Friends of the Cloquet Valley State Forest

CVSF

Friends on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-the-Cloquet-Valley-State-Forest/159432074084434

To be a Friend of the CVSF simply send an email to friends@friendscvsf.org requesting information about how to help the forest, and we'll respond with several ways you can help and put you on our mailing list, we are infrequent emailers and urge you to follow the website and facebook. We try to stretch dollars by using all volunteer and minimizing costs but if you would like to make a donation we would be grateful. Small donations help most.

Donate online to FRIENDS OF THE CLOQUET VALLEY STATE FOREST at Razoo

Urgent action Needed

Stop legislation that would dramatically alter the way in which our state manages its valuable Permanent School Trust Lands. Seeking to privatize or create a special, separate administrator of the School Trust Lands is a poor idea. See Letter

Call or write your legislator today!

http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/districtfinder.aspx

http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/districtfinder.aspx

Stop corporate special interests from weakening your rights.

Legislation weakening community and township rights is advancing to the House and Senate floor. These are critical rights that citizens have used to protect their community from harmful development proposals like sand frac mines, factory farms, and Wal-Mart type big box stores.

House File 389 and Senate File 270 weaken township, county and city local control. The bills weaken the power of local governments to enact moratoriums (also called an interim ordinance.) A moratorium allows local governments to quickly put a temporary freeze on major development. This power is essential when the community is caught off-guard by unanticipated and potentially harmful proposals, especially those from corporate interests and outside investors, such as frac sand mines, big box stores like Wal-Mart or a large-scale factory farm. This bill favors corporate control over local control.

Both House File 389 and Senate File 270 have been amended since being introduced, but still dramatically weaken local control and are NOT a compromise. New language in the bills is being touted as a “compromise” by some even though it still dramatically weakens local control and local communities gain nothing from the bill. Under the new language, after a project applies for a permit the local unit of government has a narrow window of time in which to enact a moratorium. If it misses that window, then the proposed project is exempt. The clock starts running before any public hearing takes place. By the time there is a hearing, the clock could be run out.

Our calls and e-mails have been making a difference! House File 389 and Senate File 270 passed out of committees only after tough roll call votes. Editorials and letters to the editor are appearing around the state in opposition. In fact, House File 389 came up for a vote on the House last week but was quickly pulled due to fierce opposition.

Please take action and stand up for local control today before these bills are heard on the House and Senate floors!

Call or write your legislator today!

http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/districtfinder.aspx

February 2012 Snare Traps A Bill in the legislature SF 1820 Authored first by Senator Tom Bakk of the 3rd Senate District, companion is HF 2417.bill

A proposal to weaken a protection of Minnesota's wildlife. Tell your legislator how you feel about this, no one needs to be told, except for our legislators apparently, why this is wrong.

.......................................................................................................Photo above : a wolf in a snare trap

A bill has been put forth in the legislature that will allow trappers to leave a snared animal for three days rather than the current daily check of traps being required. The increase in the horrible pain and suffering of these animals is simply inhumane.

The problems with the bill are as follow : traps will be tended less frequently, This bill proposes to extend the current one calendar day snare check requirement to a three day check interval (i.e., the bill intends to legalize extending for a period of up to 86 hours the time interval that is required to tend or check a snare.)

This encourages trappers to have longer trap lines and encourages more trapping of this nature, so not only will current trappers extend the time they leave injured animals in the forest alone, but it will increase the number of animals trapped.

This is happening precisely at the time the first "season" for wolf hunting/trapping is occuring. The DNR has enacted a reporting requirement of one day on all wolves killed so as to stop the "season" when the targeted number is reached.This bill will make that impossible.

Links to Bill

Text of the bill

A lynx caught in a snare trap

More images of pets and other wild animals

in traps here : Photos

This bill is found here and was put forth by three legislators, Senator Tom Bakk, Senator Tomassoni and Senator Saxhaug.

Tom Bakk Contact here

Senator Tomassoni Contact here

Senator Saxhaug Contact here

In the News:

Counties pass Frac Sand Moratoriums - Local control

http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/article_aff81fea-6294-11e1-8288-001871e3ce6c.html

Houston and Fillmore counties both passed yearlong frac sand moratoriums Tuesday, adding their names to a growing list of area counties seeking time to study the issues that surround the booming mining industry.

Both counties have been approached by landowners interested in sand mining, according to officials, but neither has formally considered permits for operations.

The Houston County Board of Commissioners voted 4-0 to institute a one-year moratorium. Commissioner Tom Bjerke was absent. The Fillmore County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 at its meeting, with commissioner Randy Dahl voting against.

Dahl said Tuesday he was in favor of a moratorium, but not a full year.

“The county has already been working on this issue,” he said.

The Fillmore County board created a committee about a month ago to explore changing the county’s mining ordinances, and commissioners Dahl and Chuck Amunrud said the committee plans to finish well before the moratorium runs its course.

“Our board has always acted quickly,” Dahl said.

In Houston County, a majority of the board had publicly supported a moratorium for weeks, and the county’s planning commission meeting voted 4-3 Feb. 13 to recommend the one-year moratorium.

The board considered passing a moratorium last week following a public hearing, but backed off after advice from county officials to schedule a second public meeting in mid-March.

Houston County Commissioner Justin Zmyewski said Tuesday the board initially thought the second public meeting was required by law. When commissioners determined it wasn’t, they decided not to wait. The public meeting will still be held but will be an informational session.

“We’ll get going on research and study and get the ball rolling as soon as possible,” Zmyewski said.

The two counties join Winona and Wabasha counties in declaring moratoriums. Winona County approved a three-month moratorium in January. Wabasha County approved a yearlong moratorium in August.

Across the river in Wisconsin, frac sand mining industry is creating similar frenzy and concern. Ten mines in Trempealeau County are either active or have been approved. Another four have been approved in Buffalo County. Buffalo County initially considered a moratorium late last year, backed away, and is now again considering one.

Other Websites

Sled Dogs To St Paul

The Timberjay

http://sosbluewaters.org

http://www.northernmnnews.com

http://www.savelakesuperior.org

The Duluth News Tribune

St. Louis County Historical Society

http://www.protectourmanoomin.org

Center for Biological Diversity

Friends of the Boundary Waters

MCEA

The Friends of the Cloquet Valley State Forest is dedicated to the protection and preservation of the natural and cultural resources of The Cloquet Valley State Forest and promote responsible enjoyment of this unique treasure.
"That land is a community is the basic concept of ecology, but that land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics." Aldo Leopold

For more information See http://www.sleddogstostpaul.org

Acid Mining Near Duluth

Above is a map from the wall of the mining department of the Minnesota DNR. This is how the Arrowhead looks to them. The Duluth Complex is NOT on the Iron Range.

The lands of the region north and south of Duluth hold acidic earth and rock that will create acid mine drainage when mined. This kind of mining has never been done without resulting in long standing contamination. Until it can be proven that a process exists that demonstrates that such mining can be conducted without harm it should not be done in our region. Those who say it is a risk that should be taken are generally not living downstream from it. Those who say it is extreme to seek such proof need to rethink such assertions. It is a basic function of government to assure the safety of the people and to prevent industry from polluting the water, air and harming the lands and creatures who live there.

Mining Page

School Trust Lands

Something deceptive is happening. The mining companies who have their sites set on Minnesota are struggling. Much of the land of the Duluth Complex is protected by federal laws. That's because there is a great big National Forest there : The Superior National Forest. The miners have found a hungry group of allies in the School Trust Advisory Committee and that committee is pushing for huge rollbacks in protections on lands in the Superior National Forest.

The school trust was given a couple of sections in each township to use to raise money for their trust fund. They have managed them clumsily through the years by their own report ignoring the situation then lurching (as in the present) to aggressive action. They invest the money the "corpus" of the fund and have done so with marginal success. The DNR has held the lands in trust and managed them for the long term, using rational, scientific principles.

Apparantly having never read the story of the Golden Goose, the Permanent School Trust Advisory Committee (PSFAC) has found an eager accomplice in the multinational mining companies scouting the region. Together they have decided to rip away the protections afforded the lands in the Duluth Complex in a scheme you will probably hear about or have heard about "for the children"

When the lands in the region of the Duluth Complex, which lies in large part in the Superior National Forest and the Cloquet Valley State Forest are mined, the earth there which bears sufides mixes with air and water and produces acid mine drainage. The acid leaches toxins into the water, the acid increases the levels of tiny living organizms that change mercury into methylated mercury and the cycle of bioaccumulation of mercury begins. The fish become contaminated and no young woman can safely eat those fish. If she does she greatly increases the chance that years later (bioaccumulation ... it stays in your body) her body will give up that accumulated mercury to her growing baby. The mercury will be mistaken for the building blocks of the nervous system of the baby. The baby will be at risk for coming into the world with damage to its nervous system.

Would you rather your child got special books with stickers that say "From the Permanent School Fund Advisory Committe" or went through life with a healthy nervous system?

Weeks Act : (the laws that protect our nation's headwaters in perpetuitiy) these are some of the protections the disposal of which is being orchestrated right now by our legislators and by some of the representatives and senators we've elected to congress. We still are not sure how Mr. Franken and Ms Klobuchar will go on this, but already the "range delegation" is working hand in glove with their ally Chip Cravaack.

The stripping of protection is being billed as something wonderful for the children of the state - but it enables strip mining of large swaths of the SNF - by "exchanging" which laws apply. This will be accomplished by an "exchange" of ownership of the lands from the current owners who exert the highest level of protection of the lands except for those in the BWCAW and places the ownership in hands so weak they expect the rest of us to "reimburse" them if conservation takes place on the lands where a quick buck can be made.

If the legislature thinks the school children need money they can start by returning the millions they took from the schools last session. They actually took money back from the schools.

If you'd like to hear this discussed listen to the recent hearing at the Mn Legislature.

Look up these terms Weeks Act, Methylated Mercury and bioaccumulation, Mercury impact on fetal development.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Listen Now or Download MP3
Agenda: Presentation on school trust land management in other states. Walk-through and public testimony on HF2095 (Fabian) Environmental permitting efficiency provided, and environmental review requirements modified. Please see DE amendment for this bill.
To testify on the bill, please contact Amy Zipko at 651.296.1774 as soon as possible.

Television archive available for this meeting View archive
House Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee
01:04 - Gavel, and presentation on School Trust Fund Land management in Utah.
1:10:10 - Walk-through and public testimony on HF2095 (Fabian) Environmental permitting efficiency provided, and environmental review requirements modified.
Runs 1 hour, 44 minutes.

School Trust Page