News Release - U.S. Forest Service's Kawishiwi Field Lab Designated as Historic District
ELY, MINNESOTA, January 24, 2012 - The Kawishiwi Field Laboratory, a U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station facility largely built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and at the heart of fire and wildlife research for decades, has been designated as an historic district by the National Register of Historic Places.
The facility’s architecture and association with the Civilian Conservation Corps were cited by the National Register in making the designation. The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the nation's historic places worthy of preservation. More HERE
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Update on the Kawishiwi
USFS Press Release "Decision on Disposition of Historic Kawishiwi Buildings Postponed" FOUND HERE
ST. PAUL, Mn., Oct. 12, 2010 –The USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station Assistant Director Tom Schmidt announced today that he is postponing a final decision on the disposition of historic and other structures at the Kawishiwi Field Laboratory, located approximately 12 miles south of Ely, Minnesota.
“Significant interest in reuse of the buildings has surfaced in the past two months,” Schmidt said. “Although the Forest Service has no need of the buildings for research or land management purposes, we are open to having some other entity rehabilitate and maintain them.”
Today’s announcement defers action on a final environmental assessment, released for public comment on July 15, 2010, which analyzed six alternatives for disposition of the Kawishiwi buildings. The proposed action in that assessment was demolition of the buildings after architectural, landscape and engineering documentation. Under all alternatives, the site on which the buildings sit remains public land managed by the Superior National Forest.
A final decision is expected in 2011 after options for reuse of the buildings have been fully explored.
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USFS Halfway Ranger Station Historic District (HRSHD) Building
Superior National Forest - USFS has proposed to demolish the site
Front view of the Ranger Dwelling in 1934. Exposure was taken
from the west. (Photo courtesy of Superior National Forest.)
Action Alert: Comment on the Kawishiwi Buildings Disposition Environmental Assessment EA by August 10th, 2010
The Forest Service is proposing to eliminate the historic Kawishiwi Research Station and "K-Lab" site located near Ely and the BWCAW -in Minnesota's Superior National Forest.
The USFS Halfway Ranger Station Historic District , which includes the lands and buildings used by the Kawishiwi "K" Lab and Research Station, are slated to be demolished as well.
The destruction of the Halfway Ranger Station Historic District and the Kawishiwi Research Station for wildlife, would help pave the way for the impending sulfide mining projects near the BWCAW.
From the EA
"Demolition of the buildings after complete historic documentation of the site is the Forest Service’s Proposed Action."
From the EA
"Additionally, valuable wildlife research, including extensive research on the threatened gray wolf and on the endangered Canadian lynx, has been and continues to be conducted out of the Field Laboratory by the USGS. If future uses of the buildings change or if the buildings are relocated or demolished, this would eliminate the Field Laboratory as a wildlife research station. This would result in major indirect impacts to wildlife." See Dr. David Mech's comments Here
Action - Make Comments on the Forest Service EA by August 10th, 2010
Ask for a full EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) to be done. The USFS Halfway Ranger Station Historic District must be saved, as well as the critical wildlife research being done onsite at the Kawishiwi Research Station and "K" Lab.
Link to Forest Service comment site Here or E-mail comments to: rsindt@fs.fed.us
Link to comment suggestions: Here
Location site Here USFS Superior National Forest lands near Ely off of Highway 1 and the Kawishiwi River, close to the BWCAW in Lake County, Minnesota.
Click on image to see "Duluth Metals exploration map near the Kawishiwi site"
Media on the Kawishiwi Proposal
Fate of Kawishiwi research center unknown - FOX 21 News
Forest Service mulls razing historic wolf research post - Minnesota Public Radio
Demolition likely for field lab - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Forest Service wants historic station razed - Lake County News Chronicle
Public hearings set on future of Ely’s K-Lab - Timberjay
Kawishiwi Demolition: The Pen and the Bulldozer - By Elanne Palcich
Media on the Duluth Metals Nokomis Proposal with the multinational mining giant Antofagasta.
Chilean ambassador, executives meet with Gov. Pawlenty - www.HomeTowwnSource.com
Pawlenty ‘excited’ about mine proposal - Finance & Commerce
Antofagasta and Duluth Metals "Twin Metals" Nokomis Project - Press Release
Duluth Metals Nokomis Copper Nickel Project in Minnesota - website
From the Forest Service:
Forest Service Northern Research News Release Here
Public Comment Sought on Disposition of Historic Kawishiwi Buildings
St. Paul, Minnesota, July 15, 2020 -- The USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station (NRS) this week released a report analyzing alternatives for disposition of historic and other structures at the Kawishiwi Field Laboratory. The Kawishiwi Field Laboratory is located approximately 11 miles south of Ely, Minnesota, on public land managed by the Superior National Forest.
The NRS is interested in disposing of the buildings at the Kawishiwi lab due to their high maintenance costs and poor fit with NRS’s mission. The Kawishiwi buildings exhibit various levels of deterioration, including some wood rot and powder post beetle infestations.
The Station has operated the laboratory since 1955 and has not conducted any forest research there since the 1980s. The current sole tenant is the US Geological Survey’s Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, which continues to conduct wildlife research based from the buildings.
The NRS will hold public meetings to discuss the proposed action and alternatives and receive public comments at the Grand Ely Lodge, 400 North Pioneer Road, Ely, Minnesota, from 1 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 3, 2010. Interested parties can download the report at the NRS website: http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/projects/kawishiwi , or request a copy of the report by contacting Rick Sindt, at the comment address listed below.
The NRS is accepting comments from interested parties until August 10, 2010. Comments may be mailed to:
Richard Sindt
Engineering & Facility Services
USDA Forest Service – Northern Research Station
1992 Folwell Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108, by facsimile at: 651-649-5285.
Comments will also be accepted electronically in a format such as an email message, plain text
(.txt), rich text format (.rtf), or Word (.doc) to the following email address: rsindt@fs.fed.us.
The report analyzes six alternatives for disposition of the Kawishiwi buildings: 1) No Action, or continuation of current use with no additional restoration; 2) Increase of Forest Service Maintenance Funds; 3) Transfer of the Buildings to a Different Owner; 4) Transfer of Management and Use of the Buildings to a Different Party while Retaining NRS Ownership; 5) Relocation of the Buildings to a Different Site; and 6), the NRS proposed Action, Demolition of the Buildings after Architectural, Landscape and Engineering documentation. Under all alternatives, the site on which the buildings sit remains public land.
From the Forest Service website: Link to site Here
Kawishiwi Buildings Disposition Environmental Assessment EA
Northern Research Station Kawishiwi Field Laboratory
Building Disposition Superior National Forest Lake County, Minnesota
Project Details
The Northern Research Station is accepting comments from interested parties on an environmental assessment analyzing alternatives for permanent disposition of its buildings at the Kawishiwi Field Laboratory. The Field Lab consists of nine buildings, several of which were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the mid 1930s and are considered historic log structures eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The site is currently being used by the U.S. Department of Interior Biological Survey for wildlife research. The USDA-FS will consider a wide range of alternatives regarding the future of the buildings; however, any future uses will not affect the land itself. Superior National Forest will retain ownership of the land and the experimental forest regardless of what alternatives for building disposition are considered.
The comment deadline is August 10, 2010.
Resources
Halfway Ranger Station Historic District Resource and Boundary Delineation Report (8 MB PDF)
Scoping Report (3.8 MB PDF)
Public Release Draft Kawishiwi Environmental Assessment (EA) (3.9 MB PDF)
To comment, or for more Information Contact:
Richard Sindt
Engineering & Facility Services
USDA Forest Service – Northern Research Station
1992 Folwell Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone No. 651-649-5120
Fax: 651-649-5107
E-mail comments to: rsindt@fs.fed.us
Sulfide Mineral Exploration in the Kawishiwi Project Area-Superior National Forest
Click Here to see larger view USFS Superior National Forest Hardrock Mineral Map
Background information on Environmental Assessment of Kawishiwi Northern Research Field Station (and Experimental Forest) and Kawishiwi Field Laboratory and Historic Halfway Ranger Station Disposition
The site of the Kawishiwi Field Laboratory was originally established in 1910 as the Superior National Forest Halfway Ranger District. This was a halfway point within the district, and was located along the Stony Tote Road which became Highway 1 in 1921. Nine of the buildings on the site were built by CCC workers during the Great Depression (1931-1939). These buildings have historical significance for the quality of their workmanship and their Rustic or Adirondack style of architecture. They are verified as eligible for the National Registry of Historic Places, but have not been listed.
In 1955, management of the Kawishiwi Laboratory was transferred to the USFS Research and Development Division, which began operation of an adjacent experimental forest of about 1600 acres, with research conducted out of the buildings. In 1968, research shifted from a focus on forestry to wildlife. Valuable research has been conducted on the bear, wolf, white tailed deer, pine marten, raven, and moose. Studies done by David Mech are the longest standing wolf research in North America, and material from this study has been distributed worldwide. This study, along with research on white tailed deer and the Canadian lynx, is still ongoing.
Since 1974, the Kawishiwi buildings have been managed as the North Central Forest Experimental Station (NRS), which covers 24 states across the Northeast and Midwest. According to the Station Director, Michael T. Rains, the Northern Research Station still has a role within the broader vision of Forest Service leadership, working within the themes of forest disturbance processes, sustaining forests, providing clean air and water, and resource inventory and monitoring.
The NRS, however, claims that it has no interest in research based out of the laboratory and no plans to rehabilitate the buildings or continue supporting the maintenance and utility costs. The EA lists the following alternatives: (1) no action in which nothing would be done and the buildings would be allowed to deteriorate (2) increasing funds to maintain and rehabilitate the buildings; (3) transferring ownership to another entity (4) transferring management but maintaining ownership of the buildings (5) relocating buildings to a site off National Forest land (6) proposed action—demolition of the buildings following complete historic (photographic) documentation. Since current Superior National Forest policy is opposed to issuing a Special Use Permit for change of ownership and management, options 3-5 would not be viable without a change in policy. The USFS would retain ownership of the land under all scenarios.
Of special concern is the denial within the scoping document of any connection between the demolition of the Kawishiwi Laboratory and possible mining. The feasibility study just announced by Duluth Metals and its partner Antofagasta (July 23, 2010) states that mining exploration will take place within the Kawishiwi area over the next 3 years, to be followed by environmental review and permitting. According to NEPA law (National Environmental Policy Act), actions such as the demolition or removal of the Kawishiwi station are a connected action to the mining and cannot be taken in advance of the environmental review for the mine project.
The USFS has been aware of low grade mineralization in the area since the 1950’s. Drilling exploration has increased during the past decade due to high demand for metals from China. If the Kawishiwi buildings are not removed or destroyed within the next 3 years, the issue would clearly need to be part of the environmental review process as announced by Duluth Metals (now Twin Metals Minnesota). Its plans are to mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, with a mine entrance to be located near what is now the Kawishiwi Laboratory.
The Kawishiwi buildings EA is critical to the promotion of sulfide mining adjacent to the BWCAW. Our comments are needed now. Please cut and paste from the following comments by August 10 to
http://nrs.fs.fed.us/projects/kawishiwi/#ea_form or at the Forest Service website: Link to site Here
or E-mail your comments directly to: Richard Sindt rsindt@fs.fed.us
You may also wish to send comments to:
John Brissette jbrissette@fs.fed.us Northern Research Station- He signs the EA
Michael Rains mrains@fs.fed.us Northern Research Station - Director
Link to comment suggestions: Here
Link to Duluth Metals exploration map near the Kawishiwi site: Here
Franconia Mineral Rights and Duluth Metals Mine Plan near the Kawishiwi site: Here
Duluth Metals Nokomis Mine Site Plan- adjoining the Kawishiwi Research Station and Historic District, near the BWCAW.
Note: No tailings site has been selected for the Nokomis Project.
Click Here or on image to see Kawishiwi Research Station and HRSHD site and Duluth Metals Mine Plan proximity.
Click Here or on images to see Franconia Minerals Corporation- Mineral Rights and the Kawishiwi Project area Maps.
Combined images of Franconia Mineral Rights and Duluth Metals Mine Plan near the Kawishiwi site: Here
USFS Halfway Ranger Station Historic District (HRSHD) Layout
Superior National Forest - USFS has proposed to demolish the site
HRSHD Building Layout. (Courtesy of the NRS).
Click here to see Kawishiwi images
Project vicinity map
From the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Northern Research Station Kawishiwi Field Laboratory Building Disposition. Located on the Kawishiwi River and Highway 1 near Ely, next to the BWCAW - Superior National Forest, Lake County, Minnesota Click Here for larger image
Figure 1-1. Project vicinity map
Click Here for larger image
USFS Halfway Ranger Station Historic District (HRSHD) Building
Superior National Forest - USFS has proposed to demolish the site
