In 2002, then-candidate and current U.S. Senator Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) supported logging the trees felled during the 1999 blowdown in the BWCAW. His position ran counter to the 1978 law prohibiting logging and road building in the wilderness. The resulting noise of trucks and chainsaws would be unparalleled.

Below are articles, columns, and letters to the editor in response to Norm Coleman's support for logging the blowdown in the BWCAW.

• Friends Calls on Coleman to Oppose Logging Blowdown - Oct. 1
• Letter: Coleman's Reversal Causes Concern - Aug. 28 (Pioneer Press)
• Column: Could Coleman be Back Paddling? - Aug. 22 (Star Tribune)
• Coleman Reverses Position on More Motorboats - Aug. 19 (Minnesota Public Radio)
• Letter: Coleman Comments Divisive - Aug. 18 (Star Tribune)
• Column: Debating Real Issues of Minnesota's Senate Race - Aug. 8 (Duluth News Tribune)
• Column: Another Election, Another Bogus Fight Over BWCAW - Aug. 3 (Ely Timberjay)
• Friends Responds to Coleman Remarks - July 31

Published in St. Paul Pioneer Press, Aug. 28, 2002.

Norm Coleman's flip-flop on his position of allowing motors in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area raises the question of whether he has the qualifications to be a U.S. senator.

First, Coleman said the debate over motors in the BWCA should be reopened, in an attempt to undo the carefully crafted compromise Sen. Paul Wellstone negotiated four years ago.

Then, after Coleman received a great deal of heat for his position, he blamed a reporter for inaccurately reporting his comments. When it was shown that Coleman's comments were reported correctly, his campaign issued a press release stating he had misunderstood the question.

Finally, when the Wellstone campaign highlighted Coleman's change in position, Coleman blamed the Wellstone campaign for raising the issue.

This is very disturbing behavior for a man who wants to be a U.S. senator.

--Daniel Dobson, St. Paul
Return to top of page

Published in Star Tribune, Aug. 22, 2002. By Doug Grow.

Norm Coleman seems to be paddling in circles around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Or perhaps the Republican candidate for Senate is motoring in circles.

For the moment, it's hard to tell. Motoring one day, paddling the next.

Here's the deal: At a July 30 news conference, Coleman in a roundabout way appeared to say that he'd like to see "discussion" about opening limited areas of the BWCA to motorized boats. Based on the reactions of newspapers in northern Minnesota, it would seem that he made similar comments on a campaign swing.

BWCA usage long has been a hot-button issue in Minnesota that was resolved, after much anguish, in 1998 when U.S. Reps. Jim Oberstar and the late Bruce Vento found a compromise.

Coleman appeared to be trying to play to those in northern Minnesota who would like to see motorized boats allowed in more regions of the BWCA. But he managed to anger large numbers of other people who believe the BWCA should remain pristine.

What to do?

Coleman has fallen back on tried-and-true politician methodology for getting out of a mess. He's muddied the waters, saying he was referring to other lakes along the border. He's blamed his opponent, Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., for the confusion. And, of course, he's said it's the fault of the media, specifically one TV reporter.

When asked at a recent forum about what appeared to be contradictory statements regarding the BWCA, Coleman had this to say:

"Boundary waters are magnificent, pristine areas. They should remain that way. Not open to motorized, we worked out, not open to a whole range of things that have been worked out in a long struggle. . . . [Wellstone] mischaracterized and simply was wrong about what I said. This is a tactic that the senator and his colleagues use. One news source. One news source got that wrong. One. Every other news source got it right, OK? We are not reopening that debate at all."

This is a beautiful answer that should be studied by future generations of politicians. It's confusing. Filled with sentence fragments. Finger pointing. Here. Up. There. Down. Not my fault.

Of course, Wellstone's campaign is having a field day with the way Coleman managed to stir up troubled waters. It's claiming that this is another example of the challenger attempting to stand on both sides of controversial issues.

But I'm most intrigued by Coleman's effort to blame one reporter for creating the chaos. After all, variations of Coleman's remarks were carried in newspapers around the state, including the Star Tribune and papers in Bemidji and Duluth and Ely. (Both the Duluth News-Tribune and the Ely Timberjay took strong editorial whacks at Coleman for trying to pander to northern Minnesotans on settled issues.)

Until Wednesday afternoon, even Coleman's staff seemed confused by the candidate's position. Leslie Kupchella, Coleman's spokeswoman, asked for more time "for clarifying all of our information" when I called Wednesday morning. By Wednesday afternoon, she emerged with an answer.

Coleman never meant he wanted to reopen the discussion about motorized boats in the BWCA, Kupchella said. He is for logging the blow-down area in the BWCA as a forest fire preventative. (Logging would require extensive road construction in the wilderness area.) And he is for discussing opening up some lakes "along the Canadian border" for more motorized boating, Kupchella said.

"The distinction is a fine distinction," she said. "He was referring to other areas along the Canadian border, not the BWCA. He was referring to Voyageurs [National Park] and Lake Superior. That kind of thing. The Star Tribune and other papers made that distinction."

This would be a nifty answer except that there aren't prohibitions of motorized boats in these areas.

As for the reporter who, in Coleman's words, "got it wrong," Kupchella now says there was "a misunderstanding" and "a miscommunication."

That reporter, WCCO-TV's Pat Kessler, simply says, "I stand by the story."

Kupchella also took a swing at the Wellstone campaign for causing the problem.

"Of all the things we have to talk about, it's unconscionable that the Wellstone campaign is using this as an attack," she said. "We're being clear in what he's in favor of."

Kupchella also issued a news release Wednesday about all of this. The big, bold headline: "Coleman reiterates firm stand on BWCA."
Return to top of page

Published by Minnesota Public Radio, Aug. 19, 2002. By Mark Zdechlik.

Most of the major party endorsed candidates for U.S. Senate and governor made their way to the Game Fair, a sportsmen's show in Anoka, over the weekend to talk about issues important to hunters. KFAN radio sponsored two forums, one for the Senate candidates and one for the gubernatorial hopefuls.

Republican Norm Coleman, left, and DFL Sen. Paul Wellstone, debated gun control at the Game Fair in Anoka on Aug. 17. "I want to make sure every Minnesotan ... has the right to hunt. I want to make sure that that is an absolute and viable right never taken away. I, however, want to keep these weapons out of the hands of criminals, and that is a Minnesota position to take," Wellstone said. Coleman responded, "The NRA said in a recent article that Paul Wellstone has done everything he can to gut the 2nd Amendment. That's where he's at - he's got to live with that position."

Game Fair attracts sportsmen and women from all over Minnesota, and many of them bring their dogs and shotguns. Located outside of Anoka, about a half hour north of St. Paul, Game Fair is a hunter's paradise, filled with equipment displays and demostrations of the latest hunting techniques.

With the sound of skeet-shooting off in the background, candidates for U.S. Senate first took to the debate table. DFL incumbent Paul Wellstone, Republican Norm Coleman, Independence Party candidate Jim Moore, and Ed McGaa from the Green party laid out their positions on outdoors issues.

All four said they would oppose any move to lengthen duck hunting seasons around the country.

"It's critical that we make sure we manage our resources accordingly, and long extended seasons with higher bag limits does not do that for us," said Jim Moore.

It would be almost impossible to talk politics at a place like Game Fair without debating gun control. When that issue came up, the Green party's McGaa distinguished himself from the other candidates, by advocating a ban on handguns and semi-automatic weapons.

"Why do we need assault rifles?" McGaa asked. "If you want to be a macho guy, do like I did - go in the Marine Corps twice."

Sen. Wellstone noted his vote for banning a litany of assault weapons under the Clinton administration in the mid-1990s, but indicated he didn't think the country needs to go further. Wellstone said he would not support banning handguns.

"My position is simple. I want to make sure every Minnesotan - every sportsman and sportswoman - has the right to hunt. I want to make sure that that is an absolute and viable right never taken away," Wellstone said. "I, however, want to keep these weapons out of the hands of criminals, and that is a Minnesota position to take."

Norm Coleman, wearing a camouflage hunting jacket, said banning guns is wrong, and he accused Wellstone of not doing enough to support the constitutional right to bear arms.

"When the senator's on the line about the 2nd Amendment, he isn't there," Coleman said. "Wayne LaPierre, the head of the NRA, said in a recent article that Paul Wellstone has done everything he can to gut the 2nd Amendment. That's where he's at - he's got to live with that position."

"I'm not the candidate of the NRA," Wellstone responded. "I'm the candidate of sportsmen and sportswomen in the state of Minnesota."

Jim Moore of the Independence Party said he's for protecting every freedom in the country, including the right to bear arms. He said parents, not the government, should be responsible for keeping guns away from children.

The forum was spirited, with Coleman and Wellstone repeatedly taking jabs at each other. Coleman actually complimented Wellstone for improving conservation and wildlife habitat. The senator cordially thanked the Republican.

Wellstone then went after Coleman for statements attributed to Coleman a couple of weeks ago, about the possible increased use of motors in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

"On the question of reopening this whole question of what has really divided our state - having the lakes more open to motorized boats - actually Norm said that he was for that," Wellstone said. "He's changed back and forth and back and forth, and has been really criticized pretty harshly in northern Minnesota for trying to divide the state. I'm very pleased this will be an issue that we will debate throughout the Senate race."

But Coleman said it's not an issue. He says he does not support increased motorized use in the BWCA. Although several news organizations have reported Coleman made comments about reopening discussion on the matter, Coleman blamed what he said was a single erroneous report which he said misstated his position.

"This is a tactic that the senator and his colleagues use. One news source got that wrong. One. Every other source got it right," said Coleman. "I am not reopening that debate at all. We are talking about, from public safety, dealing with blow down. I've got to be very, very, very, very clear about this, senator."

Ed McGaa from the Green party indicated he supports allowing more BWCA motor use for World War II veterans and handicapped people. Moore said while he doesn't favor motor use, he would support pulling out blown down trees if it could be done without harming the wilderness.

The Senate debate lasted about an hour, and the candidates were gone - replaced at the forum table by three of the four major party endorsed candidates for governor.

DFLer Roger Moe, Republican Tim Pawlenty and Green party candidate Ken Pentel also focused on outdoors issues. Independence party gubernatorial candidate Tim Penny had agreed to appear at the forum but cancelled late last week.

Moe and Pawlenty said they supported dedicating a tiny percentage of the state sales tax to natural resource and environmental projects. Pentel said he doesn't like the idea.

"Let's make it clear. I think that I am going to be the candidate that's going to preserve, conserve and restore this state's natural resources. I think there will be nobody who comes close to my goals in achieving that," Pentel said. "I've seen that the dedication of the gas tax to roads and highways - I think has gotten us into a trap. I am right now leaning against dedicating the sales tax."

Pentel accused Moe and Pawlenty - who share a collective 40-plus years in the Legislature - of failing to adequately protect the environment. Pawlenty and Pentel said they support changing Minnesota's constitution so laws could be put in place through statewide votes. Moe said that's a bad way to govern.

"When you go to states that have initiatives, and billboards saying, 'Vote yes on No. 14,' that is not exactly an intellectual debate on an issue," Moe said.

All three said they support adding more conservation officers and changing hunting rules to ensure authorities have access to hunters and fishermen, despite recent court decisions blocking officers from ice houses and boats.

"I think what we need to do is...enact legislation that moves back from those court cases, and gives conservation officers more flexibility and power," Pawlenty said. "We don't want to be completely ignorant of 4th Amendment rights. But when folks buy a license, we can loosen up those 4th Amendment restrictions by asking them to voluntarily waive some of those rights, so conservation officers have some more flexibility."

On guns, Pawlenty and Moe said they would not support banning handguns and semi-automatic weapons. Pentel said he would ban them. All three said they favor expanding the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, which set aside 100,000 acres along the Minnesota River.

Moe and Pawlenty said they want to allow existing gun shooting ranges to remain open. In some suburbs, residents want gun ranges closed because of safety and noise concerns. Pentel said he would not protect the ranges.

Both the Senate and gubernatorial debates were well attended. Observers often applauded the candidates' comments, especially when they were talking about bolstering wildlife habitat.

"I have never done this before, so it's very interesting to me. It's very educational," said Neville Graham of Lakeville, who sat though both forums. "It's impressive. They seem to know all of the issues quite well. They know what is important to the state of Minnesota."

The major party endorsed candidates for Senate and governor meet again for separate debates at the Minnesota State Fair, at the Minnesota Public Radio booth.
Return to top of page

Published in Star Tribune, Aug. 18, 2002.

Not one day goes by that we don't hear Norm Coleman tell us how, if he were U.S. senator, he would work to bring people together. In fact, "bringing people together" is his campaign slogan.

But if Coleman is really so concerned with fostering togetherness, why is he now proposing to reopen a four-year-old debate that bitterly divided the state? In 1998 Minnesota citizens fought with each other over what to do with the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and finally settled on a compromise. Coleman is simply trying to capitalize on another divisive Boundary Waters debate.

-- Jean Schiebel, Brooklyn Center
Return to top of page

Published in Duluth News Tribune, Aug. 8, 2002. By Pia Lopez.

It must be an election year.

During a swing through Duluth, Grand Rapids and International Falls, Senate candidate and former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman said he wants to build roads and log in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, expand snowmobile use in national parks, and reopen the compromise on motor use in the BWCAW.

How predictable, how irrelevant and how disappointing. These are nonissues, except in election years when folks want to stir up trouble and breed division among the electorate in northern Minnesota.

Logging in the Boundary Waters blowdown area:

Coleman seems not to understand the geography of the area (just where would he build roads in the Boundary Waters, on boardwalks across lakes?), timber industry needs (3-year-old blowdown timber has no usefulness as wood products) or the fact that the BWCAW is a federally designated wilderness.

Just after the July 1999 blowdown, before the downed timber had begun to decompose, Wayne Brandt, executive director of the Minnesota Timber Producers Association, said about logging in the wilderness: "Most would not be interested in doing that. It's difficult. It's dangerous. And you get one-third to one-half of your normal production. In terms of the Boundary Waters, I think it's off the table. It's officially a wilderness area. It's why we have wilderness areas. I don't see it happening at all."

Minnesota Forest Industries has never advocated logging in the BWCAW blowdown area.

That should be the end of the subject. But, then, this is an election year...

Expanded motor use in the Boundary Waters:

U.S. Reps. Jim Oberstar and the late Bruce Vento struck a compromise on motor use in 1998, resolving 20 years of acrimonious debate. In exchange for allowing trucks on Prairie Portage between the Moose Lake chain and Basswood Lake and on the portage between Vermilion and Trout lakes, motorboats were banned from Canoe and Alder lakes, two lesser-used lakes off the Gunflint Trail.

The phase-out of motors on Seagull Lake proceeded as scheduled.

Oberstar said at the time that the trade had its roots in the 1996-97 federally mediated talks initiated by Sen. Paul Wellstone. Participants failed to reach an accord, but the concept of trading motorized lakes or forest land for the portages was raised.

The 1998 compromise works. Does Coleman really want to reopen that debate? But, then, this is an election year...

Snowmobiles in national parks:

Minnesota's Voyageurs National Park, created by Congress in 1975, is one of the few national parks that allows snowmobiling. Most of the 218,000-acre park's big lakes -- Rainy, Namakan, Kabetogama and Sand Point -- are open to snowmobile use, and several overland trails connect the lakes.

With 110 miles of snowmobile trails, the park doesn't need expanded snowmobiling. But, then, this is an election year...

Coleman should resist pigeonholing himself as a narrow, ideologically driven candidate in northern Minnesota.

Certainly, we have enough real issues in northern Minnesota for candidates to address. Why not start with retirement pension reform or international trade or proposals for diversifying a fragile economy based on natural resources?
Return to top of page

Published in Ely Timberjay, Aug. 3, 2002. By Marshall Helmberger.

Norm Coleman found his way to northeastern Minnesota this week and, once again, promptly insulted the intelligence of the region's voters. It wasn't the first time, of course. For the past twenty years, political leaders in the GOP, most of whom barely know where northeastern Minnesota is located, have assumed that voters here are little more than backwoods fools when it comes to politics. Like the gasbag politicians of Lil' Abner lore, they pop up every election cycle to throw those northern "dogs" a bone.

Taking his political cues from none other than Bob Lessard - a man who knows a thing or two about stupid and shameless pandering - Coleman has this time offered up a grab bag of hot button promises intended to start yet another big Boundary Waters blowup, on which he no doubt hopes to capitalize.

If we'll only help send his sorry, politically-opportunistic rear end to the U.S. Senate, he says he'll work to open up more wilderness lakes to motorboats and snowmobiles, and will even let loggers build roads in the Boundary Waters to cut the, by now worthless, blowdown.

For Coleman, such promises are easy to make, because he knows he won't be keeping any of them. Such proposals stand no chance in the U.S. Congress, and Norm Coleman knows that full well.

He just doesn't think we're smart enough to know it.

Trouble is, Coleman is so out of touch on natural resource issues that he didn't realize his attempt at northwoods pandering would blow up in his face in his only political stronghold, the Twin Cities suburbs. By Wednesday, the Coleman people were beating a hasty retreat. While his press spokeswoman was confirming his comments about motors in the Boundary Waters on Wednesday morning, by later in the day she was denying he'd ever called for more motors on BWCAW lakes. Too bad for Coleman, video from a Twin Cities newscast this week clearly has him calling for exactly that. That's the thing about opportunists, they fall whichever way the wind blows.

I guess you can't really blame the guy. After all, he certainly doesn't want to talk about his support of President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security. Bush brought up the subject again this week and said he continues to push the plan. If the Republicans win in the fall, we'll not only be able to watch our IRAs and 401Ks disappear, we'll have the pleasure of seeing our only truly guaranteed retirement pension wither as well, all to benefit the poor boys on Wall Street.

And certainly Coleman wouldn't want to talk about his noticeable absence when Sappi was attempting to slash payments to the area's loggers. His opponent, Senator Paul Wellstone was there and played a major role in convincing company officials of the errors of their ways. Wellstone has been right on the issues that actually matter to our region and he's been a tenacious worker for the past 12 years - which is why Norm Coleman was reduced this week to prattling on about motors in the Boundary Waters.

Bob Lessard told him that voters up here fall prey to pandering on wilderness issues. If he can pick a fight, he thinks he can get people to vote with their emotions, rather than their heads. We should demonstrate to Mr. Coleman that we're smarter than that. Let's show him who's really the fool.
Return to top of page