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Vegetable chain lakes now
non-motorized By Rhonda Silence When U.S. Forest
Service Gunflint District Ranger Dennis Neitzke
gave his update to the Cook County Board of
Commissioners on Tuesday, December 21, there was
only brief discussion of changes to the area
known locally as the "vegetable
chain." However, since that meeting, Cook
County residents have come forward to express
concern about the creation of a non-motorized
area without public input. The vegetable chain
is a series of lakes, which have been given
vegetable names such as Tomato, Squash, Turnip,
Cucumber, Onion, and so on. The lakes are
outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Wilderness (BWCAW) and frequently fished by
locals who travel to the lakes via logging roads
on all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). At the board
meeting, John McClure of Grand Marais questioned
the addition of a Semi-primitive Non-motorized
Recreation (SPNM) Management Area to the final
Forest Plan Revision. He said this management
area had been included without public comment.
McClure said the SPNM had not been included in
Forest Revision Plan alternative "E,"
which was ultimately selected by the Forest
Service in a modified form. Neitzke responded
that creation of the SPNM was in the Forest
Revision Plan Draft, in a smaller form. He said,
"One thing we received several comments on,
from the Friends
of the Boundary Waters and other groups, was
that more wilderness was needed. We didn't
increase wilderness-we simply increased
non-motorized areas." In a letter to the
Cook County Board of Commissioners and US
Senator Norm Coleman, McClure said the
non-motorized area basically created an
inaccessible wilderness area. "This is an
area used by only a very few locals and in my
years of fishing
this area I've never seen another non-local
person. There is very little motorized use now
and to take this away from the local resident
would not alter the primitive atmosphere of this
unique area." McClure also expressed
concern that the creation of this non-motorized
area would negatively impact the Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fisheries.
"They recently planted fish in some of
these lakes," said McClure. "This will
wreak havoc with their stocking program. One of
the lakes planted with Brook trout is Kraut
Lake. The logging trail access to Kraut is about
three miles long. Without use of an ATV to
access this lake, I don't expect the DNR to
continue their stocking program." Reached
by telephone, DNR Area Fisheries Supervisor
Steve Persons said he was surprised to learn
that the Forest Service had designated the
vegetable lakes a non-motorized area. "We
were involved with the Forest Plan Revision, and
I don't recall seeing this. It certainly would
have stood out." Persons was hesitant to
comment in detail on the SPNM, since he said he
hadn't received anything from the Forest Service
explaining just what that designation meant.
However, he did express concern that it could
negatively impact the DNR's stocking program.
Persons said, "Numerous lakes had been
stocked in the vegetable chain area, with the
assumption that people could get to them."
He said Kraut, Turnip, and Peanut Lake had been
stocked with Brook trout; Squash Lake had been
stocked with Rainbow trout; and Cucumber Lake
had been stocked with Walleye. The DNR is also
assessing the "Bean Lakes" for
possible stocking. Persons said another
implication could be lack of access to Boundary
Waters lakes, Pierz Lake and Crystal Lake, which
have been accessed in the past from the
vegetable chain area. Asked if the DNR would
stop stocking these lakes and look for others,
Persons replied, "We're out of lakes. These
are just about the only lakes in Cook County
that we could use." Persons said he would
have to wait to hear from the Forest Service how
the SPNM would affect the DNR stocking but he
said it would almost certainly increase expenses
for Fisheries. "We do our stocking from the
air, but for assessing we like to get in with a
boat and live traps. In the Boundary Waters, we
have to carry everything in." In addition
to the added expense, not being able to carry in
assessment equipment leads to less successful
monitoring and stocking. "In the Boundary
Waters, we use gill nets. We try to avoid that,
since it's a lethal monitoring method. We like
to avoid it, especially in lakes we're managing
as trophy lakes." Persons said the DNR
would most likely continue to stock and monitor
the vegetable chain lakes. However, he added,
"Particularly with trout lakes, management
is very expensive. If we're not seeing any use,
we may decide to stop," said Persons. At
the County Board meeting, McClure reminded
commissioners that in comments submitted to the
Forest Service on the Revised Forest Plan, the
board had opposed an increase in non-motorized
areas. McClure said, "Restricting the very
limited motorized use of this area will only
affect the locals. Right now anyone can go into
this area and hike or camp whenever they want
to. No one is doing that now, so the limited
motorized use seen in this area is not
interfering with "silent sport" use,
since there is none." Commissioner Bob
Fenwick said Cook County commissioners would be
meeting with the DNR and Lake County soon. He
said this issue would be discussed at that
meeting. In the meantime, McClure said he
intends to try to get this designation removed
from the Forest Plan. "There is just no
need for it," said McClure.
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