Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WHOSE FOREST IS IT, ANYWAY?
The age-old battle of who controls national forests, and for what purpose, is being
fought stridently here. The combatants are the usual players: hunters, environment-
alists, the United States Forest Service (USFS), loggers and, of course, you and I.
Environmentalists bemoan the Forest Service's Ecosystem Management practice
ofreplacing original woodswith faster-growingstands ofevergreen (easier torecov-
erfromlogging;infact,only15percentofthestate'spubliclandsarereforestedwith
original species) anditscatering solelytohuntingandtimber interests attheexpense
of the forest's dwindling diversity. A University of Wisconsin study rated forests by
a Biosphere Wilderness Suitability Index: 0-5, with 5 being pure wilderness. Only 6
percent of Wisconsin's forests rated a 5.
Why? The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is the country's most heavily
logged—100 million board feet per year. The USFS shoots back that not only do
bylaws of national forests insist the forest be maintained for multiuse purposes, but
that the economy of northern Wisconsin demands it. Indeed, the timber industry
points out that this national forest is in far better shape than it was 50 years ago and
that the state's crucial timber industry—15,100 jobs and nearly $500 million in rev-
enues—could perish. Nobody, naturally, interviewed the fauna.
Environmentalists were elated when the Clinton administration imposed a freeze
on road building in 33 million acres of federal forests (69,000 acres here). The Bush
Administration took it to court (still pending), but the Obama administration re-
upped the mandate in 2010.
Next up, in 2013 the new Republican-led governor and Assembly implemented
environmental regulations to allow initial plans of a $1.5-billion iron ore mine in
Ashland and Iron Counties to proceed. This after a years-long brouhaha over poten-
tial environmental damage to forests, the Bad River tribal area, and Lake Superior
watershed.
It is
your
land, after all; the Forest Service (
www.fs.fed.us
) is perfectly willing to
hear your side, so why not participate in the discussion?
The Chequamegon is a point of pilgrimage for mountain bikers. Most flock to the Cable
andHaywardareasforthemagnificent,200-mile
Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike As-
