Now, that's better!

Hopefully the nesting grounds and west will continue to get good snow cover this winter.
 
Carl, the model for the Missourri Coteau wetlands recharge is driven primarily off adequate frost seal being maintained so that precipitation, annual or event related, is enabled to runoff and accumulate in these lowland depressions rather than readily percolate into the soil. When you look at annual precipitation, there really isn't a significant amount that falls on this area. The clay content of these old sea bed soils plays a significant role in "making ducks".

Sorry, it's fourteen below and VERY windy, pegging the wind chill around negative 30F.

I just got off the phone with an MDNR Forester who had no clue what the Hubbard Brook studies in the White Mountains of New Hampshire documented regarding the effects of deforestation within a watershed and its impacts on erosion. The State of Michigan owns the dirt under Blueberry Ridge XC-ski pathway, four people spent three years of their lives negotiating a land swap exchange between Sands Twsp. and the Forestry Division for enough acreage to raise funds via donations to build a warming hut on the property that is now in Sand's hands. Forestry just announced a compartment review which identifies Blueberry Ridge as a site for a "select cut". This comes on the heels of a multi-year battle that eventually resulted in a recent decision to ban horseback traffic and mountain bikes from these trails due to erosion issues. This area is a red oak, balsam, spruce, red pine, red maple mixed timber array growing on a series of sandy soil drumlins on the edge of a sand plain expanse, hence the Sands Twsp. designation. Apparently, while horseback riders and mountain bikers do pose an erosion risk through their traffic, cutting most of the trees off this property does not, nor does snow drifting via increased wind scouring pose a detriment to groomed ski trails in the post-cut interval.

The overriding issue is that Forestry Division was initially blocked from designating this a dedicated ski pathway when it was formed decades ago, opting to circumvent this via designation as a Recreational Pathway, which can be periodically cut. Decades later, this trail system now has 22K of volunteer maintained trails with a 2.7K lighted loop, soon to be 3.7K, for night skiing as well as a nice warming chalet replete with wood stove and in-floor heat under the control of a locked thermostat that Sands Twsp, can monitor remotely from their offices. The warming facility has changing rooms, a waxing area and toilet facilities that can be locked to force use of the existing pit toilets when needed. We now have a dedicated groomer, barn enclosure for storage of all grooming equipment and two single ski Skidoos that can pull a rhino around through the 180" average annual snowfall amount to keep the trails groomed. NMU uses the facility as their dedicated training pathway along with Al Qual Recreational Trails in Ishpeming. The State doesn't plant the trails with rye to stabilize the downhills and sharp turns, mow them, remove blowdowns and do a walk-through to remove any debris accumulated through wind events prior snow cover, nor do they issue keys to unlock the three trail access gates, but that is another story... since all those erosion control mats that overlay the seedings all fall from the heavens like manna, or more accurately mon. Fairies and elves fly through the ether to bring their chainsaws, mattocks, sledges and all the seed bags, fertilizer, and lathe to pin these all in place after planting. This used to be the site of the Red Earth Loppet marathon ski race, which the State never officially knew was being conducted on their land, or being groomed by their personnel.
 
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