Lake Superior Basin Update
St. Louis River Estuary Threatened by
Massive Development Proposal
By Bob Cragin
The St. Louis River estuary, 20,000+ acres, is located at
the western-most tip of the Great Lakes with the
mouth of the estuary being surrounded by the
metropolitan areas of Superior,Wisconsin and Duluth,
Minnesota. Clough Island, 370 acres of land and
surrounding bays, is in the very heart of the estuary
and had been in private ownership for over 100 years.
A Twin Cities-based development company has
purchased Clough Island. The development company
has a high intensity development concept for the
Island with very questionable feasibility. The City of
Superior administration has heavily promoted this
development concept for which there has not been a
detailed plan or a professional feasibility study to
indicate that it would work.
The Friends of the Superior Municipal Forest-St.
Louis/Pokegama Estuary is highly concerned about this
high intensity development concept because of the
potential for increased taxes for residents and
destruction of Municipal Forest and estuary. The
Friends are concerned that public lands will be lost to private
interests, that there will be a precedent set for further road
building and development in the Municipal Forest, that the
community will see greater erosion and stormwater impacts, and
that habitat will be destroyed for migrating birds and natural
wildlife corridors.
The estuary’s natural resources are presently utilized by the
public and promoted for hunting, fishing, skiing, hiking, bird
watching, skating and boating. The sport-angling fishery of the
St. Louis River estuary draws several large tournaments and in
2003 provided 300,000 hours of angler pleasure.
As a result of the estuary being located at the western-most tip
of Lake Superior and the Great Lakes, there is a unique funneling
of an extraordinary number of migrating birds. The estuary is an
international destination for birding enthusiasts. A total of 230
bird species have been documented in the estuary, 115 of which
are known or are likely to breed there. Out of these, 21 species are
included as part of the restoration or protection goals of five
major national management plans. Of the breeding birds, 96% of
the species are listed under the Migratory Bird Management Plan.
The strategic location of the St. Louis River estuary and Clough
Island also results in high biological diversity. Clough Island is
the largest ecologically significant island in the largest estuary
of the largest Great Lake. There are 33 plant and animal species
identified as federal or state endangered, threatened, and of
special concern.
GLAHNF support came at a key time to assist the Friends of the
Superior Municipal Forest-St. Louis/Pokegama Estuary with a
communication strategy. The Friends have been able to organize
around public information and education, potential for
permanent protection of the municipal forest, economic analysis
and acquisition, and the environmental permitting process.
Many wonderful, talented people have come forth to produce
newspaper ads, a Powerpoint presentation, participate in TV and
Radio interviews, guide boat and hiking tours of the area and
conduct speaking engagements. The Friends have been able
to work on several issues related to Clough Island aimed at
increasing the public awareness of this very large resource and to
draw attention to the magnitude of the threat against it.
The strategy also helped members of the Friends frame many of
their concerns for the City Council meetings and public hearings.
Although the Friends voiced opposition, the Council granted
“Conditional approval upon receipt of a Plan” to a request by the
current owners for rezoning of the Island from Rural to a Planned
Development District. This reinforces the need for the Friends to
continue their grassroots efforts.
For more information:
Bob Cragin
The Friends of the Superior Municipal
Forest-St. Louis/Pokegama Estuary
4513 E. Larson Road, Superior, WI 54880
715-392-6988 • ceebobski@hotmail.com
Disclaimer:
The interpretations and conclusions presented in this newsletter represent the opinions of the individual authors. They in no way represent the views of the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, the C.S. Mott Foundation, subscribers, donors, or any organization mentioned in this publication.
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