[mou] Sax Zim Bog logging news

[Mike Hendrickson]

I wish I took some photos of the recent logging events going on in Sax Zim 
Bog.  For those that have a love for this place the photos would of mad you 
very sad or very angry.

I am not making this up or blowing this out of wack but hear is a honest 
account of what is going in this bog.  Those who been there may of recall 
all the nice dense cedar trees along Co. Rd 133 between US Highway 53 and 
Co. Rd 7 Well they are ALL GONE!  I drove by it this morning and its flatten 
out with no standing trees at all.  The logging trucks were working this 
area and also across the road.  Remember those clear cut blocks taken out 
during the winter of 2004 along Co. Rd 133 on the south side of the road 
between Co. Rd 7 and Hwy 53? Well this whole area is getting logged out as 
we speak.  Not a tree is left behind in all these so-called land management 
practices.  All of the bog habitat or old growth cedar trees and spruce/jack 
pines stands are all wiped out flat!  I was informed by Caroll Henderson 
that he looked into what is going on in Sax Zim and he said to me that the 
loggers are going to leave some adult tamaracks up and some spruce trees up 
so these adult trees can re-seed the land.  WELL there was NOT one tree left 
standing in all the plots I looked at!

Want some more good news?  The plot along McDavitt Road will be logged out 
this winter as the logger company has there license up on the tree and some 
metal box as well.  I can honestly say that this area that has been 
consistent for Black-backed Woodpeckers and Boreal Chickadees plus a host of 
other boreal birds will not be found here anytime soon in the future because 
there will not be any trees left standing.  More news??  Owl Avenue is blue 
spray painted all along the east side of the road from the bend all the way 
to Arkola Road then east along Arkola Road on the south side for at least 
1.5 miles!  This whole block will be logged out as well!

I emailed a lot of folks and so far the only good news is that Steve Swiggum 
is suppose to email me back on my concerns.  I chatted with the Meadowlands 
Co-Op people and told them IF bog birds continue to lose habitat there will 
be no more visiting birders to your store.  I am sorry if I have to say this 
but naming the Sax Zim Bog a Important Bird Area will not save the habitat 
we are losing daily.  Sax Zim in my opinion is not going to be worth birding 
in about 4-5 years from now.  There will be nothing but alder marshes, aspen 
stands and hay fields!  Sax Zim Bog will be a has been place and I am 
telling you the honest truth!  The place is getting cleared out!  The only 
happy people about all this logging are the loggers, DNR, Forest Service, 
and St. Louis County!

The lighter side is that house on the north end of Stickney that has the red 
shed and all the warnings is BAAAACK in action.  We were driving about 30mph 
and this crazy lunatic came running out of from his yard and chased us down. 
We did not stop at anytime before he spotted us or after he chased us.  He 
was like some country dog and BOOM there is this man chasing after us, 
pointing at us, and spitting some words at us.  In other words this man is 
insane or possibly the St. Louis County land manager!

I am very sad and angry about the changes I see weekly going on at Sax Zim 
Bog!  Maybe I should call ELF (Environmental Liberation Front)to save the 
day these boys will stop this logging! LOL  ( Just kidding )

I will post photos very soon so you all can see the destruction going up in 
Sax Zim and prove to you all what I am saying here.

Later-

Michael Hendrickson
Duluth, Minnesota
Minnesota Birding Treks
http://webpages.charter.net/mmhendrickson/