University of Minnesota Cloquet Forestry Center – Cloquet MN

Description

The UMN Cloquet Forestry Center (CFC) is the primary research and demonstration forest for the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, currently a research and outreach center (ROC) for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences. The Cloquet Forestry Center was called the Cloquet Forest Experiment Station when the CCC was active in providing skilled labor to the University.

Projects completed at the CFC by some of the men stationed at Big Lake Camp S79 from July 1933 to June 1937 include:
– the construction of five and a half miles of fire break and truck trails.
– brushing and improvement of 15 miles of existing roads.
– removal of dead and downed timber to 50 feet on each side of all roads for fire .protection and forest management.
– construction of five miles of drainage ditches through swamp lands.
– planting of 620 acres with 484,500 trees and 30% planting success measured in 1944, largely dependent upon levels of competing vegetation.
– timber stand improvement or tree release cuttings on 1,315 acres.
– dead and downed timber across the Forestry Station was salvaged for fuel wood locally and sold on the local market.
– Ribes (currant or gooseberry) control across the Forestry Station (alternate host for the non-native white pine blister rust pathogen).
– limited stream improvements on Otter Creek.
– a new office laboratory building was built (still present) along with a seed extraction plant and large warehouse (removed).
– a constantly available reservoir of manpower for fire suppression aided in fire control efforts near the Forestry Station.