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Dennis Neitzke Gunflint District Ranger Superior National Forest 2020 W. Highway 61 Grand Marais, MN 55604 Dear Mr. Neitzke: I am writing to support the “Alternative 4” for the new snowmobile route from McFarland Lake to South Fowl Lake. While Superior National Forest is not obligated to create a replacement trail for the illegal one now crossing the BWCAW, Alternative 4 puts snowmobiles farthest from the BWCAW and reduces the amount of noise reaching the wilderness. Alternative 4 also reduces the potential for accidents and has less impact on plants and wildlife. By creating a trail parallel to Cook County Highway 16, it removes snowmobiles from the road and minimizes the risk of accidents between snowmobiles and cars. Likewise, Alternative 4 has minimal impact on wildlife habitat and rare plants compared to other alternatives because it does not cause as much disturbance to the land. Meanwhile, I strongly urge you to resist choosing Alternative 2. This misguided option would construct an unnecessary trail across a bluff which is close to the BWCAW, threaten 21 rare plants in the area, bring noise into the Boundary Waters, and risk continued illegal riding across the wilderness because the new trail intersects with the old one. If a snowmobile trail must be built, I urge you to conduct a full environmental impact statement (EIS) before a decision is made and ultimately select Alternative 4.