Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact South Fowl ...

INTRODUCTION
This document describes the decision I have made regarding safe snowmobile access to
South Fowl Lake from the McFarland Lake area, on the Superior National Forest. This
document also describes my reasons for the decision, and finding that an environmental
impact statement is not needed. This finding is in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act, other laws, regulation and policy. This decision and finding
are based on my knowledge of the Upper Arrowhead Trail (Cook County #16) area, my
review of the South Fowl Lake Snowmobile Access Environmental Assessment (S. Fowl
EA), the Biological Evaluation, the project record and the 2004 Superior National Forest
Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan).
The South Fowl Snowmobile Access project has been one of the more interesting in my
career. It is something that should have been dealt with long ago, however it wasn’t. It is
a fairly simple proposal, however it has stirred personal emotion that has been decades in
building. It seemed the more I worked with the public to find a common solution, the
more polarized they became. This decision will be fully welcomed and completely
rejected, absolutely right and horribly wrong. A portion of the public will cheer, the rest
will jeer. Some will claim victory, others will cry foul. To help understand why we are
where we are, I am providing some background.
Why here and why now?
The genesis of this project began in 2003 when an existing snowmobile trail, sometimes
known as the “Tilbury Trail”, was brought to my attention. I had decided to step up
winter patrol of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) to ensure
integrity of the wilderness during the off peak months. Through our patrol, a member of
the public mentioned the existence of a trail that traveled across Royal Lake. During
inspection, it was determined the trail crossed a corner of the Wilderness and therefore
would need to be closed.
Figure 2. Map showing historic Tilbury Trail in relation to Royal Lake
Tilbury Trail connected McFarland Lake with South Fowl Lake (see Figure 1). It
should be pointed out here that South Fowl Lake is the eastern most lake in a chain of
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