U.S. Forest Service-Superior National Forest

09/14/2026

As of today, September 9, 2026, the National Preparedness Level has decreased to 3 (PL 3). This decrease is due to continued improving fire weather conditions across multiple geographic areas, increasing availability of all nationally shared resource types and light ordering through the National Interagency Coordination Center.

🔥Read more NFN: https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/nfn

09/14/2026

This , take steps to protect your home and community from wildfire. One of the most effective ways to reduce wildfire risk is to create defensible space between your home and surrounding vegetation.

Clearing leaves and debris, trimming branches, and spacing out plants can slow a wildfire’s spread and give firefighters room to work safely.
Learn more athttps://www.ready.gov/wildfires

09/13/2026

Time to collect them all. 🌲
The National Forests and Grasslands Passport is a free way to turn every visit to a National Forest or Grassland into something you can keep in three easy steps:

🗺️Join the passport at https://ow.ly/9yLT50ZCIgF
✅Check in on your next visit to a National Forest or Grassland
🏞️Earn a unique, collectible badge

All 154 National Forests. All 20 National Grasslands. One passport to hold it all. Already visited a few? Add them to your passport today and start your collection now!

Your journey starts now. Which forest or grassland will you visit first?

09/12/2026

September days have you dreaming about cozying up next to your woodstove?

The Superior National Forest has electronic and walk-in firewood permits available for personal use. The cost is $20.00 for four cords. The permit is valid on Superior National Forest lands. Learn more: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/superior/permits

09/11/2026

Some call it “MacGyvering,” on remote wildfires you often have to improvise a clever solution with whatever you have on hand. When you’re rigging a canoe for flight, that can mean a “cubie” (a collapsible 5-gallon water container), some paracord, and a small tree.

While it may not look elegant, it is carefully planned with the pilot’s input, carefully practiced in a safe environment with the pilots and the ground crew, and is carefully executed by those same people in the field.

09/11/2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Airport Pit Brush Disposal Site Reopening

September 10, 2026- Cook County Firewise announces the reopening of the Airport Pit Brush Disposal Site near Devils Track Lake. This location is also known as the Ball Club Pit and is located at 224 Ball Club Rd. The brush disposal site had been closed due to a fire earlier this summer. We would like to thank everyone who responded to the fire and our partners whose work rehabilitating the site made reopening for the rest of the season possible.

Cook County Firewise maintains 7 brush disposal sites throughout Cook County in partnership with the US Forest Service, MN DNR, and the Cook County Highway Department. A map of the brush disposal sites is available at cookcountyfirewise.org. The sites are open for the disposal of brush and trees. Dumping of construction materials, trash, stumps and root balls is prohibited at these disposal sites.

09/10/2026

Superior National Forest staff recently planted over 800 Dwarf Bilberry (Vaccinium cespitosum) plugs at three sites on the Forest to augment existing populations.

Seeds from this plant were collected on the Superior NF and propagated at the Toumey Nursery on the Ottawa National Forest. Typically, Forest staff plant at sites that have smaller populations that are poorly distributed across a site, or to expand the site for habitat. However, by taking seeds collected from different sites and planting at other sites genetic diversity is increased so populations can become more resilient to environmental change.

Bilberry is a critical plant for the Northern Blue Butterfly (Lycaeides idas nabokovi), which is a Regional Forester Sensitive Species, because the larvae (caterpillars) of the butterfly feed exclusively on the leaves of this plant. The Superior NF has the largest known population of Northern Blue butterflies that occur in the Great Lakes region south of the Canadian border. Therefore, by maintaining known bilberry sites and enhancing existing populations, through prescribed burning and supplemental planting, bilberry continues to thrive as an important species on this landscape.

📸: Forest Service photos by R. Pennesi

09/09/2026

Hey 4th Graders! Get a FREE America the Beautiful Pass to see America’s natural wonders! The Every Kid Outdoors program helps 4th graders and their families to explore and create connections to nature. Visit the Every Kid Outdoor website

It will list lots of places to visit! But not all will accept your paper pass. If you aren't sure whether your paper pass will work, have an adult call before you go.

09/08/2026

Fifty years passes, and still the call to duty is answered. On September 8, 1976, firefighters grabbed their gear to load into on of the Beaver Airplanes at the Ely Seaplane Bass to get flown in to suppress the Fraser Fire within the BWCAW. Fast forward 50 years, and the Sawtooth Hotshots were flown in to work the Thumb Fire.

The Fraser Fire, located west of the Gunflint Trail in the Saganaga, Seagull, and Magnetic lakes area, was approximately 1,000 acres and started in late August 1976, fueled by record drought conditions.

Over 200 campers were evacuated from the BWCAW and a portion of the wilderness was closed for safety through mid-fall. In total, over 350 firefighters helped suppress the Fraser Fire.

We are grateful and proud of all these firefighters that each year answer the call to help protect our forest, communities, and natural resources.

📸: Top- Superior National Forest Historic Archives
📸: Bottom-Forest Service photo