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Northwoods Volunteer Connection Stepping in to Help Superior National Forest

The U.S. Forest Ser­vice (USFS) deeply values its long-stand­ing collaboration with local volunteers on maintenance projects, a tradition that dates back to the agency’s early days. Even be­fore the official estab­lishment of the USFS, citizens were involved in trail maintenance and fire suppression, often informally. As the USFS grew, it be­gan to organize and formalize these efforts. It collaborated with lo­cal organizations like Northwoods Volunteer Connection to organize and manage volunteer projects, recognizing these volunteers’ in­valuable contribution to preserving our natu­ral resources.

Northwoods Vol­unteer Connection is a 501(c)(3) nonprof­it organization on the North Shore that pro­vides needed volunteer trail stewardship for the Superior Nation­al Forest by engaging volunteers and partner organizations in shared recreation and wilder­ness projects.

Northwoods is a small organization with a four-person volunteer board of di­rectors and a part-time executive director, Jo Swanson of Two Har­bors, the only employ­ee.

The current adminis­tration in Washington is cutting employees in an already understaffed Superior National For­est, and Swanson is uncertain how those cuts will affect already scheduled projects.

On the job for about a year, Swanson pre­viously worked with the Superior Hiking Trail in Two Harbors, collaborating with USFS employees and supervisors. “I loved the USFS staff that we worked with,” she said.

The pandemic years forced almost a com­plete stoppage of proj­ects, which started up again just last year. This summer, Swanson plans to work on ten to fifteen projects, rang­ing from a one-day as­signment in Isabella to remove invasive spe­cies from the forest to a four-day backpacking expedition to maintain the South Lake Trail on the Gunflint.

Volunteers discuss what to do about an eroded section of Moss Lake Trail. (Photo courtesy Jo Swanson)

Swanson aims to have 100 volunteers available for the vari­ous projects but could always use more. If people are interested in volunteering or donat­ing, they may go to the website northwoodsvolunteerconnection.org  , email info@northwoodsvolunteerconnection.org,  or call 218-216-7060.

“Our volunteer events are always a good time,” Swanson said. “I’ve met some really good people.”

In her free time, Swanson is a serious long-distance hiker. “I love being outdoors,” she said.

Established in 1909, the Superior National Forest is the largest national forest east of the Mississippi River. It covers roughly 3.9 million acres and is di­vided into five ranger districts.

Northwoods coor­dinates volunteer tree planting, trail repair, and other projects in all five districts, part­nering with other or­ganizations as needed to ensure the forest’s good health and con­dition.

The USFS has used local volunteers as a core part of its ap­proach to land man­agement for nearly a century, and arguably even longer in a less formal way. This pro­foundly ingrained tra­dition is vital to main­taining our national forests.

Steve Fernlund
Steve Fernlund
Columnist Steve Fernlund is a retired business owner living in Duluth. He published the Cook County News Herald in Grand Marais at the end of the last century. You may email comments or North Shore news story ideas to him at steve.fernlund@gmail.com. And see more at www.stevefernlund.com.
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