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LEAF
LITTER
THE NEWSLETTER OF YOUR
LOCAL COOK COUNTY
SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY CO-OP
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Summer 2002
Vol. 1, No. 2
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The State of the Co-op
By Mark Adams
The Co-op is coming together nicely. We are still
along way from having an up and running business, but
pieces are moving into place. We have eight paid up
members representing about 400 acres. We have three
replies to our RFP from Foresters in Duluth, Cloquet
and Winnipeg. A few young local fellows have
expressed an interest in learning Low Impact Logging
Techniques. Some markets for FSC certified wood
products have appeared on the horizon. And I've heard,
from a little bird, that there is a potential site for a
manufacturing operation.
cutting, thinning, invasive species control, tree
planting, and fuel reduction. Just about anything
except painting your out-house.
Interest has been expressed in having more general
membership meetings. I think it’s a good idea and
when we have a date set we can put a notice in the
paper, as well as call those we have phone numbers
for.
However, we need more members to sign up, as we are
operating without any grant funding at the moment.
There are other grant possibilities out there but for now
we need to focus on getting just half the people who
said they were interested in the co-op to sign up. We
especially need some folks who could be somewhat
active, either on the board or volunteering,
occasionally, to help with events.
One of the things we would like to get started is "Work
Days". This is something that the other co-ops are
doing and it works like this. All the members who are
interested put their name along with a project that can
be done in a day, in a hat. A name is pulled and a date
picked and all those interested show up for a day of
working with your neighbors. A potluck follows. Then
the names of those who showed up go in a hat and a
new name and project is pulled. The other co-ops
doing this say it is very popular. The projects can be
anything related to forestry and/or the land. Some of
the ones I've heard of are trail building, firewood
As attendees of the June 29th field day look on,
Mark Adams puts his horse to work pulling justfelled and bucked logs to the sawmill for
processing. The tree was felled during a
demonstration of safe felling techniques.
Summer 2002
LEAF LITTER
Page 2
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Local Boy Seeks ‘Sleezes’
By Roger Kelly
That’s right, I’m the ‘local boy’ and I’m looking for
sleezes, but before you jump to any conclusions allow
me to qualify my use of the word ‘sleeze’. In 1978, a
prominent marine poriferologist (someone who studies
sponges), D.A. Ristau, wrote a paper and gave
subsequent lectures wherein he used the term ‘sleeze’
to describe a group of sponges in the same local—
analogous to a herd of mammals, a flock of birds, or a
school of fishes. The term was quickly accepted and
within a few years became a part of the nomenclature
of poriferologists worldwide.
So why am I looking for sponges? Simply because
they are here sharing this northern forest with us.
There are at least three different species of fresh water
sponges around us. Two of those can be found in our
lakes and slower mover rivers, the third lives in bogs
exclusively. The first is an ‘encrusting’ sponge – it
covers submerged rocks/and logs. It seldom becomes
thicker than 3/8 of an inch and is generally mistaken
for slime or algal growth. The second, and more rarer,
is definitely more sponge-looking…it resembles a
miniature saguro cactus, but with its ‘limbs’ beginning
right at its base and with two or three longer limbs (up
to 4”) extending from its center. The third variety I
have yet to see…perhaps I’ll get around to doing some
bog-slogging this summer.
Sponges are special to me – they are the paradigm
survivors. Around 600 million years ago three
different single cell types – a slithering amoeba, a
‘hair’ covered cileate, and a flagellate with a single
whip-like tail all came together to mutually feed each
other and to become a sponge – this was earth’s first
multi-cellular creature. Since then they have
successfully lived through five major extinctions and
many more lesser extinctions and one of these, the
greatest of these, was ‘The Great Permian Extinction’
about 260 million years ago where between 92 and 96
percent of all life on earth was killed off! And besides
all that sponges are cute and cuddly!
Here are some other aspects of sponges that I find
noteworthy. Since sponges are relatively sessile or
stationary…and I say ‘relatively’ because recently a
researcher has noticed them slowly moving across the
bottom of his aquarium at about the rate of 1mm. per
month – that’s a little less than ½ an inch a year
(perhaps the cliché ‘slower than a snail’ should be
changed.) Anyway, since sponges are relatively sessile
they have developed chemical toxins to prevent other
creatures from growing over them or eating them. One
such compound, discodermalide, was recently
discovered in a deep-water marine sponge; it kills
tumorous cancer cells. Which brings me to another
point: sponges are animals, not plants, and can grow in
deep water beyond the penetration of light, although
most sponges near the water surface will consume and
incorporate into their own bodies entire, single celled,
chloroplast green color, hence they are easily mistaken
for plants.
Sponges are excellent filter feeders. They can filter up
to 20,000 times their own volume in a day, and, more
importantly, will consume about 90 percent of all
bacteria that come their way. So if your water supply
comes from a lake or river and you are leery of dead
animals lying at the water’s edge, or if beavers are
present and you are distrustful of the associated
giardia, get some sponges going in there.
All fresh-water sponges protect themselves from
winter’s ice formation by creating ‘gemmules’ – little
packets of amoeboid cells surrounded by a layer of
‘spongin’. In the spring these amoeboid cells do
something of particular interest to researchers: they
develop into flagellate, ciliate, and body cells. If we
can figure out the genetics behind this what is to
prevent us from altering tumorous cancer cells back
into healthy body cells?
So what’s my part in all of this? I’m trying to figure
out which substrate the sponges prefer or grow best
upon. Sponges will grow on submerged logs, rocks,
gravel, sand, and even mud, but in my own prejudicial
view I think that they prefer cedar – the colonies
colonize more quickly, are more prolific, and they
seem to be a lusher green. And I can’t help but
imagine that 200 years ago, before the logging began, a
time when cedar trees lined our rivers and lakes, that
our waters ran clearer and safer.
Incidentally, the sleaze that you were probably
thinking of is spelled ‘sleaze’.
LEAF LITTER
Summer 2002
Page 3
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Mark your calendars!
Cook County Sustainable Forestry Co-op Field Day August 24th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The co-op's third field day will be hosted by member Ron Langer. Ron and Paul will be talking about
an aspen and balsam fir harvest that logger Paul Higgins will be doing on Ron's property. Others
will be on hand to discuss the news in the co-op's development, and the walk in the woods will be
followed by a membership meeting. Also, Phil Guillery from the Community Forestry Resource
Center in Minneapolis, will be on hand to answer questions about forestry co-operatives and forest
certification. Cost: Members free, non-members $5.
DIRECTIONS: To get to the Langer property, drive 4 miles up the Gunflint Trail and take a left onto
County 54 or Maple Hill Road, just past Devil Track Road. At the top of the hill, go left through the
cemetery past the church, and it's the property adjoining the cemetary to the west, fire # 142. For
questions about the event, contact John Peterson at 218-475-2621.
Why Working with Your
Neighbors Makes Sense
By Eli Sagor, University of Minnesota
Extension Service
Are you looking for ways to make your forested
property more profitable? Trying to find new markets
for traditionally low-value or ignored forest products?
Just interested in meeting other landowners and
learning a bit about the northern Minnesota forest
ecosystem? If so, you may want to consider ways to
work more actively with your neighbors to achieve
some of these goals.
Forestry co-operatives can take many different forms,
from simple social groups that visit local
forests and talk about forestry, all the way to vertically
integrated, capital-intensive value-added wood
products producers. The Headwaters Forestry Co-op
in Todd County, MN exemplifies the simpler approach.
The Sustainable Woods Co-operative in Lone Rock,
WI is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Examples of
other approaches can also be found around Minnesota
and Wisconsin: there are currently about 15
established groups in the two states, and a few new
ones become established each year.
The Cook County Sustainable Forestry Co-op, right
here in Cook County, is still in the process of defining
how it will organize itself, and what structure it will
have. The Co-op will definitely be closer to the
simple, streamlined approach than the heavily
capitalized approach for now. The idea with this group
is to focus energy in the short term on creating and
reinforcing community connections, relationships
between landowners and reliable, responsible loggers,
wood processors, and resource people.
Whatever the arrangement, members benefit in many
ways from the co-operative. Some examples are:
access to new markets for their logs; connections to
local loggers and wood processors they can trust;
opportunities to profit from value-added processing of
forest products from their properties; the ability to gain
“certified” status for their wood products; and more.
So why isn’t everyone doing it? I don’t want to
sugarcoat the co-op idea. In all but the simplest forms,
a co-op is a business, and it’s no small job to start a
new business, especially one with several partners. It
takes a whole lot of time, trust, and patience, and it
Summer 2002
LEAF LITTER
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isn’t for everybody. In order for a co-op to start up, a
steering committee of 4-8 people needs to get together
and begin to plan out the organization. Once the
foundation is in place, the organization can welcome
new members and really get the ball rolling.
As you can see from other articles in this newsletter,
the Cook County Sustainable Forestry Co-op is at a
critical point in its development. There is a lot of
energy in the organization, and several local
landowners have committed their time and money to
the effort. However, more than ever, your input and
commitment are needed. For more information on how
you can get involved, contact John Peterson at 218475-2621. And come out to the August 24 field day!
Join the Co-op!
By John Peterson
On June 29 Co-op members gathered with about 30
guests at the Hovland home of Co-op President, and
professional horse logger – Mark Adams. The day
started with Mark’s son, Brock, giving a demonstration
of directional felling. Once the aspen tree was put
expertly on the ground, Bob and Babe (the horses)
were put to work skidding the tree out of the woods
into a field. After lunch, Mark sawed the tree into
one-inch boards with his sawmill.
Our Co-op officially exists now that the Articles
of Incorporation have been filed. By-Laws are
close to being done. With some of the administrative
drudgery behind us we are focusing on the more
exciting matter of picking a forester to become trained
under the supervision of the Community Forestry
Resource Center’s (CFRC) “Umbrella Certification”
program. To go through the training process, the
forester will want to be assured that we have
“customers” for him to write a land management plan
for. These “customers” will be you, the CCSFC
member.
Yes, to be successful we need you to become a
member. We need landowners that want a land
management plan written for their property that will
satisfy the requirements of the Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC).
Following your FSC land management plan will
benefit you by balancing the ecology of your property
with the economic benefits you may be seeking from
timber production.
After demonstrations of felling, horse logging,
and value-added processing using a portable
band sawmill, the field day audience hears from
Katie Fernholz of the Community Forestry
Resource Center. Katie talked about the growth
of the forestry co-op movement both nationally
and in the Upper Midwest.
You can improve the health of your woods, while
reaping recreational, aesthetic, and economic benefits.
For more information, please call John Peterson at
(218) 475-2621.
Summer 2002
LEAF LITTER
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UPCOMING EVENTS:
Cook County Sustainable Forestry Co-op Field Day August 24th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The co-op's third field day will be hosted by member Ron Langer. Ron and Paul will be talking
about an aspen and balsam fir harvest that logger Paul Higgins will be doing on Ron's property.
Others will be on hand to discuss the news in the co-op's development, and the walk in the woods
will be followed by a membership meeting. Also, Phil Guillery from the Community Forestry
Resource Center in Minneapolis, will be on hand to answer questions about forestry co-operatives
and forest certification. Cost: Members free, non-members $5. For directions see page 3.
Natural Resources Continuing Education Collaborative, Free Seminar Series September 25,
2002-May 21, 2003. Series to include Chronic wasting disease in white tail deer; Differences
between natural disturbances and harvesting; Genetically modified organisms vs. conventional
tree breeding; Exotic Species Update; “Coal – fired 101”, coal based power plants; The great
aspen debate - should we manage for more or less aspen in the Great Lakes forests?;
Minnesota’s Forested Ecosystems, Floristic Regions, and Trees; From production to restoration:
The broadening role of silviculture in sustainable forestry; and Herbivory by deer and other wildlife.
For more information and specific dates, contact Beth Jacqmain at (218) 244-1505 or
bethjacqmain@hotmail.com. Cost is free.
“Light on the Land” Small-Scale Logging Equipment Field Demonstration, Hill City,
September 27-28, 2002. This demonstration will showcase the abilities of some of the latest
timber harvesting equipment. A variety of equipment ranging in size from cut-to-length processors
allthe way down to hand-held logging arches will be showcased. There will also be tractor and
ATV accessories along with a horse logger and portable saw mill. The demonstration will be set
up so participants can walk through the site at their leisure and see this equipment in action. Cost
is free. For more information, contact Dennis Thompson, Aitkin County SWCD at (218) 927-6565
or dennis.thompson@mn.usda.gov.
Alternative Forest Products Workshop, North House Folk School, Grand Marais, October 1-2,
2002. Teri Rofkar from Sitka, Alaska will be leading this hands-on workshop. The event will kick
off with a potluck on Tuesday where Teri will give a slide presentation of Sitka and telling about
her culture and basketry. On Wednesday, you will be making baskets from cedar and spruce
roots. This workshop is limited to the first 10 registrants. Contact the Cook County Extension
Office at (218) 387-3015.
Woodland Advisor Program, Cloquet Forestry Center, October - November 2002. The
Woodland Advisor Program offers 45+ hours of field and classroom training to adults interested in
improving their understanding of forest ecology, management, and economics issues in northern
Minnesota. The program is open to anyone who is able to attend all sessions. For more
information, contact Susan Seabury at 218-879-0850 x108.
Cook County Sustainable Forestry Co-op
P.O. Box 512
Hovland, MN 55606