Day 43 — The Last Day: Grand Rapids to Lake Superior

July 25, 2021. Yay, the last day! Today I finish up the trip by riding to Canal Park on Lake Superior, in Duluth. The day started by Bob letting me off around the construction east of Grand Rapids. The entire highway was closed down, both directions for repaving. that left about 65 miles to finish things off.

And what a great day it was. Cool temperatures, mostly downhill, and final on this last day, a stiff wind at my back blowing me like a sail.

The country I rode through on the way to Duluth is called the Sax-Zim bog. What makes this 300 square mile area ecologically significant is the the mix of spongy peat land and spruce forest, making it one of the most important birding sites in North America. It attracts birdwatchers from all over the world looking to catch a glimpse at the more than 300 bird species that take refuge here.

The large expanses of peat bog and northern forest habitats is a southern extension of Canada’s boreal forest. Hundreds of birds funnel their way south each year, many of which are rarely seen in the U.S. Winter is a particularly active time for these boreal birds, particularly spectacular owls like the Great Gray Owl or the Northern Hawk Owl, and the Snowy Owl.

Until recently, much of this areas was unprotected. It was also ditched and drained from failed early-century attempts to foster agriculture. So beginning in 2014, conservation groups organized to protect it. The first step was to acquire it through land exchanges. Productive timberlands were acquired and traded to Potlatch, a large corporate forestland company, in exchange for their bog land properties, along with Minnesota School Trust lands and tax-forfeited lands managed by St. Louis County. The protected bog lands resulted in wetland mitigation credits to offset impacts to nearby wetlands within the Lake Superior watershed from development. These credits were than sold and/or retired to fund the project. In the end the land will was permanently protected with a conservation easement.

What’s most impressive about this project is how the various organizations developed creative solutions for saving this imperiled landscape without the use of public funds. This unique public/private partnership enhanced the financial position of such diverse stakeholders as Minnesota public schools and the Minnesota forest industry while conserving Sax-Zim Bog. As a result, the state’s School Trust will generate more funds for education from the revenue generated by the better forest land that is now in the trust. The wetland mitigation bank is the largest in the Lake Superior basin and one of the largest in the nation. And St. Louis County will generate revenue with its more productive and consolidated forestland. What was once a fragmented landscape is made whole again for the betterment of the environment and the economy. Most importantly, this critical bird habitat is now protected, forever.

As I left the bog, the grade became steeper as I got closer to Lake Superior. It was great to be able to just coast along, think about this trip, the places and people I met along the way, and what life will bring after.

Before I know it I was on the bike trails leading to Canal Park, on the shores of Lake Superior. I asked a few nice folks on the causeway path to take a few pictures for me on the causeway and with the famous lift bridge and lighthouse in the background.

I hung out for a while to soak it all in. Then it was a three mile backtrack through Lincoln Park to my brother Tom’s house in West Duluth.

Tomorrow I’ll write a final blog post summarizing the trip.