
the spruce bud worm or whatever as a lame excuse to open up tracts =
of land=20
to make money off it. Sure its good for the independent loggers who need =
the money but the fault lies with the state foresters for opening =
these=20
tracts up for logging. They might as well as erect a sign next to =
every=20
logged out bog that says "brought to you by the state=20
foresters". Logging out large expanses of sensitive spruce =
bogs is=20
not the answer when it comes to the flora & fauna of the species =
that are=20
found in these habitats. I got one email last year from a DNR guy =
saying=20
"the mature trees bordering the bog will re-seed the bog" That is full =
of crap!=20
It was 3 years ago that they logged out the bog habitats along Co. Rd =
133 and I=20
been checking on these bogs to see if the above statement was =
true and so=20
far the aspen trees are moving into these logged out areas!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 =
size=3D4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 size=3D4>Here is another =
example of=20
the DNR in the prime action:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 =
size=3D4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 size=3D4>I got this =
email from a =20
concern person last week about the ATVs and the Cloquet River State =
Forest.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 =
size=3D4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV> The system presently planned is to have the entire forest be =
managed=20
with <BR>> a few small areas as non motorized. It leaves =
a great=20
deal of the forest <BR>> vulnerable to off trail and new trail=20
development. The DNR officers <BR>> I've spoken =
with off=20
the record say they professionally oppose this but <BR>> that the =
hierarchy=20
is demanding it - Polaris and Arctic Cat being <BR>> Minnesota =
Companies they=20
are supported by this. The DNR takes in over 3 <BR>> =
million now=20
per year for just atvs via registration and gas taxes. They =
<BR>>=20
spend 1.7 million on ATV enforcement, and they want MORE money for this, =
<BR>> despite the fact that they have only two officers specifically =
tasked=20
to <BR>> enforce ATV laws. The DNR is getting a LOT of =
money for=20
their programs <BR>> by pushing ATVs.<BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 size=3D4>Yep that's our=20
DNR!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 =
size=3D4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 size=3D4>You can read =
more by going to=20
this website: <A href=3D"http://www.friendscvsf.org";><FONT face=3D"Times =
New Roman"=20
size=3D3>www.friendscvsf.org</FONT></A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 =
size=3D4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 size=3D4>I am just plain =
upset with=20
the management practices that are going on up in Sax Zim =
Bog.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 size=3D4>Mike=20
Hendrickson</FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Lucida Sans" color=3D#808000 =
size=3D4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Michael Hendrickson<BR>Duluth, Minnesota<BR>Lake Superior Boat =
Trips<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://webpages.charter.net/mmhendrickson/";>http://webpages.chart=
er.net/mmhendrickson/</A></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #808000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV=20
style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
<A title=3dsparkystens...@hotmail.com=20
href=3D"mailto:sparkystens...@hotmail.com";>sparky stensaas</A> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=3dmou-...@cbs.umn.edu=20
href=3D"mailto:mou-...@cbs.umn.edu";>mou-...@cbs.umn.edu</A> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, March 09, 2007 =
6:34=20
AM</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [mou] Owl Avenue: =
R.I.P.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<P>As Mike Hendrickson had warned, Owl Avenue has been logged. =
Essentially=20
ruined for birding. A 100 foot swath of mature black spruce has been =
clearcut=20
on the west side of the road and in some places, on both sides of the =
road.=20
This will certainly NOT be the place to look for Boreal Chickadees. [I =
recommend the two-mile stretch of mature black spruce along CR52 =
immediately=20
east of Owl Avenue...Boreals can be found here.]</P>
<P>What is especially upsetting about this logging is that St. Louis =
County=20
and state Foresters KNEW THIS WAS AN IMPORTANT BIRDING AREA. After the =
Owl=20
Invasion of 2004-2005 there were meetings in Cotton to brainstorm on =
how=20
Sax-Zim could cater to birders and bring in tourism dollars to the =
local=20
communities. The foresters were at several meetings alongside the =
MN DNR=20
Nongame, local business owners and birders. They heard the excitement =
of the=20
locals, of the birders, of the Non game DNR...But the foresters =
attitude from=20
the start was on of "You can tell us the value of this area but we are =
going=20
to log where we want." Their solution was always to send birders to =
other=20
areas where these birds could be found. The arrogance was obvious and=20
unproductive to the goals of the meeting.<BR><BR>I'm also upset with =
myself=20
and the birding community for not seeing the handwriting on the wall =
and doing=20
something about it.</P>So scratch Owl Avenue out of the Sax-Zim =
section of=20
your copy of Kim Eckert's Birders Guide to MN.<BR><BR><BR>Sparky =
Stensaas=20
<BR>2515 Garthus Road <BR>Wrenshall, MN 55797 <BR>218.341.3350 =
cell=20
<BR><A =
href=3D"mailto:sparkystens...@hotmail.com";>sparkystens...@hotmail.com</A>=
=20
<BR><A=20
=
href=3D"http://www.stoneridgepress.com";>www.stoneridgepress.com</A><BR></=
DIV><BR=20
clear=3Dall>
<HR>
<A href=3D"http://g.msn.com/8HMBENUS/2728??PS=3D47575"; =
target=3D_top>Find what you=20
need at prices you=92ll love. Compare products and save at MSN=AE =
Shopping.</A>=20
_______________________________________________ mou-net mailing list=20
mou-...@cbs.umn.edu=20
http://cbs.umn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mou-net</BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
------=_NextPart_000_002F_01C7622E.CF27FAF0--
