A group of landowners and others concerned about North Shore forests are working to restore conifer forests to the Minnesota’s Lake Superior coast.
The Duluth News Tribune has the story HERE.
On Friday, the Sugarloaf North Shore Stewardship Association, in cooperation with the University of Minnesota Extension, is hosting a seminar for people interested in restoring the forests that blanket the North Shore. The seminar takes place Friday afternoon at the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center near Finland.
Details on the seminar can be found HERE.
The Sugarloaf group is eager to restore the area’s forests to a state closer to that found by loggers who originally harvested trees in the area in the late-1800 and early-1900s. Then, the forests were dominated by pine, spruce, balsam fir, and cedar. Settlers that followed logging cleared land for homes and farms and, later, vacation cabins.
Currently, the North Shore forest is dominated by aspen and acres and acres of dying birch. The group hopes to energize private landowners — much of the North Shore forest is privately, rather than publicly, held — to manage their property with restoration of the conifer forest in mind. Experts note that conifer forests will protect water-quality as well as restore original tree types.