Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway

     Thank you Gunflint Trail resident and Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway member Jim Raml!  Thanks to Jim the Gunflint Trail will receive $240,000 from the Federal Highway Administration under the National Scenic Byways Program.  This money will be used for re-vegetation efforts along the Gunflint Trail.

     In some areas along the Gunflint Trail the forest has been stressed.  In 1999 parts of the Trail were hit by the 1999 Blowdown.  These trees and others were affected again during the 2007 Ham Lake Fire.  The seed source for new pine trees may not be enough for the pine to recover on their own.  Seeds will be planted using the money from the National Scenic Byway Award.

     Jim Raml is responsible for getting this much needed money.  You would think he owned a business on the Gunflint Trail as much as he cares about the trees and vegetation up here, but he’s just a homeowner with a big, green heart.   He wrote the grant for the Scenic Byway Committee and the USFS will administer it.

     Thanksgiving may be over, but I’m still thankful for Jim!