GRAND MARAIS, Minn. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service and the Boy Scouts are teaming up to build new trails and improve existing trails in the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota.

The Scout’s honor society, the Order of the Arrow, will bring around 200 Scouts and adult leaders from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas to Grand Marais this week.

Eight separate crews will construct new mountain biking trails at Pincushion Mountain near Grand Marais and the Sugarbush Trail system near Tofte, and improve sections of the Superior Hiking Trail. The event runs Tuesday through Saturday.

The Superior Hiking Trail Association, Superior Cycling Association, Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa, and International Mountain Biking Association are providing additional support and coordination.



Scouts to Volunteer in Superior National Forest
Submitted by rpassal, WDIO
Wednesday, June 8th, 9:15am

Imagine nearly 200 volunteers teaming up with the USDA Forest Service to construct new trails and improve existing sections of recreational trails on the Superior National Forest!

That's exactly what's happening this June 21 to June 25 in northeast Minnesota. The Boy Scouts of America's honor society called the Order of the Arrow will be bringing approximately 200 Scouts and Adult Scouters to Grand Marais.

Working in partnership with the Forest Service, eight separate crews will construct new mountain biking trails at Pincushion near Grand Marais and Sugarbush near Tofte, and improve sections of the Superior Hiking Trail.

The Superior Hiking Trail Association, Superior Cycling Association, Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa, and International Mountain Biking Association are providing additional support and coordination. The event is called ArrowPower2011: Service on the Superior.

Scouts and Leaders will be based at the Cook County High School in Grand Marais and will spend 8 hours each day out working on the trails. Evenings, they will be at the high school participating in educational and recreational events or seeing the sights in Grand Marais and the surrounding area.



USDA Forest Service Teams Up With the Boy Scouts To Improve Trails on the Superior National Forest

Submitted by usfs on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 2:03pm

Imagine nearly 200 volunteers teaming up with the USDA Forest Service to construct new trails and improve existing sections of recreational trails on the Superior National Forest!

That’s exactly what’s happening this June 22 – 25 in northeast Minnesota. The Boy Scouts of America’s honor society – called the Order of the Arrow – will be bringing up to 200 Scouts and Adult Scouts to Grand Marais. Working in partnership with the Forest Service, four large crews will construct new mountain biking trails at Pincushion near Grand Marais and Sugarbush near Tofte, and improve sections of the Superior Hiking Trial. The Superior Hiking Trail Association, Superior Cycling Association, Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa, and International Mountain Biking Association are providing additional support and coordination. The event is called ArrowPower2011: Service on the Superior.

Scouts and Leaders will be based at the Cook County High School in Grand Marais and will spend 8 hours each day out working on the trails. Evenings, they will be at the high school participating in educational and recreational events or seeing the sights in Grand Marais and the surrounding area. Organizing staff will arrive Sunday, June 19th. All will depart for home on Sunday, June 26.

There is a long history of partnership between the Forest Service and Boy Scouts of America. National forests provide a venue for adventure and learning and Scouts provide valuable volunteer service. The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest and oldest youth organizations in the country. Its mission is to instill in its members: skills, values and experiences for a lifetime.



Cook County News Herald
March 12, 2011

Impact of silent sports is topic of March 15 program
Staff reports

Some 500 Boy Scouts from the Order of the Arrow, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, will bring their trail building expertise to projects in Cook County for a week this June, to begin the construction of several miles of inviting single track mountain bike trails on the slopes of Pincushion Mountain and in the Sugar Bush Trail system. This initial effort will mark the start of a much larger mountain bike trail network that is designed to draw a large number of off-road cycling enthusiasts of every skill level to enjoy the amenities and attractions of the Arrowhead region.

To help understand the economic opportunities and impact of such development, the Superior Cycling Association is inviting business and community leaders and interested citizens, to a presentation on the economic impact of silent sports trail development in Cook County.

Scott Chapin, silent sports industry economics expert, a board member of the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation, past president of the Sawyer County Development Corporation, as well as past-president of a local builders association, brings an objective approach for tracking the true economic impact of silent sports trails.

Joining Chapin will be Hansi Johnson, the regional representative of IMBA, the International Mountain Bike Association. Both have studied the impact of these types of projects, how they affect the economy of areas undergoing this kind of development, and how local business can benefit.

The two-hour presentation will begin at 2 p.m. March 15 at the Lutsen Resort conference room and will include other representatives from the bicycle industry, USFS personnel involved with the project, and representatives from the Superior Cycling Association. Light refreshments will be served.



Cook County News Herald
January 22, 2011

Boy Scouts of America to help with U.S. Forest Service projects
Jane Howard

The Boy Scouts of America are going to make some significant contributions to U.S. Forest Service projects in Cook County this June. Three areas in the Gunflint and Tofte ranger districts will be enhanced with the help of several hundred Scouts in the esteemed Order of the Arrow, a Boy Scout honor society that provides significant contributions to communities through large-scale service projects.

Projects being proposed include establishing mountain bike trails in the vicinity of Pincushion Mountain near Grand Marais and in the vicinity of Britton Peak near Tofte and constructing campsites and re-establishing portage trails in the Vegetable Lakes semi-primitive non-motorized area near Greenwood Lake off the Gunflint Trail.

When finished, the Pincushion project would result in 11 to 12 miles of single-track mountain bike trails off the Pincushion trailhead about three miles northeast of Grand Marais. The Britton Peak bike trail would result in about eight miles of single-track mountain bike trails in three loops off the Britton Peak trailhead about four miles north of Tofte. Both projects would be completed with hand tools.

The Vegetable Lakes project would result in five campsites, one portage 40 rods in length, one boardwalk 12.5 rods in length, and improvement and re-opening of 740 rods of existing portages, also using hand tools.

Most but not all of the work would be done by the Boy Scouts.



Cook County News Herald
October 30, 2010

City council hears plans for Boy Scout visit
Bill Neil

The Oct. 13, 2010 Grand Marais City Council meeting began with a presentation by Steve Schug of the U.S. Forest Service. Schug, who works out of the Grand Marais and Tofte stations, said he has been talking with the Boy Scouts to prepare for an upcoming Order of the Arrow project scheduled for Cook County next June.

Schug said there will be between 500 and 700 Scouts plus their leaders who will volunteer their time and labor for a week to complete several projects including improvements to the Superior Hiking Trail, construction of a singletrack bike trail in the Pincushion and Tofte areas, and upgrading campsites in the Vegetable Lakes chain. Schug said the group is the "creme de la creme" of the Boy Scouts, and will include both boys and girls between the ages of 14-21, in addition to many adult supervisors. The Order of the Arrow, he said, is designed to develop leadership qualities among its members.

"This is quite an economic benefit for Grand Marais," said Schug. "It's also a good opportunity for the town to roll out the red carpet for them, and provide a positive welcome." Schug said he also regards the Scout's visit as a "legacy project," because the participants will want to come back to the area in the years ahead-perhaps with their families-to see their work and how the projects they worked on have progressed.

Mayor Sue Hakes said the city would do its best to welcome the visitors and work with the group, and council agreed that it would be a positive event for both the city and the young volunteers.



Cook County News Herald
Sept 18, 2010

Forest Service facilitating Boy Scout service project
Jane Howard

Note to Cook County merchants for your spring ordering: stock up on candy bars and Gatorade. The Order of the Arrow is coming, and that means 500-700 Boy Scouts will descend on the community with lots of hunger and thirst as they tackle several trail projects on U.S. Forest Service (USFS) land in Grand Marais, on Maple Hill, and in Tofte.

The Order of the Arrow is Scouting's national honor society recognizing Boy Scouts who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives. Each year they gather from around the nation to do good deeds, and Cook County will be the lucky beneficiary of several service projects for a week or two next June.

Projects to be completed include work on the Superior Hiking Trail on Maple Hill near the Lindskog Road, which needs some work on infrastructure that was constructed in the mid-1980s; work on a bike trail on U.S. Forest Service land near Pincushion; the addition of 10 miles of mountain bike trail to the Sugarbush trail system in Tofte; and improvements to a campsite in the Superior National Forest Gunflint District.

The Scouts will set up tents behind Cook County High School and rent out bathroom and kitchen facilities from the school. "They told us to stay off the football field!" Gunflint District Assistant Ranger Steve Schug told the county board on Tuesday, September 14, 2010. They will pay the school for bus transportation as well.

The event will be managed with the same kind of incident command system used during forest fires, Schug said. "The logistical aspects of pulling this project off will be significant," he said.

According to Gunflint District Ranger Dennis Neitzke, the last place they hit, the Order of the Arrow depleted all the candy bars in town. Schug said he has been told that Holiday and Super America could expect to sell out of every bottle of Gatorade they have the first night the Scouts are here as well.

In addition to promoting outdoor adventure and brotherhood, The Order of the Arrow embraces the ideals of servant leadership in developing leaders of character.



WTIP North Shore Community Radio
Sept 15, 2010

The Boy Scouts of America will be in the Grand Marais area in force next June. Between 500 and 700 older scouts - boys and girls - who belong to the Order of the Arrow, will spend two weeks building and improving trails in the county. WTIPs Jay Andersen has the story.

Boy Scouts_091410.mp3