Bill Rom Advocacy Fellowship offers opportunity for first-hand experience in wilderness protection

Bill Rom

The Friends is excited to announce the new Bill Rom Advocacy Fellowship — an advanced internship offered during the summer of 2012. Participants will get first-hand experience advocating for wilderness and related conservation issues.

The Fellowship will feature a trip to Washington, D.C. with Friends’ staff to meet with elected officials, government agencies, and staff at partner organizations.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience working or volunteering in the environmental field;
• Educational experience in environmental law and policy, or a related field;
• Interest in professional or vocational work in the field of conservation;
• Experience in or knowledge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Responsibilities

The Friends seeks a time commitment of about 15 hours per week during May – August 2012. The trip to Washington D.C. will be scheduled for 3-4 days in late June. Duties include:

• Research issues and help develop messages
• Plan Washington, D.C. trip logistics and schedule meetings
• Organize a one-day visit to the Minnesota State Capitol to meet with elected officials and/or staff at public agencies
• Develop informational packets to give to meeting participants
• Actively participate in meetings with:
  • Elected officials and their staff
  • Staff from federal government agencies, such as the U.S. Forest Service
  • National environmental organizations
• Write report on D.C. trip, including recommendation for follow-up actions
• Organize action in the realm of communications, legislative or administrative outreach, or grassroots advocacy

To Apply

Please submit the following: résumé, cover letter, three references, and a 500 – 1,000 word essay on the following topic:

What are your long-term aspirations in the field of wilderness and environmental conservation and how will the Bill Rom Advocacy Fellowship help you fulfill those goals?

Send materials to Greg Seitz at greg@friends-bwca.org or 401 North Third St., Suite 290, Minneapolis, MN 55401. Applications must be received by 5 p.m., March 16, 2012.

Compensation

All travel expenses will be paid by the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. In addition, Fellows will be awarded a $500 stipend at the completion of the program.

About Bill Rom

Bill Rom was born in Ely, Minnesota and spent virtually his entire life in the community. After World War II, he started one of the first wilderness canoe outfitting businesses, which he operated for 30 years. In addition to introducing thousands of people to the Boundary Waters, he was also a passionate wilderness advocate, working with Sigurd Olson and others to advance protection of the region. The Advocacy Fellowship is funded by donations made in Rom’s honor after his passing in 2008. More »

About the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness

The Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness is a nonprofit organization with the mission to protect, preserve and restore the wilderness character of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Quetico-Superior ecosystem. Founded in 1976, the Friends has worked for decades to keep the Boundary Waters wild. The group is currently active in efforts to prevent toxic pollution from sulfide mining in the region, protecting the horizons from visual intrusion by cell towers, and many other issues.

Watch short videos about sulfide mining and sign a petition to be delivered by dogsled

Get educated and take action — watch the short videos below about sulfide mining proposals in northeast Minnesota and then sign a petition calling for the protection of our natural resources. Signatures will be carried on an eight-day dogsled trip to the State Capitol in March (scroll down for more info).

Step 1: Watch the Videos

New videos will be released every Monday in February.

1. The Sulfide Mining Snowplow – an overview of mine proposals near the BWCAW and Lake Superior.
2. Fool Us Twice – the history of pollution associated with the kind of new mining which is being proposed in northern Minnesota.
3. Our Most Precious Resource – information about the risks to clean water posed by sulfide mining proposals.
4. Clean Water, Healthy Communities – sulfide mining threatens northern Minnesota’s economy

Step 2: Sign the Petition

WHEREAS:

• Minnesota’s natural heritage requires protection of the Lake Superior Watershed, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and other treasured forest and wetlands habitats in Northern Minnesota;
• Tens of thousands of Minnesotans’ existing and future jobs are dependent upon preserving Minnesota’s heritage of clean air, water and lands;
• The history of sulfide mining is one of environmental disaster, and there is no evidence that mining for copper, nickel, and other non-ferrous (non-iron) metals from sulfide rock in Northern Minnesota can be done without harming Minnesota’s fresh water resources, fish, plants, wildlife and human health,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that no sulfide mines shall be permitted if they threaten Minnesota’s water resources and natural heritage.

Step 3: Share the Campaign

Get the word out! Send a strong message to our state’s leaders that Minnesotans will not tolerate hazardous mine proposals next to some of our most precious natural places.

About the dogsled trip

Former legislator and Grand Marais-area dogsled racer Frank Moe is planning an epic trip from northern Minnesota to the State Capitol in St. Paul in early March to call for protection of the region’s natural heritage, including clean water and wilderness. The trip will take about eight days, and will feature events along the route, including in Ely, Isabella, and Duluth. Stay tuned for more details!

Changes announced to campsites and permit quotas in Pagami Creek Fire area

Narrows between Lake Three and Four, Sunday, Sept. 11

The Superior National Forest has reduced the number of campsites and permits that will be available during the upcoming season in areas burned by the Pagami Creek Fire in the fall of 2011. While much of the affected area will be re-opened to the public, changes are being made to protect visitor safety and the ecological integrity of the wilderness.

Permit quota changes

Because of reduced numbers of safe campsites available, the number of parties allowed to enter the wilderness each day will be lowered until more campsites are re-opened.

• Lake One (30)
  Will be reduced from 18 daily entry permits to 14. A new entry point, 30F – Lake One Restricted, will offer two permits each day, but will require visitors to NOT camp on Lakes One, Two, Three, Four or Hudson.
• Island River (34)
  No entry permits will be available for this entry point in 2012. Travel will be prohibited traveling west, but will be open for day use for visitors traveling south and east.
• Isabella Lake (35)
  Daily permit quota will be reduced from three to one. As campsites are rehabilitated in the area, additional permits are expected to become available later in 2012.
• Bog Lake (67)
  No overnight permits available in 2012, but open to day use.
• Little Isabella River (75)
  Closed due to trees down across portage and river. It will be re-opened once the area has been cleared.
• Pow Wow Trail (86)
  Closed until further notice. BWCAW trail groups have urged the Forest Service to not allow the trail to disappear and to re-open it as soon as possible.
• Snake River (84)
  No change in the single daily permit availability, but no travel will be allowed east of Bald Eagle Lake on the Isabella River until the route is cleared (see above).

For full information about changes to permit quotas, view this PDF document.

Campsite changes

Of the approximately 2,100 sites in the BWCAW, about 114 were affected by the fire. Many of those will be open again this spring, but some will stay closed to prevent erosion or danger to visitors from falling trees. Click here for a PDF document showing all campsite changes. Here are the highlights:

• Lake One and Two
  No change in the 12 campsites available on each lake.
• Lake Three
  Campsites reduced from 17 to 12.
• Lake Four
  Reduced by 50 percent to eight available sites.
• Hudson Lake
  Reduced from 12 to three.
• Lake Insula
  Reduced from 46 to 33.
• Brewis, North and South Wilder, Harbor, Hudson Pond, Baskatong, Island River, Quadga, Rice
  No campsites available.
• Isabella Lake and Isabella River
  Reduced from 11 to seven, and eight to two, respectively.

View all campsite closure data.

Map of burned area

More about the Pagami Creek Fire.

Longtime leader departs Superior National Forest

Jim Sanders, who has been the supervisor of the Superior National Forest for 15 years, retired at the end of 2011. Sanders had served in the position since 1996, making him one of the longest-serving supervisors of the Forest.

The Friends has worked closely with Sanders on numerous issues over the years, from contentious logging projects to wilderness management. While the organization has not always agreed with Forest Service decisions, Sanders has had an open-door policy and made a point of engaging closely with the Friends.

A Minnesota Public Radio story about Sanders’ retirement included a quote from Friends’ policy director Betsy Daub:

While no one is going to approve of every decision, people like Betsy Daub, a member of the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, say their voice was always heard.

“He has approached all of these issues, and different personalities, and conflicts, in a way that has been respectful, with an open door policy, understanding that he’s having to deal with sometimes conflicting desires for the forest,” Daub said.

Daub said Sanders is retiring before one of the biggest issues to ever face the Superior National Forest has been resolved — the future of precious metals mining, that environmentalists fear could cause devastating water pollution. That’s one controversy Sanders will not have to deal with.

In his tenure at the Superior National Forest, Sanders has been in charge of the response to many significant events, including the 1999 blowdown, the 2006 Cavity Lake and 2007 Ham Lake fires, and last fall’s Pagami Creek Fire. The Friends thanks him for all his hard work and honest conversation, and wishes him well in retirement.

Tim Dabney has been named Acting Supervisor until a permanent replacement for Sanders is named. Dabney has served as Deputy Supervisor on the Superior National Forest since last year. Prior to that, he worked in the Forest Service’s Washington, D.C. office since 2006 as National Stewardship Contracting Coordinator in Forest Management. Dabney has worked on Forests in Alaska, California, and Texas.

St. Louis County board passes pro-sulfide mining resolution on close vote

The St. Louis County board of commissioners, which encompasses a broad swath of northeastern Minnesota, recently took up a resolution seeking to show support for proposed  sulfide mining in the region. The measure met stiff opposition from concerned citizens and environmental groups, including the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, and ultimately an amended version was passed that essentially voiced support for the existing environmental review and permitting process.

The Friends’ Northern Communities Program Director, Ian Kimmer, spoke at the board’s first meeting about the resolution. He expressed concerns about the county endorsing one industry over others, the idea that such support was premature considering the ongoing environmental review for PolyMet and the lack of details about the Twin Metals proposal, and the threats to northern Minnesota’s clean water and way of life from sulfide mining.

Kimmer also helped organized  attendees and speakers for both the Duluth meeting on Dec. 13 and the Ely meeting on Dec. 20. The meeting room at Morse Town Hall on Dec. 20 was filled beyond capacity and dozens of citizens spoke out against the resolution.

Read the resolution (PDF).

Media coverage

Northland NewsCenter:

Critics say the resolution is premature and irresponsible, a debate between health and wealth.

Many say there is no reason to rush the decision and would like the board to wait until mining companies can prove their commitment to maintaining health and environmental standards.

“It will poison the water for thousands of years, the Polymet draft EIS says that it will,” Reid Carron, of Ely said. “The ecosystem will not recover without a tremendous amount of public finance after the mining companies have declared bankruptcy and left.”

Continue reading »

WDIO:

Christine Cole, of Isabella, said “mining has undeniably irreversible effects.”

The board has been considering supporting new mining for weeks. Their last two meetings have been unbelievably well-attended. At times, so many people wanted to get in on the meeting, some had to wait outside because the building’s maximum occupancy had already been reached.

Copper-nickel mining is a contentious topic, and critics like Jane Koschak, of Ely, made their concerns very clear.

“It makes absolutely no sense to do this kind of invasive extraction in our water rich environment,” Koschak said. “It simply is too risky.”

Continue reading »

Changes to BWCAW permit lottery system

From a Superior National Forest press release:

For 2012, the lottery will be retained for Fall Lake entry points D and 24 and Moose Lake entry points F, G and 25. The lottery applications for these five entry points can be made from December 19, 2011 to January 19, 2012. The lottery will be run on January 20.  Reservations for remaining permits for these five entry points along all other BWCAW entry points can be made on a first-come, first-served basis starting January 25 at 9:00 am central time.

The Forest Service is making this change based on several months of evaluation.  Forest managers originally planned to eliminate the lottery entirely in 2012 and only run the first-come, first-served system for reserving wilderness permits for all entry points.  However, based on comments received and the results of a test of the first come, first served process, Forest Supervisor  Sanders has decided to retain the lottery for five entry points where most or all of the permits have historically been reserved during the lottery.  For all other entry points, historic data shows there are permits available both after the lottery and throughout the season.  Therefore, it is not necessary to run a lottery for all other BWCAW entry points.

The Forest Service will continue to work with cooperators, visitors and Reserve America during the coming year to determine if there are other changes we could make to improve the reservation system.  The intent is to offer a permit reservation process that is easy to use, fair to all users, and consistent throughout the BWCAW.  BWCAW lottery applications and reservations can be made at www.recreation.gov.