Motorized Trail Proposed on BWCAW Border
The stone palisades that tower over Royal Lake in the eastern part of the BWCA Wilderness are threatened with desecration by a proposed motorized trail. The Forest Service, under pressure from most Cook County Commissioners, is likely to choose the northern route as a replacement for an illegal, user-created trail through the wilderness unless people speak up now.
The trail would create a horizontal scar two-thirds of the way up the two mile wide palisades. The views from a popular wilderness canoe route would be ruined. Noise pollution would flood the valley and roll deep into the wilderness. Illegal ATV use, already a problem in the area, would denude rocky slopes and rut wetlands. The area is home to many types of rare plants left behind by retreating glaciers. Royal Lake is one of only four special interest areas designated in the wilderness for its rare wildlife and natural integrity. This designation precludes wilderness trail and campsite development, yet this motorized trail is proposed only a few yards outside the boundary of the wilderness.
The proposed northern route would be on or just below the Border Route Trail (on top of the bluff), which is part of the North Country Trail, a national scenic trail of which the Superior Hiking Trail is also a segment.
Looking East from Royal Lake towards the east end of the palisade.
Proposed trail would be 2/3 way up the bluff.
Invitation to See For Yourself
The illegal trail was a short cut for some McFarland Lake residents to the North and South Fowl Lakes for winter fishing. In the low-snow winter of 2003 this trail was trashed by ATVs mudding up an old-growth cedar grove. The motorized outlaws actually used chain saws to clear a trail in the wilderness. Only recently has the Forest Service enforced the motor prohibition and ticketed illegal Snowmobilers. No ATV riders have yet been ticketed. The illegal trail has not been restored, nor is the agency planning any restoration. The raw wound is still there to see. The illegal trail head is across the Arrowhead Trail from fire number 3423. The proposed northern route is flagged and it veers off the illegal trail.
There are two other alternative routes and a County Commissioner has suggested a third. There is also the option of not building any trail from McFarland Lake to the South Fowl Lake road (and snowmobile access). Residents could trailer their sleds to the trail head.
Looking SW across Royal Lake wild rice from the wilderness
Forest and Wilderness Campaign seeks to protect state forest land next to the BWCAW from motorsports
Check out the recent
letter requesting solitude area designation (pdf, 105k)
by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for about 400
acres of wetlands and white cedar forest at the end of the Arrowhead
Trail in Cook County just south of Royal Lake and South Fowl Lake.
The historic Grand Portage canoe route area is threatened with
a snowmobile trail that's a short-cut for a handful of local users.
Dozens of Club members sent faxes in support of this designation
to the DNR decision maker, Chuck Spoden.
» More on protecting Royal Lake and South Fowl Lake