Hi all,
This is in response to questions about the article that appeared in the Duluth News Tribune yesterday about 22,000 acres of Sax-Zim to be set aside as the Lake Superior Wetland Mitigation Bank. http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/277261/publisher_ID/36/ Friends of Sax-Zim Bog supports this major preservation project THAT WILL PROTECT IN PERPETUITY 22,000 ACRES OF PRIME WILDLIFE HABITAT FOR GENERATIONS OF BIRDS AND BIRDERS. Logging of mature Black Spruce/Tamarack and Peat Mining are currently the main threats to the Sax-Zim Bog. This Wetland Mitigation Bank will protect the land from these uses. Concerning how EIP restores the bog.... First of all, only a portion of the 22,000 acres needs to be restored. This will involve blocking ditches to stop water draining from the bog. DITCHES WILL NOT BE FILLED. We have partnered with an attorney from the Center for Environmental Law & Policy in Chicago to ENSURE THAT THE RESTORATION IS DONE PROPERLY. Once again, this only involves a portion of the Bog. Public Comment period closed last Thursday. We drafted a letter with the lawyer from the Center for Environmental Law & Policy that commented on several aspects of the project that would be important for all birders (including proper restoration, especially critical wildlife and their needs, public access, and future ownership). Is this preserving all the land that is most important to birders in the Sax-Zim Bog? No. Most of the 22,000 acres is east of CR7 and N of CR52, much of it inaccessible. (But accessible to the birds and wildlife!) It does preserve much along CR7 and on both sides of Stone Lake Road...even part of the Admiral Road bog. Friends of Sax-Zim Bog will continue to protect the prime Black Spruce/Tamarack bog that all Minnesota birders have come to know and love while birding the Bog. This is a historic land preservation deal! Please feel free to call or email me back channel to discuss. Sparky Stensaas Executive Director Friends of Sax-Zim Bog PO Box 3585 Duluth MN 55803 218.341.3350 cell [email protected] www.saxzim.org www.SaxZim.org ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
