COOK- When Superior National Forest LaCroix District Ranger Sunny Lucas took over as the leader of the Cook office two years ago, among her responsibilities was planning, lots and lots of planning for the future. To be sure, there was much to do learning all she could about the district and supervising the regular activities of staff, but there was always the planning of big projects for the future.
At an open house at the district office on Thursday, Oct. 10, it was clear that the future is now, as numerous displays told of projects that are underway in the district, and Lucas’s enthusiasm was on full display as well.
“We’ve got a lot of fun projects right now that we’re getting going,” Lucas said. “It’s just really exciting because all of this is implementation. Planning is great, but it’s really fun this time to be able to talk about what we’re actually going to be doing on the ground in the next few years.”
The first is the 20-year LaCroix Landscape Project, an approach to forest management that utilizes a multifaceted “flexible toolbox” approach to apply the right treatments on the right spots at the right times.
“We’re going to start implementing that project this year,” Lucas said. “We’re only focused on the first five years right now.”
One component of the project is timber sales, Lucas said.
“In particular, some of the first ones we’ll be doing are right near Crane Lake, just southwest of Crane Lake, and we’re going to be doing some timber sales as well as some fuels reduction projects in that area. I’m excited to get around Crane Lake and start working up in that part of our district.”
A second initiative Lucas described is the Vermilion Fuels Reduction Project.
“On the north side of Lake Vermilion we’ve got various units where we’re going to be doing mostly cutting and piling, cutting out the dead balsam and burning those piles. We just started that a couple of weeks ago with the partner we’re going to be working with, Patriot Restoration Ops.”
Patriot Restoration Ops is a nonprofit that helps veterans find purpose and employment in the outdoor industry while contributing to important conservation efforts.
“They’ll come back out and work on some other units, and will hopefully be talking to private landowners in that area to see if they are interested in working on some fuels reduction as well to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire.”
The third project in the works, the Collaborative Wildfire Risk Reduction Program, was announced in September when Superior National Forest was awarded $10 million, $5 million for the LaCroix District and $5 million for the Kawishiwi District, for addressing fuels reduction, community safety, and wildlife habitat.
“It’s going to be about a four- or five-year implementation cycle, working with partners like Patriot Restoration Ops, Nature Conservancy, the Ruffed Grouse Society, and also collaborating with the Bois Forte and Fond du Lac bands on some of those projects. For the La Croix district we’re going to focus on our blueberry burns, areas where we’re burning at low-intensity more frequently to create blueberry habitat for wildlife, which is also culturally important to the bands, and we’ll be working on some shaded fuel breaks as well.”
Lucas was hesitant to estimate tourist usage of the forest this year, as they have yet to run final numbers, and also because the LaCroix visitor center was open fewer days this summer.
“It’s a little tricky because in the past we’ve been open seven days a week during permit season, May through September, but this summer due to staffing shortages we were only open six days a week,” Lucas said. “I know that affected especially the Trout Lake day use permit users. We definitely heard that that was an issue, and so before next season we’re exploring different ways that we can make permits available seven days a week. We’ve got people who really rely on the front desk in the gift shop being open to pick up permits.”
Lucas noted that the gift shop has a wide variety of useful outdoor-oriented items for children and adults, and said that perhaps the greatest resource is her staff.
“Our front desk staff is really knowledgeable,” she said. “They’re really good with questions about helping people figure out what’s a good fit for them in terms of what activity they’re interested in, if they want to do a day hike or a day canoe trip.”
Lucas said that her transition to life in the North Country has gone well.
“We were just talking about the weather, and I’m not sure what a normal year is here yet, but the people are great,” she said. “I have great staff to work with, the community is really great, and it’s been really fun, especially the last year engaging more with partners and the community. It’s just been really a welcoming area with so much passion and care for this land.”