Introduction

Analysis Area In 2001, FETM was applied on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) as part of the Fuel Treatment EIS.  The BWCAW occupies approximately one million acres of the Superior National Forest in NE Minnesota.  It is an important recreational area, attracting over 200,000 visitors each year for its canoeing, hiking, fishing and camping opportunities.

The 1999 Wind Storm On July 4, 1999, a storm with wind speeds in excess of 90 mph swept through the BWCAW, blowing down the trees on an area of about 350,000 acres (see map below).  Surface fuel loadings in the blown-down areas were 5 to 10 times higher than before the storm.  The elevated fuel loadings pose a substantially higher risk of wildfires in the area.  The Forest Service sought to ameliorate that risk with a program for reducing fuels through the use of prescribed fire.

     Surface View of Blowdown                                       Aerial View of Blowdown

BWCAW Fuel Treatment Environmental Impact Statement (2001)

FETM was selected as the landscape disturbance model for evaluating five different fuel treatment alternatives in the Fuel Treatment EIS, including the No Action alternative.

In brief, FETM showed the tradeoff between the various fuel treatment alternatives in terms of the total number of wildfire acres burned annually (see graphs below) and annual smoke emissions from both wildfire and prescribed fire.  Alternative B was found to have the lowest impact overall out to about 30 years.  Beyond that, the alternatives were virtually identical in terms of wildfire acres burned.

Click here for more information on the BWCAW storm event. The Fuel Treatment EIS can be found online (EIS Document), with sections specifically dealing with FETM on wildfire and vegetation effects (sections 3.3 and 3.7, respectively).