CASS LAKE — The USDA Forest Service is seeking comments on the Winnie Sand Resource Management Project on the Chippewa National Forest.
The Winnie Sand project area is in Itasca County at the Forest’s northern border. The project area ranges from Moose Lake south to Dora and Whitefish Lakes and continues to move south to the north shore of Lake Winnibigoshish. The responsible official for this project is Deer River District Ranger Ben Benoit.
The project area encompasses 91,399 total acres, which includes 54,884 acres (63 percent) of National Forest lands on the Deer River and Blackduck ranger districts, mostly within the boundary of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (LLBO). The Cut Foot Experimental Forest and Lost Forty Research Natural Area lie within the project area, with state highway 46 serving as a main access corridor to several national forest recreational destinations.
The proposed activities would include approximately 17,142 acres of timber harvest using a variety of methods including 12,492 acres of commercial thinning (11,688 conifer, 804 hardwoods), 1,440 acres of clearcut with reserves (1,013 aspen, 427 conifer), 458 acres of coppice with reserves, 1,066 acres of seed tree with reserves, 1,025 acres of group selection, 202 acres of shelterwood, and 459 acres of single tree selection. Multiple entries may occur over 10-15 years.
Additional proposed activities include approximately 1,875 acres of forest type conversions (1,024 acres to pine, 806 acres to spruce/fir, 25 acres to pine/hardwood, and 20 acres to cedar), 3,083 acres of site preparation, 2,812 acres of planting and seeding, approximately 6,800 acres of prescribed burning, approximately 12 miles of temporary road construction, motorized and non-motorized trail reconstruction, campground redesign and reconstruction, changes to the forest road system, and the decommission of Eel Lake Impoundment.
This project is subject to 36 CFR 218 Subpart B. An expression of interest or comments must be filed within 30 days, beginning the day after this publication in the Grand Rapids Herald Review. Date of publication of this legal ad is the exclusive means for calculating the time to submit comments
If the comment period ends on a Saturday, Sunday or Federal holiday, comments will be accepted until the end of the next Federal working day. Individuals and organizations that submit timely and specific written, comments during this 30-day Public Comment period will be eligible to file an objection. Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public record and will be available for public inspection.
For objection eligibility, each individual or representative from each organization submitting comments must either sign the comments or verify identity upon request. Commenters must provide the name and postal address. Email address is recommended. Also include title of project, specific written comments on the proposed activities with supporting reasons.
An electronic version of the EA is available for viewing and downloading on the Chippewa National Forest website at www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=57340
To request a paper copy of the EA, contact Samuel Ainsley at (218) 246-3457, fax at (218) 246-9743, in person or by mail at 1235 Division St., Deer River, MN 56636, or by email at samuel.ainsley@usda.gov
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