Poplar Creek Courier Brought to you by Boundary Country Trekking » 2007

December 28, 2007

Gunflint Green-up Restoring the Forest

Filed under: News — admin @ 7:31 am

Sue Mcdonnell, Grand Marais- The Gunflint Green Up event scheduled for May 2 & 3, 2008 now has a
web site: http://www.GunflintGreenUp.com . You may make tax deductible
donations on this site, and register for the event.

If you prefer to mail your donation, contributions may be sent to the
Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department treasurer, c/o Dave Clutter,
60 Voyageur's Point, Grand Marais, MN 55604. Please be sure to
indicate the contribution is for the "Gunflint Green Up".

The Gunflint Green Up committee is working in partnership with the
USDA Forest Service, Gunflint District. A special volunteer
agreement has been arranged to allow citizen planters on Forest
Service lands. Approximately 400 acres will be planted by
volunteers. A total of 75,000 local seed source White and Red Pine
seedlings have been reserved.

Your contributions will be used toward the purchase of tree
seedlings, meals and a small gift for the volunteers, and equipment rental.

The Gunflint Green Up is a Minnesota Sesquicentennial event.

For Green-up lodging Special go to "Event Specials"

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December 24, 2007

Season’s First Skiers Through the Banadad

Filed under: News, Ski Trails — admin @ 7:37 am

Four members of the Haley family from Fayetteville Georgia were the first to ski the entire Banadad this ski season. Starting at the Banadad’s western trailhead on January 21 the family skied the 12 kilometers to the Croft Yurt where they spent the night. The next day the family skied the trail’s eastern end to the Tall Pine Yurt. The trail grooming was only marginal at best due limited snow conditions- but according to the Haley’s, “the trail was ski able” and they did have a great time.

Two other parties of skiers, one from Aitkin Minnesota and the other from Colorado, followed the Haley family on the trail over the past two days.

For additional information on the Banadad Ski Trail and current conditions go to Banadad.

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December 23, 2007

Front Row Seating at the John Beargrease Sled Dog Race

Filed under: Event Special — admin @ 6:35 am

Take in all the race excitement, starting with pre-race events, the action packed start in Duluth, the mushers progress along the race trail, the festivities during the mid-trail turn-around at Trail Center Restaurant on the Gunflint Trail and the mushers return and finish in Duluth. Spend January 26 and 27 at the Ellery House Bed and Breakfast in Duluth, a classic Victorian B&B inn (voted one of the "Best in the Midwest" by Arlington's B&B Journal). Take in the Race Opening Ceremony and seating at the exciting race start. On January 27, follow the mushers as they travel the race route along the North Shore with VIP at Sawbill checkpoint with "on the trail" lunch. Spend January 27 and 28 at the Poplar Creek Guesthouse Bed and Breakfast located on the race route, one mile from Trail Center the race turn-around point on the Gunflint Trail. Hosts at the Guesthouse are Ted Young, former musher and his wife Barbara. Ted was one of the organizers of the Gunflint Mail-Run Dog Sled Race in the mid 1980's. The Mail-Run was the predecessor to the Beargrease Race. Ted and his team raced in the "first" unofficial Beargrease Race. The evening of January 27 there will be a presentation on "The History of Dog Sledding on the Gunflint" at the Poplar Creek Guesthouse. On January 28 follow the mushers as they return to the race finish in Duluth. Price- $360/person double occupancy, plus taxes

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December 17, 2007

Last Spring’s Ham Lake Fire- Good News Along the Banadad

Filed under: News, Ski Trails — admin @ 7:21 am

It was known that last spring’s Ham Lake Fire had burned over a portion of the Banadad Ski Trail but it was not known how much of the forest surrounding the trail was burned. From the fire maps it appeared the fire had burned through the red pine plantation located approximately eight miles west of the eastern trail head near Poplar Creek Guesthouse B&B. This plantation was planted sometime in the 1960’s following the completion of the Moon Lake Timber Sale.

When the season’s first trail crew reached the burned over area the other day they found that the fire had passed over a half mile of the trail. And sure enough the fire had burned through that red pine plantation but the good new was that about three-quarters of the red pines survived and the forest floor had been cleared of competing vegetation. Now if, and only if, the surviving red pines should just happen to produce and release seed cones in the next few year the forest floor should be clear enough to regenerate a new red pine forest.

2816

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December 16, 2007

Audubon Christmas Bird Count Day for Cook Country

Filed under: News, birding — admin @ 9:49 am

The tentative list of bird species sighted during Cook County's annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count held on December 15 is as follow: Common Raven, Black-capped Chickadee, Bohemian Waxwing, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pine Grosbeak, Herring Gull, Blue Jay, Downy Woodpecker, European Starling, American Crow, Common Goldeneye, Rock Pigeon, Hairy Woodpecker, Evening Grosbeak, House Sparrow, Mallard, Bald Eagle, Common Redpoll, Gray Jay, Long-tailed Duck, Northern Cardinal, Pileated Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Shrike, American Robin, White-winged Crossbill, American Goldfinch, Black-backed Woodpecker, Northern Three-Toed Woodpecker, Pine Siskin, Red-breasted Merganser, Ruffed Grouse, Townsend's Solitaire, Brown Creeper, Bufflehead, Canada Goose, Common Merganser, Great Horned Owl, White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow. A total of 41 bird species were counted.

Additional birds sighted during count week:Mountain Bluebird, Rough-legged Hawk, possible sighting,

The count was coordinated by Jeremy Ridlbauer of Grand Marais.

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December 11, 2007

Boundary Country Trekking on List of Top Eco-Friendly Nordic Ski Business in North America

Filed under: News — admin @ 7:57 am

The Gunflint’s Boundary Country Trekking, was one of ten cross-country ski businesses featured for their commitment to the environment at MSNBC .

The article - “Cross-Country Ski Resorts Go Green-Top Eco-active operations committed to environmental programs,” written by Roger Lohr cites Boundary Country’s plan to offsets the carbon produced on the Banadad Ski Trail. The company plans to determined the cubic tons of carbon emissions associated with the trail maintenance volunteers transportation to the site, grooming and other mechanical equipment used on the trail. . The carbon produced will then be offset by investing in the Gunflint Trails reforestation program -“Gunflint Green-up.”

Lohr also stated that, Boundary Country Trekking’s Statement of Sustainability and comprehensive Implementation Plan,“ sets the standard in the XC ski world.”

Of the ten cross-country ski businesses featured in the article two were from Minnesota. Maplelag Resort, in Callaway, was the other Minnesota business listed.

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